Community of Users Side Event on Flood Emergency Response

Community of Users Side Event on “Flood Emergency Response” – Friday 21 October 2016 (morning)

Flood Emergency Response Community of Users – from theory to practice?

This side event to the FLOODrisk2016 conference aims to identify practical, efficient and intuitive ways to support working practice of the Emergency Response Community of Users – in this instance, in relation to flood risk management and emergency response.

The morning sessions will facilitate group discussion as to how interactions amongst science, policy, industry, practitioners (first responders) and citizens via local actors could be orchestrated at different levels (international/EU, national, regional/local) via networking developed within the EU "Community of Users on Secure, Safe and Resilient Societies" as well as the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre, and with inputs from various H2020 projects, such as the Anywhere project with a focus on floods and flood management .

There are complex interactions between different types of stakeholder and different types of flood (coastal, fluvial and flash floods). Stakeholders are involved in civil and environmental protection as well as spatial measures and governance, all of which require a structured dialogue and actions to ensure that emergency response measures are effective and remain an essential ingredient in the required mix of solutions. The way in which research-related and technological solutions are initiated and transferred to "end users" varies from country to country, and between different networks and industry sectors. Examples of success stories and failures offer a valuable learning opportunity for identifying solid and sustainable mechanisms that might be developed to support the Community of Users, building from both international and local actors and looking at both the push and pull of information and technologies.

Hence, during this event we will focus on what works well and what does not when it comes to the translation of science to policy and subsequently to the implementation of tools (including their access to the market) for emergency response management in the field of floods. This will be undertaken through a combination of plenary examples of practice that has worked and not worked in different situations, followed by group sessions to collate and consider wider feedback on suggested priorities and process. The need for enhanced cross and trans-disciplinarity, and for mechanisms of information flow from the international to the local levels and visa versa will be of particular interest. Discussions will run in two parallel round-tables sessions, enabling participants to attend in both group discussions, dealing namely with:

Round-table 1: Flood Risk Management tools – Opportunities, drawbacks, sharing successes

• Research transfer / uptake
• Link to market dimension

Round-table 2: Institutional FRM aspects – Gaps in knowledge (policy & research)

• Interactions among different actors
• Links from International (Sendai) / EU to regional implementers

This session will also integrate findings from the Special Session on Emergency Response Management held on Thursday 20 October 2016.

A key goal of this event is to provide suggestions for tangible steps to achieve effective knowledge networks – for example, the next steps needed to support working practice implementation of the Emergency Response Community of Users.

Programme:

Register here to attend the event:

1. To register to attend: the Flood Risk 2016 Special Session on “Flood Emergency Response” and the FLOODrisk 2016 Gala Dinner – Thursday 20 October 2016 (cost €350 total), click here

2. To register to attend only the FLOODrisk 2016 Gala Dinner (cost €60), click here

3. To register to also or only attend the Community of Users Side Event on “Flood Emergency Response” – Friday 21 October 2016 (morning): fill in the form below:

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Co-ordinators of
FLOODrisk 2016 include: