Share

The GFDRR-DFID Challenge Fund projects on the development of exposure, vulnerability and hazard footprints databases kicked off with a 2-day inception workshop held at GEM Headquarters from 10-11 April 2017. Several organizations attended the workshop led by World Bank’s GFDRR, British Geological Survey (BGS), GEM Foundation and the University College London (UCL). BGS leads the development of a data schema and data for a multi-hazard database (Challenge 1) while GEM and University College London lead the development of a global exposure database (Challenge 2) and open vulnerability platform for evaluating risk (Challenge 3) respectively. GEM also contributes to Challenge Fund 1 and 3.

The goal of the workshop is to integrate the three Challenge Funds so that the final product contributes to the broader objectives of the building evidence for action on disaster risk management and the Sendai Framework. Alanna Simpson, Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist and leader of the GFDRR Labs team notes that “GEM has done very well in the development of earthquake exposure data” but added that “the idea of the three Challenge Funds is for people to collect information - hazard, exposure and vulnerability - on the built environment at the same time for multiple perils.” She further adds that “the projects would not only develop an exposure database schema that will allow people to collect data only once for many purposes, but would also look into how this framework would be flexible enough to take the top down and bottom up information, including official and non-official data so that they can be used to build the whole picture.”

The GFDRR-DFID Challenge Fund seeks to bridge the gap between technology and on-the-ground user needs in the field of disaster risk identification. The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) is a global partnership that helps developing countries better understand and reduce their vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change.For more information, visit https://www.gfdrr.org and https://www.gfdrr.org/the-challenge-fund.