Partnerships for Resilience through Innovation and Integrated Management of Emergencies and Disasters (PRIMED)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Ghana
Department Name: Inst of Env and Sanitation Studies
Abstract
The network for Partnerships for Resilience through Innovation and Integrated Management of Emergencies and Disasters (PRIMED) primarily aims to strengthen community preparedness and resilience as a strategic approach for addressing three key global challenges, i.e., sustainable development and poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change. Participation of communities in disaster management programmes is recognized as key for minimizing the severity of natural and climate related hazards on the most vulnerable and recovery from disaster, thus ensuring sustainable development for all. Efforts are shifting away from reactive emergency response frameworks to more proactive management approaches that incorporate varying socioeconomic and cultural interests, socially differentiated groups (such as those based on gender, age, physical challenges), capabilities and resources for effectively reducing vulnerability and sustainably increasing resilience at the local level.
Many of these communities struggle with deploying and managing sustainable infrastructure, such as services for energy access via renewable or fossil fueled electrification programs, roads and transport services. Small and medium sized municipalities in these developing nations, especially, are often constrained in terms of financial and professional capacity. At the same time, public servants need to manage complex planning and policy processes to ensure that the communities they are serving will have appropriate systems in place to respond to climate shocks. This includes sufficient information to ensure that new human settlements, and associated energy and transport services settlements, will be built so as to be climate compatible, with reduced vulnerability to future events, whilst at the same time enabling sustainable development.
The PRIMED network will, therefore, facilitate social innovation and knowledge co-creation, taking as a starting point, applications and models of resilience interventions and building sustainable infrastructure where success has been achieved through improved community partnerships, leadership training, participative research and action oriented education. Partnerships created within the PRIMED network will bring together international and national academics, researchers, policy and decision makers, practitioners, and community members that represent the various social groups, to share their varied perspectives, reflections and experiences of what works. These interactions will enable the team to:
1. Understand and define constraints and opportunities
2. Define mechanisms required for increasing the participation of diverse coastal social groups, including the marginalized, in disaster mitigation and preparedness
3. Identify effective educational tools that improve leadership skills of community members
4. Improve community capacity to take action and build their overall resilience to coastal hazards
5. Improve the management of complexities associated with climate resilient and low carbon development policy and planning.
Many of these communities struggle with deploying and managing sustainable infrastructure, such as services for energy access via renewable or fossil fueled electrification programs, roads and transport services. Small and medium sized municipalities in these developing nations, especially, are often constrained in terms of financial and professional capacity. At the same time, public servants need to manage complex planning and policy processes to ensure that the communities they are serving will have appropriate systems in place to respond to climate shocks. This includes sufficient information to ensure that new human settlements, and associated energy and transport services settlements, will be built so as to be climate compatible, with reduced vulnerability to future events, whilst at the same time enabling sustainable development.
The PRIMED network will, therefore, facilitate social innovation and knowledge co-creation, taking as a starting point, applications and models of resilience interventions and building sustainable infrastructure where success has been achieved through improved community partnerships, leadership training, participative research and action oriented education. Partnerships created within the PRIMED network will bring together international and national academics, researchers, policy and decision makers, practitioners, and community members that represent the various social groups, to share their varied perspectives, reflections and experiences of what works. These interactions will enable the team to:
1. Understand and define constraints and opportunities
2. Define mechanisms required for increasing the participation of diverse coastal social groups, including the marginalized, in disaster mitigation and preparedness
3. Identify effective educational tools that improve leadership skills of community members
4. Improve community capacity to take action and build their overall resilience to coastal hazards
5. Improve the management of complexities associated with climate resilient and low carbon development policy and planning.
Planned Impact
The network for Partnerships for Resilience through Innovation and integrated Management of Emergencies and Disasters (PRIMED) aims to strengthen coastal community preparedness and resilience as a strategic approach for addressing the three key global challenges of sustainable development and poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change. Our goal is to facilitate social innovation and knowledge co-creation across various social groups in these communities, working as a network. PRIMED will identify and share models for climate actions where resilience interventions and low-carbon sustainable infrastructure has been successfully achieved through improved community partnerships, leadership training, participative research and action oriented education.
Co-design and co-delivery with stakeholders are at the heart of the PRIMED proposal, and partnerships created within the PRIMED network will bring together international and national academics, researchers, policy and decision makers, practitioners, as well as coastal community members that represent the various social groups, to share their varied perspectives, reflections and experiences of what works and why. Our work is of relevance for all those working to deliver resilience, DRR and sustainable energy services to coastal communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia and the South Pacific. In addition to the benefits of academic institutions engaging with each other within the network, PRIMED ideally provides a platform for transdisciplinary learning with four principle non-academic groups of beneficiaries:
1. Government departments and bodies (e.g., the Ghana National Development Planning Authority Ghana Environmental Protection Agency; Ghana National Disaster Management Organisation, and the UK Department of International Development) and local authorities (e.g. Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies) responsible for delivering economic development whilst also needing to protect coastal communities from extreme weather events and meeting climate change targets. These actors will benefit from insights and information to ensure that new human settlements, and associated infrastructure including provision of energy and transport services, will be both climate compatible, more resilient to future events, and enable sustainable development.
2. Private-sector organisations and businesses at multiple scales (e.g. international engineering consultancies such as Arup, BuroHappold, local renewable energy associations, community farming associations) who require analysis and support to respond to climate change, where possible realising co-benefits and identifying opportunities for investment.
3. Local (e.g., ABANTU, KITE, and KASA) and international (e.g., CARE International, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation) NGOs whose programmes are already committed to strengthening capacity of vulnerable groups. These programmes have been implementing community based adaptation projects and best lessons can be shared within the network whilst also building their own knowledge for innovative integrated strategies.
4. Coastal communities in the partner countries, where socially differentiated groups with varying degrees of vulnerability and resilience, will contribute to and benefit from the co-production of knowledge. Their participation will enhance social innovation processes, prompting greater commitment and concerted action for preventive, mitigative and preparedness measures.
We will deliver impact through a number of pathways elaborated in the Pathways to Impact document, such as the network membership, activities to co-produce knowledge, develop various learning material, social media, community learning centres and contribution to domestic and international policy.
Co-design and co-delivery with stakeholders are at the heart of the PRIMED proposal, and partnerships created within the PRIMED network will bring together international and national academics, researchers, policy and decision makers, practitioners, as well as coastal community members that represent the various social groups, to share their varied perspectives, reflections and experiences of what works and why. Our work is of relevance for all those working to deliver resilience, DRR and sustainable energy services to coastal communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia and the South Pacific. In addition to the benefits of academic institutions engaging with each other within the network, PRIMED ideally provides a platform for transdisciplinary learning with four principle non-academic groups of beneficiaries:
1. Government departments and bodies (e.g., the Ghana National Development Planning Authority Ghana Environmental Protection Agency; Ghana National Disaster Management Organisation, and the UK Department of International Development) and local authorities (e.g. Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies) responsible for delivering economic development whilst also needing to protect coastal communities from extreme weather events and meeting climate change targets. These actors will benefit from insights and information to ensure that new human settlements, and associated infrastructure including provision of energy and transport services, will be both climate compatible, more resilient to future events, and enable sustainable development.
2. Private-sector organisations and businesses at multiple scales (e.g. international engineering consultancies such as Arup, BuroHappold, local renewable energy associations, community farming associations) who require analysis and support to respond to climate change, where possible realising co-benefits and identifying opportunities for investment.
3. Local (e.g., ABANTU, KITE, and KASA) and international (e.g., CARE International, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation) NGOs whose programmes are already committed to strengthening capacity of vulnerable groups. These programmes have been implementing community based adaptation projects and best lessons can be shared within the network whilst also building their own knowledge for innovative integrated strategies.
4. Coastal communities in the partner countries, where socially differentiated groups with varying degrees of vulnerability and resilience, will contribute to and benefit from the co-production of knowledge. Their participation will enhance social innovation processes, prompting greater commitment and concerted action for preventive, mitigative and preparedness measures.
We will deliver impact through a number of pathways elaborated in the Pathways to Impact document, such as the network membership, activities to co-produce knowledge, develop various learning material, social media, community learning centres and contribution to domestic and international policy.
Organisations
Description | With the increasing threats of climate change to coastal communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, national policies and programmes towards community resilience planning would greatly benefit from local communities' participation. Policies and local level programmes have generally been top-down, limiting the role of community participation in anticipating potential climate impacts, and in so doing making decisions more mindful of local context. The network for Partnerships for Resilience through Innovation and integrated Management of Emergencies and Disasters (PRIMED) therefore aimed to strengthen coastal community preparedness and resilience by enabling social innovation and knowledge co-creation processes. The project facilitated the co-design and piloting of local innovations to enhance the resilience and sustainability of climate action in selected communities in Ghana and South Africa. In the Weija/Gbawe Municipality (Ghana) and the city of Cape Town (South Africa), the project team and various stakeholders developed technical solutions to (i) deliver effective and timely communication of disaster-related information to local communities through community information centres (in Ghana) and (ii) engage the participation of community members in citizen science research using low-cost engineered environmental monitoring systems (in South Africa). These have provided the selected communities a role in participative planning and citizen science to monitor local risks and hazards and prepare for potential disasters. The project team also participated in processes that developed efficient protocols for setting up, managing, and monitoring these systems, together with community and local government officials, to ensure sustainability. At the international level, the project team built upon international, national, and local networks, and facilitated a number of virtual engagements where best practices for achieving climate resilience were shared. |
Exploitation Route | The local stakeholders in selected communities of both countries have been dedicated to the co-development processes, as they recognize the benefits for community and social services. The project team's engagements with municipal leaders, city officials in disaster response, NGOs and universities in Accra (Ghana) and Cape Town (South Africa) showed that citizen science in climate disaster response are still under utilised, despite this being an important need. Further understanding is needed to understand how different social groups respond to calls for engagement and volunteering in disaster risk activities and municipal citizen science. It is essential to assess the various social groups in communities in order to work effectively with community associations to ensure that the benefits of the project are inclusive and accessible to the most vulnerable members of the community. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Environment |
Description | Two initiatives have been co-developed by the project team, local communities, and stakeholders by the end of the project period. In the Weija Gbawe Municipal (Accra - Ghana), community information centers have installed loudspeakers to deliver climate related information and flood warnings to local communities. In South Africa's coastal metro, Cape Town, a network of citizen scientists has developed sensor-based monitoring devices to monitor intersecting climate change hazards including air pollution, temperature, radiation and weather, in close proximity to the oil refineries and Cape Town's aging nuclear plant. These systems are to enable the communities to have access to real time data on environmental hazards to enable citizens to respond in the event of emergencies. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Environment |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Being prepared for Disaster: PRIMED International Virtual Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 30 international participants attended a virtual workshop and discussed key elements of preparedness and social innovation towards disaster risk management. This was based on findings from a local case study in Accra, and plans discussed for future project activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://primed-network.com/ |
Description | Community Workshop in Ghana: Preparedness for Disaster |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | A network mapping workshop was held with about 20 participants who are local government representatives from various sectors to define key actors involved in disaster risk management in a selected municipality in Accra, Ghana. The mapping exercise provided a clear visualization of how various actors engaged with each other during a flooding event. Participants understood their roles much better, especially the links between the national disaster management organisation and local communities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://primed-network.com/methods/ |
Description | PRIMED DDMC and EOC Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 18 participants representing members from the District Disaster Management Committee of the Weija/Gbawe Municipality, the National Disaster Management Committee, the Emergency Operating Centres at both regional and national levels, representatives from three local radio stations and the project team, met to discuss project findings (from mapping and scoping activities) and solicit for inputs into plans for setting up the community information centres. Suggestion were made to ensure that the centres could be linked to local radio stations and to regional and national structures for disaster management. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED DDMCs Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 20 persons from the District Disaster Management Committee of the Weija/Gbawe Municipality, the National Disaster Management Committee and the project team met to discuss the results of the scoping field trip visits for determining communities that would be selected for the project. At the end of the meeting there was a consensus on the six communities to be selected for the project and next steps for effective delivery. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED Drafting a Communication Plan Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 20 participants, made up of members of the District Disaster Management Committee, the National Disaster Management Organisation, representatives from three local radio stations and the project team met to deliberate on the municipality's current draft communication plan and make inputs on findings from the project's stakeholder mapping exercise. At the end of the meeting, a template that had been developed by the Communications Officer was filled out by the participants in a participatory process which was to enhance the linkages and communication flow between identified disaster management actors. This draft was to be further reviewed and submitted to consultants who were currently working on the assembly's Disaster Management Plan. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED Drafting a Communication Plan Workshop II |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 20 participants, made up of members of the District Disaster Management Committee and the project team met to make further inputs, based on new information, on the communication structure and plan for disaster preparedness and management in the municipality. In addition, there were discussions on modalities to be included in a draft memorandum of understanding between the assembly and the communication centres |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED Finalisation of Communication Plan Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | At a two day workshop, 20 participants, made up of members of the District Disaster Management Committee, a representative from the National Disaster Management Organisation, consultants on the Disaster Management Plan (DMP) for the municipality and the project team met to finalise the communication structure and how to incorporate it into the DMP. Additional inputs were made on the draft memorandum of understanding between the Assembly and the communication centres. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | PRIMED Finalisation of Communication Plan Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | At a two day workshop,18 participants, made up of members of the District Disaster Management Committee, a representative from the National Disaster Management Organisation and the project team met to make finalise the communication structure and plan for disaster preparedness and management in the municipality. Modalities to be included in a draft memorandum of understanding between the assembly and the communication centres were also finalised. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED Scoping Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Project team met with members from the District Disaster Management Committee in the Weija/Gbawe Municipality and representatives from the National Disaster Management Organisation in Ghana to discuss options for innovative communication mechanisms and vulnerable communities to pilot these from. At this meeting, a consensus was reached about the developing simple communication information centres in a number of communities which would be visited at a later date. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED Sensitization Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 30 participants, representing members of the District Disaster Management Committee, the National Disaster Management Organisation, a representative from the Regional Emergency Operating Centre, local assembly representatives from the selected project communities, and representatives from three local radio stations, were informed about the projects activities and proposed development of community information centres. The workshop was to solicit for their inputs into ensuring sustainability of the centres before their development. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | PRIMED Validation of Communication Plan Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | About 20 participants, made up of members of the District Disaster Management Committee, a representative from the National Disaster Management Organisation, community members and the project team met to validate the communication structure and plan for disaster preparedness and management in the Municipality. Inputs were also made into the modalities to be included in the memorandum of understanding between the assembly and the communication centres were also. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |