Knowledge Network Partnership

Topic description

Objective:

1. Design, develop and implement multi-disciplinary, risk-based thematic communities/centres of expertise for civil protection and disaster management stakeholders.
2. Design, develop and implement capacity-development and applied science activities that contribute to building and sharing of knowledge, expertise and skills in civil protection and disaster management.

The Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network was established under the revised Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) legislation (Decision No 1313/2013/EU) as UCPM’s key tool for better flow of information, boosted innovation, improved knowledge, enhanced expertise and skills and consolidated scientific evidence through cooperation, exchange, partnership and networking.

The Knowledge Network’s vision is that the UCPM and its community have the knowledge and expertise to effectively prevent, prepare for and respond to current and emerging risks and challenges in disaster management. Its mission is to:

• Bring together civil protection and disaster management experts and organisations,
• Make relevant knowledge on civil protection and disaster management accessible to all, and
• Foster innovation for more efficient and effective civil protection.

The 2022 Call for Proposals on Knowledge Network Partnerships aims to contribute to the consolidation and operationalisation of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network through financing of projects that will directly support the development of its key activities.

Projects under the Call for Proposals will establish thematic communities/centres of expertise that will generate, promote, test, exchange and disseminate knowledge, skills, expertise, innovation, and scientific evidence in support of the Capacity-Development and Science Pillars of the Knowledge Network.

The thematic communities/centres of expertise will be multinational and multidisciplinary specialised groups with organisational environments that strive for developing high standards of conduct in the fields of capacity-development, learning, research and innovation in civil protection and disaster risk management. The thematic communities will bring together individuals (practitioners, researchers and experts) from institutions (national and local civil protection authorities, research centres, policy institutes, centres of excellence etc.) engaged in disaster prevention, preparedness and response.

Thematic communities/centres of expertise will pull together, develop, disseminate and exchange state-of-the-art knowledge and expertise; encourage scientific excellence; stimulate technological innovation; gear educational and learning goals; and support policy and decision-making in civil protection and disaster management. To achieve this, thematic communities/centres of expertise will focus on a specific natural or human-induced hazard (earthquakes, forest/wildfires, floods, medical emergencies/pandemics, CBRN threats etc.), cluster of hazards (meteorological, geophysical, hydrological, climatological, technological etc.), or a particular preparedness and response scenario (emergency medical response, search and rescue operations etc.).

While general focus is placed on common risks and joint priorities identified by the UCPM Member States, Participating States and the EU, projects are invited to consider as priority hazards, themes and scenarios that meet funding eligibility requirements under the European Union Recovery Instrument (Next Generation EU), in accordance with Commission Implementing Decision C(2021) 4759. A dedicated budget was earmarked for projects meeting such requirements – see UCPM-2022-KN-NGEU.

Thematic communities/centres of expertise will be established and operate under the Knowledge Network, which will play a central role in providing the space, creating the rules of engagement, and allowing stakeholders to own and lead their communities. Thematic communities/centres of expertise will serve both primary and secondary project beneficiaries and they will contribute to strengthening the UCPM’s decision-making, prevention, preparedness, and response activities.

Once established, the thematic communities/centres of expertise should be able to link to each other and form a network of thematic communities/centres of expertise, whereby civil protection and disaster management actors come together and team up to exchange good practices, knowledge and expertise under more complex disaster and risk scenarios.

Using scenarios, the thematic communities/centres of expertise will generate, test and share knowledge at individual, organisational and systemic levels against critical common risks and emerging ones as well as facilitate the transfer of research, evidence-based practices and innovation outcomes into civil protection and disaster management planning and operations. Through the design, development and implementation of capacity-development and science activities, the thematic communities/centres of expertise will be able to convene and leverage a wide, multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary basis of knowledge and expertise.

In addition, the thematic communities/centres of expertise will enable the engagement and involvement of civil protection and disaster management stakeholders with focus and expertise across various themes and disciplines to encourage the establishment of agile, sustainable, and scalable partnerships.