In the interview below, Dan Chirondojan, the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) Director for Space, Security and Migration shares his views on how the Science Pillar of the Knowledge Network has been developing and what the future holds.
It has been one year since the Disaster Risk Managament Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) was designated as the cornerstone of the Science Pillar of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network. What has changed since then, and how has this impacted the work of the DRMKC?
Indeed, in November 2021, the Commission formally established the Knowledge Network and referenced the DRMKC as the core building block of the Network’s Science Pillar. Throughout 2022, the Science Pillar mainly integrated and consolidated the knowledge and services already available in the DRMKC suite.
With the establishment of the Knowledge Network, the DRMKC – the first Knowledge Centre of the European Commission – became a Knowledge Centre for the member states and participating states. This was an important step for a Commission Knowledge Centre, the full recognition and trust of member states and setting the model for a science-policy interface at the EU level.
Can you give examples of specific initiatives developed as part of the Science Pillar action plan?
Of course. Major developments and new features were implemented in 2022, among them the Risk Data Hub, which is now a cornerstone of the Science Pillar roadmap. Other products like a new user interface, new disaster loss and risk dashboards, and a user corner to support member states with their climate adaptation actions and risk assessment needs were developed too. There is also now a prototype for shared terminology on Disaster Risk Management, which has been developed with various European Commission departments such as ECHO, RTD, HOME, as well as UN agencies like the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and World Health Organization (WHO). Good progress was made in supporting the development of the Union Disaster Resilience Goals. And building on the DRMKC’s experience with the Project Explorer and Gaps Explorer, a collaboration between the JRC, ECHO, and DIGIT will very soon give rise to the Knowledge Library on the Knowledge Network online platform.
Many of the Knowledge Network initiatives you mentioned involve cross-sector collaboration. JRC and ECHO seem to have several common projects.
That’s right. The Knowledge Network is a joint effort between all the members of its Community of Practice, and everyone plays a critical role. We are pleased to work regularly with ECHO, often on implementing events and capacity-building initiatives. The Knowledge Network stand at the Civil Protection Forum, or the workshop on science advice to policy making at the ‘Youth in Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Management’ study visit are good examples.
Last year’s DRMKC Annual Seminar in Paris (hybrid), cohosted with the French Ministry of Interior and co-organised by ECHO and the JRC, is another good example. Participants shared best practices and challenges across areas like risk communication, disaster resilience goals monitoring, and DRM science operationalisation. This was one of the highlights of the year for the Science Pillar.
I must highlight, too, that the JRC will be teaming up with ECHO in drafting the Knowledge Network newsletter, whose science section will include, from now on, content we used to share in the DRMKC newsletter. As our communications will also align for this purpose, I foresee more chances for cooperation and, as a result, a stronger EU arising from the intersection between civil protection and disaster risk science.
What can we expect from the Knowledge Network and its Science Pillar for 2023?
The Plan of Action of the Knowledge Network Science Pillar foresees two phases.In 2022, it integrated and consolidated existing knowledge from the DRMKC. Now, we are transitioning to the second phase – identifying and integrating scientific activities and knowledge available within member states and participating states.
For instance, we will look at how to better and more closely engage with Horizon Europe projects working on multihazard risk assessment, cross-border risks, societal resilience or risk communication. This will require plenty of engagement of the scientific and disaster risk management communities, and I look forward to the interactions and opportunities this period will bring!
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