The workshop on “Boosting Disaster Risk Management Financing” was held in Brussels from 12 to 13 November 2024. Over 80 representatives of national civil protection authorities and EU stakeholders attended, including the President of the Civil Protection Institute, Dr. Bakouros Ioannis.
The event aimed to address challenges in disaster risk management (DRM) financing, exchange good practices, and explore opportunities for scaling up investments. Building on discussions initiated in 2023, the workshop fostered collaboration and understanding of existing tools, and produced valuable insights for enhancing DRM capacities across Europe.
Good practices in disaster risk management financing – experience from UCPM-supported initiatives
The first session focused on sharing good practices in DRM financing, featuring UCPM-supported initiatives. Participants gained an overview of tools such as Technical Assistance for Disaster Risk Management (Track 1), Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness (KAPP), and Technical Assistance Financing Facility (TAFF). Representatives hold presentations from successful projects that highlighted strategic approaches to investments, cross-border cooperation, and capacity-building. These case studies provided replicable ideas and underscored the role of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network in fostering continuous knowledge exchange.
UCPM Calls for Proposals 2025 – What’s ahead for Track 1, KAPP and TAFF?
The second session outlined upcoming UCPM funding opportunities for 2025, including new calls under Track 1, KAPP, TAFF, and the Regional Civil Protection Programme for Eastern Partnership countries (PPRD East 4). Feedback from a recent survey on the KAPP Call for Proposals was discussed, and participants provided input on eligibility conditions and priorities for the future funding cycle, ensuring alignment with on-the-ground needs.
Mobilising investments in disaster risk management: identifying needs, bottlenecks and priorities for action
The final session examined how to mobilise investments in DRM beyond UCPM tools, with an emphasis on identifying needs, addressing bottlenecks, and setting actionable priorities. Interactive group discussions and a panel debate featuring representatives from various EU Directorates-General explored topics such as building investment pipelines, enhancing sub-national capacities, and designing performance-oriented DRM projects.
The presentations from the workshop are available below. The Commission will prepare an outcome document summarising the discussions and key takeaways, which will be shared later.
Presentations
- UCPM capacity building tools for preparing and implementing investments – an overview Cristina Brăilescu & Juan Francisco Galvan Montero, DG ECHO B3
- Technical Assistance Financing Facility – TAFF Zuzana Stanton-Geddes, the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
- Developing a pipeline of projects in disaster risk management – experience from Latvia – Ineta Narodovska, State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia
- Building local capacity for disaster risk management investments – the Albanian initiative ‘Local-DRM’ – Adisa Bala, National Civil Protection Agency, Albania
- Unlocking EU funding opportunities for civil protection – the PLUTUS project led by Belgium – Félicie De Brouwer & Helena Maldonado, Directorate General for Civil Protection, Belgium
- “No-regrets” investments in building wildfire resilience – the example of the B-FIREPREP project led by Portugal – André Fernandes, National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection, Portugal
- Cross-border multi-risk assessment – towards a shared methodology. The case of BORIS 2 project (IT, SI, ME, AT, TR) – Maria Polese, University of Naples Federico II
- Assessing vulnerabilities in a cross-border and multi-risk context – insights from the VERA project (ES, PT, FR) – Jaime Ribalaygua Batalla, Meteogrid
- Raising risk awareness on wildfires in the wildland-urban interface. Lessons and recommendations from the FIREPRIME project (ES, AT, SE) – Elsa Pastor, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
- A regional approach to risk communication in Western Balkans: the ROSES project (EL, ME, BA, CY, AL, MK) – Ioannis Bakouros, University of Western Macedonia
- Leveraging the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network for sharing of experience and good practices Stacey Vickers, DG ECHO B3
- Outlook for the 2025 calls for proposals and feedback from participants: Cristina Brăilescu & Juan Francisco Galvan Montero, DG ECHO B3 and Paule Gailiunaite, DG ECHO C1
- Setting the scene: Mobilising investments in disaster risk management: the risk and policy landscape Presentation by Hanna Jahns, Director for Strategy and Policy, DG ECHO
- Panel discussion: Mobilising EU investments in disaster risk management – lessons learnt and good practices from various EU support instruments – presentation by Myriam Boveda, DG REGIO
- Agenda Workshop 12-13 Nov 2024