Sven HALLDIN1,2, Fredrik BYNANDER1,3 1Centre for Natural Disaster Science, Sweden, Kingdom of; 2Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden; 3Swedish National Defence College

1. CNDS
Centrum för
naturkata-
strofslära
Centre for Natural Disaster Science
(CNDS)
A strategic Swedish initiative for disaster risk
reduction
Sven Halldin
Fredrik Bynander
Centre for IDRC Davos 2012
Natural
Disaster
Science

2. CNDS
Centrum för
naturkata-
Long story short
strofslära Strategic Application 16 March 2009
Swedish Government Decision 15 September 2009
Swedish Parliament Decision 18 November 2009
Main ideas:
• Five strong disciplinary units producing high-class research in
their own fields
Centre for • promises the Government a strong collaboration to solve
Natural problems of security and preparedness
Disaster • Started with new, open-minded research students in the form of
Science a research school

3. CNDS
Centrum för
naturkata-
The five units of CNDS
strofslära
Karlstad University
• Centre for Climate and Safety
National Defence College
• CRISMART Center for Crisis Management Research and Training
Uppsala University, Earth Sciences
• Geology and Geophysics
• Water, Air, and Landscape Sciences
Uppsala University, Engineering Sciences
• Information Technology
• Engineering Sciences
Centre for Uppsala University, Social Sciences
Natural • Political Science
Disaster • Peace and Conflict Research
Science

4. CNDS
Centrum för Structure of CNDS
naturkata-
strofslära Social sciences Earth science – Engineering sciences – Robust
– Social structures Natural hazards energy och information
WP1: Communication of threats and risks for natural hazards.
WP2: Effective collaboration with regard to natural disastrers.
WP3: Information gathering and control to mitigate or prevent natural
disasters.
WP4: Protection of critical infrastructure.
A5: Recruitment and training of young researchers.
Centre for A6: CNDS secretariat, communication, and exploitation.
Natural
Disaster
Science

5. CNDS
Centrum för Framing the research programme
naturkata-
strofslära
• SWOT analysis
• Finding good examples
• Common methodology
• Interdisciplinarity – but how?
• Defining common projects Elbe 2002
• A Science Plan to be continuously updated
Centre for
Natural • Starting a natural disaster mitigation research
Disaster
Science school

6. CNDS
Centrum för
SWOT Analysis – CNDS
naturkata- Strenghts Weaknesses
strofslära • Units with long tradition of relevant studies • Most groups focus more on disciplinary
• Units with broad spectrum of competence challenges than natural disasters
• Units with technical expertise of relevance • Relatively little active collaboration between
• CNDS has broad contact areas in Sweden groups before CNDS.
and internationally • Long establishment time
• Natural disaster science is very attractive • Limited collaboration experience
when recruiting students and researchers • Limited focus on problem-oriented research
• Scientific-cultural barriers
Opportunities Threats
• Natural disaster science likely to provide • An inter-disciplinary profile can risk splitting
considerable new funding research focus from recognised excellence
• CNDS is a platform that attracts other areas
disciplinary researchers to shed new • CNDS may no fulfil expectations
perspectives on ”old” research • EU provides funding for coordination of
• New students and researchers national infrastructures (ESFRI)
• New collaborative networks • Research may not become accepted within
• EU provides funding for coordination of individual disciplinesh
Centre for national infrastructures (ESFRI) • The low disciplinary identity may hamper
• Possibilities to develop new methods and to PhDs employability?
Natural
Sven Halldin investigate new objects • Will CNDS be sufficiently competitive on the
Disaster
Chair of Hydrology tough international arena?
Science

7. Finding good examples
What’s going on in the world – what centres for natural disasters are
there?
Compiled list from
googling the www
- and collegues...
Around 17 pages, ca 90 active centres for natural disaster
research/planning/mitigation/respons where found ...

8. CNDS: finding good examples of interdisciplinary research centres
But what with interdisciplinarity...
To the list was added a
science field index describing:
SOC Social Science
GE0 Earth Science
TEK Engineering Science
Result:
Less than five of almost 100 hits were classified as truly
interdisciplinary containing all three science domains
So which are the main obstacles?

9. CNDS
Centrum för Inter-disciplinarity, a huge challenge
naturkata-
strofslära ICSU (2008) A Science Plan for Integrated Research on
Disaster Risk:
… identified the most significant research gaps to be
interdisciplinary cohesion, i.e. the intersections of the natural,
socio-economic, health and engineering sciences …
The Royal Swedish Academy of Science, The
Environmental Committe (2009) Inter-disciplinarity –
necessary to meet the challenges of today’s environment
(in Swedish):
Today there are expectations and demands on how the society
should manage great challenges like climate change, global
Centre for development and stressed ecosystems. These challenges cannot be
Natural solved through disciplinary research since they take place at the
Disaster interface between man and nature.
Science

10. CNDS
Centrum för Interdisciplinarity but how?
naturkata-
strofslära American investigation 2003–2004
Facilitating
Interdisciplinary
Research
Committee on Facilitating
Interdisciplinary Research,
National Academy of Sciences,
National Academy of Engineering,
Centre for
Natural Institute of Medicine
Disaster
Science

11. CNDS
Centrum för Obstacles
naturkata-
strofslära
Despite the apparent benefits of interdisciplinary research,
researchers interested in pursuing it often face daunting
obstacles and disincentives.
• Some of them take the form of personal communication or
“culture” barriers;
• others are related to the tradition in academic institutions
of organizing research and teaching activities by
discipline-based departments
• a tradition that is commonly mirrored in
•funding organizations,
•professional societies,
Centre for
Natural •and journals.
Sven Halldin
Disaster
Chair of Hydrology
Science Santa Tecla 2001

12. CNDS
Centrum för Methodology for natural disaster science
naturkata-
strofslära
Research in natural disaster science requires inter-
and multi-disciplinary methodology, e.g. for:
• Vulnerability assessment
• Extreme-value analysis and estimation of risk
versus relative cost
• Implementation of uncertainty analysis into
management and political decision making.
• Development of support system being used and
which are efficient at the man-machine interface
Centre for
Natural • Systems for protection of critical infrastructure
Disaster
Science

13. CNDS Tentative results from work on the CNDS
Centrum för
naturkata- Science Plan: Areas of collaboration
strofslära
Combine intra-disciplinary skill with inter-disciplinary
collaboration and relevance for policy work into three
research and collaboration areas:
1. Design and efficient use of systems for early warning
2. Design of systems for decision support and crisis
communication
3. Integration of data, information,
and expert knowledge in
processes of evaluation
Centre for and change
Natural
Disaster
Science Arvika 2000

14. CNDS
Centrum för
naturkata-
strofslära
The Research School
• Governed by a special syllabus
• PhD students are admitted to disciplinary
subjects and follow their study plans
• Two courses presently designed, other will follow
• Common seminar series
• Support for collaboration around concrete cases
and study object, preferably co-publication where
this is possible
Centre for
Natural
Disaster
Science

15. CNDS Bridging the Gap Between Research and
Centrum för
naturkata- Practice in Natural Disaster Management
strofslära
- Second postgraduate course in the research school
- Part-time February–September 2012
The course aims at fostering interactive collaboration and
exchange knowledge – bridging the gap between science and
practice
It ends the first study year in the form of an intensive 3-day
assembly where all students present their individual PhD
research plans and have them scrutinised during 45 minutes to
find out if they:
1. Contain sufficient disciplinary
depth
Centre for 2. Open up for fruitful inter-
Natural disciplinary collaboration
Disaster
Science Småröd, Christmas 2006

16. CNDS
Centrum för Recruitment results: 26 enthusiastic PhD students
naturkata- and 6 post-docs from a total of 700 applications
strofslära
Kick-off meeting on 1 September 2011
Centre for
Natural
Disaster
Science