The document discusses the Know4drr project, which aims to coordinate existing research on developing a knowledge management framework for disaster risk reduction integrated with climate change adaptation. It outlines the various work packages of the project, including mapping knowledge flows, developing a knowledge management system, monitoring EU policies, and disseminating results. The project seeks to better understand how knowledge is developed, shared, applied, and sometimes forgotten among different groups to enhance disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

1. Enabling knowledge for disaster risk reduction in
integration to climate change adaptation
Bolzano-Bozen December 2013
Scira Menoni – Politecnico di Milano, Italy

2. A debate has started regarding the use of knowledge in “risk
governance”: how “available” knowledge is used, how it is shared/not
shared, applied/not applied, considered/not considered by a variety of
actors with responsibilities in prevention, mitigation and adaptation.
Including the “civil society”.
One of the first milestone the article by Gilbert White et al., 2001:
“Knowing better and losing even more: the use of knowledge in
hazard management”.
The Know4drr project: the initial proposal

3. WP6:Management
WP3:
Developing a knowledge management
framework for DRR . Setting the base of
system structuring the knowledge
developed within the project.
WP2
Mapping knowledge and information
flows through the coordination activity
among stakeholders of different social
groups
WP1
Knowldege developed, shared,
applied and forgotten by: the
private and the public sectors,
scientists and the “civil society”
WP4:
Monitoring the development and
implementation of relevant EU
policies for DRR (and possibly
intervening in the arena)
WP5
Dissemination: how to create links with the world outside the project.
Different tools and metods to be used in order to connect with ongoing
initiatives

4. Know4drr is an action aimed at coordinating existing research,
yet for us it is important toa chieve a tangible result
Scientifically interesting and
useful (in our field is there so
much difference between
theoretical, applied, new
research?)
A basis for future research;
identification of key topics and
issues that deserve to be put
forward (the idea of a knowledge
management system framework)

5. WP1
First outputs have been produced: a deliverable aimed at setting the
knoweldge basement and the functional requirements for our own
team-work and a deliverable based on different case studies to
analyse barriers and potential bridges among different societal
groups in knowledge sharing, (co-)production, enactment ….
Decision making
process
Implementation
Whose
knowledge:
Scientists,
citizens,
decision
makers,
policy
makers….

6. WP1
You will see those results
summarized in posters that
are providing an idea of the
type of analysis that has been
carried out. The excellent
proposal to present the results
transversally, according to the
different perspectives that
have been developed
regarding the private sector,
scientists, the public sector,
and the civil society allowed
to represent at best the type of
work that has been done
insofar.

7. WP1
A small “library” of the project has been created, based on the five
readings each partner believes to be the most relevant in the field
we are working on (Knowledge on DRR integrated to CCA).
Partner Number Title
of
publication
J.Weichselga
rtner
1
Cash,
D.W.,
Clark,
W.C.,
Alcock,
F.,
Dickson,
N.M.,
Eckley,
N.,
Guston,
D.H.,
Jäger,
J.
&
Mitchell,
R.B.
(2003):
Knowledge
systems
for
sustainable
development.
PNAS
(100):
8086-­‐8091.
J.Weichselga
rtner
2
Jasanoff,
S.
(2004):
States
of
knowledge:
The
co-­‐production
of
science
and
social
order.
London,
Routledge.
POLIMI 3
Ginzburg
C.
Morelli,
Freud
and
Scherlock
Holmes:
Clues
and
Scientific
Method
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/burt/GinzburgMorelliFreudHolmes.pdf
POLIMI 4
Davenport
T.H.,
Prusak
L.
2000.
Working
Knowledge:
How
Organizations
Manage
What
they
Know.
http://wang.ist.psu.edu/course/05/IST597/papers/Davenport_know.pd
f
J.Weichselga
rtner
5
Hessels,
L.K.
&
van
Lente,
H.
(2008).
Re-­‐thinking
new
knowledge
production:
A
literature
review
and
a
research
agenda.
Research
Policy
(37):
740-­‐760.
CIESAS
and
ADELPHI
6
WHITE,
G.F.,
KATES,
R.W.,
BURTON,
I.
Knowing
better
and
losing
even
more:
the
use
of
knowledge
in
hazard
management.
Global
Environmental
Change
Part
B:
Environmental
Hazards
3
(3–4),
81–92.
2001.
PLUS
and
ADELPHI
7
Weichselgartner,
J.,
and
Kasperson,
R.
(2010):
Barriers
in
the
science-­‐
policy-­‐practice
interface:
toward
a
knowledge-­‐action-­‐system
in
global
environmental
change
research.
Global
Environmental
Change,
20,
266-­‐
277.

8. WP1
We have to give the same space to gaps and barriers as to bridges
and positive aspects of knowledge enactment. Perhaps we should
go much beyond “good” or “best” practices, those are too static,
whereas we need practices that are evolving with needs, new
legislation, new requirments, emerging problems.

9. WP2
Mapping knowledge and information flows through the coordination
activity among stakeholders of different social groups. This is the current
effort we are carrying out. In this workshop we aim at analysing together
such knowledge flows, even in the simulation provided by the game,
providing an opportunity to “test” knowledge and information flows in a
given scenario.

10. WP1 and WP2
The departure of the project was
a definition of Zeleny,
according to whom knowledge
is such if it can be enacted, if it
becomes “visible” through the
action of, in our case,
preventing in certain ways or
reducing the potential impact of
natural hazards and their
consequences. This implies that
knowledge brings to certain
decisions which in their turn
must be somehow implemented.
Coherently, knowledge is put at
the intersection of decision
making and implementation of
risk mitigation measures
Knowedge
developedby
different scientific
communities
Knowledge
developedbythe
private
sector in
different
domains
Knwledge of the
public
sectordealing
with DRR
and
CC
adaptation Local peoples’
knowledge regarding
DR
and
CC,
adaptation and
mitigation measures
Bridgingamongexpertsin
differentdisciplines(includingCC
and
DR);
bridgingbetween
scientistsand
practitioners
Knwledge of the
public
sectorin
complementary
domains
Creating a
program with a
radio
(and
with a
social
media?)
to
disseminate
both the
projet results and
to create
an opportunity
forlarger participation in
the
implementation of DRR
inditative Coordination activities of the
project
Knowledgesharing and
maintenanceacross groups
Knowledgesharing inside
groups
Knowledges thatwewishto
address

11. WP1 and WP2
Perhaps an effort going throughout the entire project: what do we
mean by knowledge, information, data, and ... wisdom.
In particular Jennex suggests that while data and information are
clearly the bricks of knowledge, you need knowledge to search for
the right data and information, to be able to select in the noise the
relevant information.

12. WP5
Dissemination: how to create links with the world outside the project. Different tools
and metods to be used in order to connect with ongoing initiatives. We are going to
develop an input paper for the GAR 15

13. WP5
Disseminatio
n: how to
create links
with the
world
outside the
project.
Trying to
develop a
rich wesite,
with several
growing
links with
many others
with which
actual co-
work is
programmed
or ongoing
http://www.know4drr.polimi.it/

14. 1. Workshop among “scientists” (+ others): main topic:
uncertainty
2. Workshop: network of networks
3. Workshop: vertical and horizontal itegration goverments (+
others)
4. 1 Seminar Greece (crisis)
5. 1 seminar Mexico (international cooperation)
6. 1 Seminar Spain (courts)
WP5 and others…
All events that are part of the coordination activities. Each event is
prepared by research work aimed at achieving specific results from the
events

15. WP5 and others…
A way to reach a wider audience: working with TiconUno, to develop
videos for a webTV and an important national Italian radio (radio 24)

16. WP5 and others…
A way to reach a wider audience: working with TiconUno, to develop
videos for a webTV and an important national Italian radio (radio 24)

17. WP3
Developing a knowledge
management framework
for DRR . Setting the
base of system
structuring the
knowledge developed
within the project. It is
therefore a meta-object,
structuring knowledge
on knowledge (regarding
DRR and CC mitigation,
adaptation and
prevention measures)
Structured content Unstructured content
Example “Data which can be stored
int tables”. I.e. historical
measurements of a specific
parameter
“Data which cannot be
stored into tables”. I.e.
maps, texts, procedures
and regulations, etc.
Technology to store data Relational DBMS (Oracle,
MS SQL Server, MySQL,
…)
- Repository
- Indexing technologies
- NoSQL DBMS
(Alfresco, Box, CouchDB,
…)
Technology to extract data SQL queries and
languages supporting
structured queries
Meta-search engines,
SQL-like queries, tagging
engines.
Support to unstructured
queries
(Google Search Appliance,
Vivisimo, etc.)
Cost of management and
extraction of information
If the contents to be
recorded are structures,
The process of recording
is simple. If the contents
are unstructured and need
to be transformed and
reorganized, the process is
long and expensive
The process of recording
content is simple in any
case.

18. WP3
According to these assumptions, in KNOW-4-DRR we aim to define:
- a selection of the knowledge bases currently available on the Web that can be
considered relevant for the project (e.g., PreventionWeb)
- a model for classifying the knowledge offers that overcome the limitation of the
keyword-based tagging
- a model for defining the knowledge needs that can be usable for the emergency
operators
- a matchmaking algorithm able to compare the needs and the offers and to filter the
relevant knowledge for a given need.
Knowledge))
Base)
(meta0info))
Knowledge)in)
the)Web)
classifica9on)
Ins9tu9onal)
sites) Social))
Media)
Other)
sources)
Knowledge)
retrieval)
Retrieve)links)
Knowledge)usage)
Knoweldge)
user)
Knoweldge)
provider)
Publish))
docs)&)tools)

20. WP3
The living labs of the
project: in the DOW,
potentially new ones to be
included. A living lab is a
real life case where project
partners can actually
interact with several other
stakeholders, also with the
aim of introducing
innovation in the way
knowledge is shared, co-
produced, used…Originally
the living labs have been
conceived as occasions to
enact knowledge for risk
reduction and
prevention..however recent
events have “forced” some
of the partners to be more
involved also in post-
disaster efforts in an actual
cooperation and integration
with different
stakeholders…

21. WP3
The living labs of the project: in the DOW,
potentially new ones to be included. A living lab is a
real life case where project partners can actually
interact with several other stakeholders, also with the
aim of introducing innovation in the way knowledge
is shared, co-produced, used…Originally the living
labs have been conceived as occasions to enact
knowledge for risk reduction and
prevention..however recent events have “forced”
some of the partners to be more involved also in post-
disaster efforts in an actual cooperation and
integration with different stakeholders…

22. In the future
As we will hear from Patricia Longstaff whom we invited to give an
introductive speech to our workshop, managing risks in a way to respond
to multiple demands, facing multiple constraints, in a globablizing world,
is a sort of “mission impossible”…

23. In the future
However we are determined to face the challenge and try to develop the
knowledge management framework as we have imagined while setting
WP3. What form will it take? Could we interact with existing
frameworks such as Preventionweb? Is it just a structure of a search
engine or is it much more?
Knowledge))
Base)
(meta0info))
Knowledge)in)
the)Web)
classifica9on)
Ins9tu9onal)
sites) Social))
Media)
Other)
sources)
Knowledge)
retrieval)
Retrieve)links)
Knowledge)usage)
Knoweldge)
user)
Knoweldge)
provider)
Publish))
docs)&)tools)

24. In the future
One way to answer those questions is to consider real life scenarios:
- Case studies of the project;
- Living labs;
- Interactive workshops providing the opportunity to scientists, decision
makers, representatives of the public, and the private sector, of the
media ..to share and exchange knowledge and understanding on risks
through traditional and less traditional tools, such as games…