Program on Resilient Communities

HHI’s Program on Resilient Communities uses evidence-based approaches to interpret how communities mitigate the impact of disasters. The program takes at its starting point the central role local communities play in disaster preparedness and response as the front line and locus for interactions with local civil society organizations, the private sector, national disaster management agencies, and the international humanitarian community.

DisasterNet - Philippines

DisasterNet is the core project of the Resilient Communities Program. DisasterNet seeks to support local and national capacity for disaster preparedness and response by enabling grassroots organizations to:

adopt evidence-based tools and practices
build leadership capacity
promote intellectual exchange across national and disciplinary boundaries.
leverage existing HHI best practices, data collection systems, and online educational tools to enhance research and training

DisasterNet will establish a foundation for better integrated, more coordinated, and effective evidence-based preparedness and response structures for humanitarian disasters.

Prioritizing Disaster Preparedness: The Albay Model

Featured Case Study

Upcoming Projects

Disaster Resilience Course

DiasterNet will launch an E-learning training program for current and prospective disaster management professionals. The training will offer a multi-sector overview of disaster preparedness in the Philippines.

Check back for more updates!

Case Study: Private Sector

The private sector in the Philippines is increasingly involved in disaster management activities. Natural disasters pose serious challenges to supply chains and can threaten to disrupt significant portions of the economy. This case study seeks to document and explore the advances, knowledge and disaster preparedness plans of private sector networks and organizations across the Philippines.

Landscaping Survey

This survey will provide a comprehensive map of preparedness and resilience programming across the Philippines.

Retreat vs Rebuild Colloquium

Friday, April 21, 2017 | Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge, MA

Land issues are embedded in disasters. Land stands at the center of disaster relief and recovery, whether disasters result from weather-related or geological phenomena or are the result of human conflict.

As a spatial practice recovery models prioritize resettling affected populations on land that is often proven vulnerable. If greater resilience is an ambition of humanitarian actors, then rebuilding in place might not always be a viable activity. Evacuation and retreat must become serious long-term considerations.

This colloquium brings into view the necessarily fluid effects that disasters have on the land and the humanitarian action that unfolds in response, with the aim of furthering the necessary collaboration between humanitarians and designers and opens an essential dialogue on the study and scholarship of disaster.

Featured Publications

This scoping study maps government, community-based organizations, NGOs, and others working on disaster preparedness and response in the Philippines.

This paper examines the interdependence between human and environmental systems, especially in the urban slum context.

This paper explores the policy and institutional mechanisms for disaster risk reduction management and research which have been conducted in the Philippines.

Ways to Get Involved

The DiasterNet team is always on the look out for students and researchers interested in this field.

To find out how you can get involved email:

Tara Kelly

tarakelly@hsph.harvard.edu

Team

Vincenzo Bollettino PhD Twitter LinkedIn E-Mail Director of Resilient Communities Program / Research Associate	Patrick Vinck PhD Research Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative	Kriszia Lorrain Enriquez Program Manager, DisasterNet - Philippines	Tara Kelly Program Coordinator, Resilient Communities Program
Tilly Alcayna MPH Research Consultant, DisasterNet - Philippines	Susan Tannehill Deputy Director, Finance and Administration	Benjamin Davies MS Twitter LinkedIn E-Mail Senior Program Manager, Curricular Innovation Program