Periodic Reporting for period 2 - RiskPACC (Integrating Risk Perception and Action to enhance Civil protection-Citizen interaction)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-09-01 do 2024-08-31
Increasingly complex and interconnected risks globally highlight the need to enhance individual and collective disaster resilience. Awareness of risks and levels of preparedness across Europe remain low with gaps between the risk perceptions and actions of citizens, and between the risk perceptions of citizens and Civil Protection Authorities (CPAs). The RiskPACC project sought to further understand and close this Risk Perception Action Gap (RPAG). Through its dedicated co-creation approach and its six case studies, RiskPACC has facilitated interaction between citizens and CPAs, jointly identified their needs and developed procedural and technical solutions to build enhanced disaster resilience. Importantly, RiskPACC has enhanced an understanding of disaster resilience from the perspective of citizens and CPAs, identifying resilience building initiatives and good practices led by both citizens (bottom-up) and CPAs (top-down). The “Risk Pack” of solutions includes a framework and methodology to understand and close the RPAG, a repository of international good practices and tooled solutions based on new forms of digital and community-centered data and associated training guidance.
WP1 “Understanding good practices and challenges in Civil Protection policy and practice” included desk research on the topics of disaster resilience and risk perception and empirical research with different civil protection authorities (CPAs) from case study areas. WP2 “Engaging citizens to expand understandings of risks, vulnerabilities and data collection opportunities” included desk research on approaches and concepts, and empirical research on existing understandings of community resilience while also documenting existing practices undertaken by individual citizens and community groups to capture risk perception. Based on this, existing gaps were identified both in WP1 and 2.
The work done within WP3 “Co-Creation lab & Stakeholder-Integration” included a baseline and needs assessment that has been carried out in the case studies to derive user and system requirements from. A co-creation workshop methodology has been tailored to the specific needs of the project, distributed to the case study partners and rolled out in dedicated workshops/co-creation labs (Lab Phases I+II, two rounds of workshops in each Phase). In addition, dedicated events were organised in order to exchange knowledge and best practices among the case studies. Finally, the user needs and system requirements as initially identified were updated and finalised.
WP4 “Framework Development” developed capacity in CPAs and citizens in the case study areas to collaborate in disaster risk management and to close the RPAG. This meant meetings to discuss ways to engage with citizens and advice on which citizens might be of interest. It gained broad support for the conceptual and methodological collaborative framework across the Consortium and garnered much interest externally in the approach, including with some of the Efus cities. It developed the final version of the Framework, and provided a repository of resources and a methodology for their selection, validation and application. Finally, it developed a range of training materials to support all aspects of the framework development and support for closure of the RPAG.
WP5 “Tool Development” developed the RiskPACC toolkit: (1) The Aeolian AR mobile app enables dissemination of timely bi-directional information (e.g. warnings) and media (e.g. photos, videos) between citizens and CPAs, supporting preparedness against and response to natural and man-made hazard events. (2) HERMES is a social-network-like web-application where different communities of citizens can be created and receive useful emergency information. (3) The VGI Mapping Damage tool enables citizen participation in post-disaster damage mapping. (4) The VGI Thermal Comfort Tracker tool enables CPAs to conduct controlled experiments to understand citizen perceptions of heatwave situations. (5) Public Sonar uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to analyse big data on social media websites to filter out important and relevant information in the event of risks, crises or incidents.
In WP6 “Impact generation through peer-learning, field testing and knowledge capitalisation”, six external cities and regions were involved in the project, which allowed the peer-learning exchange between the cities of the Efus network and the testing of RiskPACC solutions. In addition, recommendations for different audiences were developed as well as a White Paper and Roadmap.
WP7 “System architecture and technical integration” included the overall architecture of the RiskPACC platform, and the seamless integration of all different platform components in the RiskPACC platform. Eventually, following the activities of WP7, a unique, integrated, digitised environment that hosts technical and conceptual tools, methodological guidelines, guidance, training material and recommendations on how to bridge the RPAG has been developed.
The work carried out within WP8 “Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication” included the development of the visual identity, communication and dissemination materials, organisation of RiskPACC events and communication via social media channels. Project videos were created, and the physical “Risk pack”, including the RiskPACC board game, was developed.
The work done within WP3 “Co-Creation lab & Stakeholder-Integration” included a baseline and needs assessment that has been carried out in the case studies to derive user and system requirements from. A co-creation workshop methodology has been tailored to the specific needs of the project, distributed to the case study partners and rolled out in dedicated workshops/co-creation labs (Lab Phases I+II, two rounds of workshops in each Phase). In addition, dedicated events were organised in order to exchange knowledge and best practices among the case studies. Finally, the user needs and system requirements as initially identified were updated and finalised.
WP4 “Framework Development” developed capacity in CPAs and citizens in the case study areas to collaborate in disaster risk management and to close the RPAG. This meant meetings to discuss ways to engage with citizens and advice on which citizens might be of interest. It gained broad support for the conceptual and methodological collaborative framework across the Consortium and garnered much interest externally in the approach, including with some of the Efus cities. It developed the final version of the Framework, and provided a repository of resources and a methodology for their selection, validation and application. Finally, it developed a range of training materials to support all aspects of the framework development and support for closure of the RPAG.
WP5 “Tool Development” developed the RiskPACC toolkit: (1) The Aeolian AR mobile app enables dissemination of timely bi-directional information (e.g. warnings) and media (e.g. photos, videos) between citizens and CPAs, supporting preparedness against and response to natural and man-made hazard events. (2) HERMES is a social-network-like web-application where different communities of citizens can be created and receive useful emergency information. (3) The VGI Mapping Damage tool enables citizen participation in post-disaster damage mapping. (4) The VGI Thermal Comfort Tracker tool enables CPAs to conduct controlled experiments to understand citizen perceptions of heatwave situations. (5) Public Sonar uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to analyse big data on social media websites to filter out important and relevant information in the event of risks, crises or incidents.
In WP6 “Impact generation through peer-learning, field testing and knowledge capitalisation”, six external cities and regions were involved in the project, which allowed the peer-learning exchange between the cities of the Efus network and the testing of RiskPACC solutions. In addition, recommendations for different audiences were developed as well as a White Paper and Roadmap.
WP7 “System architecture and technical integration” included the overall architecture of the RiskPACC platform, and the seamless integration of all different platform components in the RiskPACC platform. Eventually, following the activities of WP7, a unique, integrated, digitised environment that hosts technical and conceptual tools, methodological guidelines, guidance, training material and recommendations on how to bridge the RPAG has been developed.
The work carried out within WP8 “Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication” included the development of the visual identity, communication and dissemination materials, organisation of RiskPACC events and communication via social media channels. Project videos were created, and the physical “Risk pack”, including the RiskPACC board game, was developed.
In the RiskPACC case studies as well as associated cities and regions, bilateral communication and mutual understanding among civil protection authorities (CPAs) and citizens has been improved, especially via co-creation workshops as well as a board game that facilitates discussion among the relevant stakeholders. RiskPACC tools and guidelines enable to achieve these improvements in other municipalities, cities or regions as well.
Progress on understanding and facilitating citizen involvement in DRM has been achieved: within the co-creation workshops, citizens, authorities, researchers and technology partners jointly discussed pertinent needs of CPAs and citizens, possible solutions including functionalities of technology solutions, and, in later stages, iteratively tested the developed conceptual and technical solutions.
At the same, about the advancing of the use of two-way technologies and the use of crowd-sourcing across disaster management phases, first studies have been conducted about how to combine crowdsourcing solutions to maximise the knowledge and use of such platforms with the aim of bridging RPAG, then, it was studied how to integrate the solutions with VGI technologies. Respective solutions were developed and implemented.
RiskPACC has outlined the key components that must be addressed in order to close the Risk Perception Action Gap. It has presented this in a conceptual framework whose contribution is to reduce much scientific detail and abstract language into a (relatively) simplified, modular design, which aims to be more easily applicable for CPAs and their wider stakeholders, whilst still firmly based on the necessary scientific underpinning. The framework has been well received within and externally to RiskPACC. For facilitating actual implementation of the framework as well as other RiskPACC solutions, targeted recommendations (for citizens, for CPAs, and for policy makers) have been developed, as well as a White Paper and roadmap.
Progress on understanding and facilitating citizen involvement in DRM has been achieved: within the co-creation workshops, citizens, authorities, researchers and technology partners jointly discussed pertinent needs of CPAs and citizens, possible solutions including functionalities of technology solutions, and, in later stages, iteratively tested the developed conceptual and technical solutions.
At the same, about the advancing of the use of two-way technologies and the use of crowd-sourcing across disaster management phases, first studies have been conducted about how to combine crowdsourcing solutions to maximise the knowledge and use of such platforms with the aim of bridging RPAG, then, it was studied how to integrate the solutions with VGI technologies. Respective solutions were developed and implemented.
RiskPACC has outlined the key components that must be addressed in order to close the Risk Perception Action Gap. It has presented this in a conceptual framework whose contribution is to reduce much scientific detail and abstract language into a (relatively) simplified, modular design, which aims to be more easily applicable for CPAs and their wider stakeholders, whilst still firmly based on the necessary scientific underpinning. The framework has been well received within and externally to RiskPACC. For facilitating actual implementation of the framework as well as other RiskPACC solutions, targeted recommendations (for citizens, for CPAs, and for policy makers) have been developed, as well as a White Paper and roadmap.