Good Disaster Management and Resilience building are not single disciplines.  Success is the result of bringing together expertise from many disciplines and working collaboratively to solve complex and complicated problems.

Recognising and leveraging the Interdisciplinarity of ‘disaster management’ the Griffith Disaster Management (DM) Network is pursuing three concurrent and integrated priority areas, aligned to International, National and State priorities delivering meaningful outcomes for Queenslanders through research, education, and policy leadership.

The DM Network’s key strength is the ability to facilitate a coordinated leadership approach across the four groups, beacons and key institutes and centres and to be a trusted, ethical, and highly valued partner to support the goal of the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience 2022–2027 which identifies the need for, “a systems approach to resilience … to deliver improved outcomes for Queensland.”  Critically, the strategy stresses the need for “our leaders in communities, governments and other organisations to consider and recommend resilient results when making decisions, investments and developing core services, products, infrastructure and mitigation activities.”

Our research plan is for the DM network to actively promote DM related research and the respective researchers to assist uptake by funding agencies and partners. We want to work closely with State, Commonwealth DM entities to assist researchers in promoting and integrating their expertise across multiple disciplines, identifying new and novel research partners and opportunities.

Griffith University researchers have come together with government and private bodies alike to hear first-hand the policy issues research challenges that are being faced due to changing world conditions whether climate related, pandemic induced, or social impacts being suffered because of disasters and crises.

Our forum included presentations from:

  • National Emergency Management Australia (NEMA)
  • Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA)
  • Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA)
  • Inspector General Emergency Management (IGEM)
  • Queensland Disaster Research Alliance (QDRA)
  • Red Cross Australia (RCA)
  • Queensland Police Service (QPS)
  • Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES)
  • Redland City Council (RCC)
  • Bentley Software Education 

Our researchers have since been able to showcase their work, approaches, and innovative solutions to some of the most wicked of these problems.  Whether communications focussed, solving health related problems, designing resilient infrastructure, or projecting economic impacts, the capability of our researchers shone through.

The concept that research should be useful, useable, and ultimately used was obvious across all streams as was the clear focus on people and the importance of considering the consequence on people at every stage across disaster and resilience planning.

The challenge now for Griffith University Disaster Management Network will be to build on the all the following research activities to ensure outcomes are translational, transformative and transferrable.

Griffith University Disaster Management Network Terms of Reference

  1. Co-design evidence-based support with frontline responders, local practitioners, industry and leaders
  2. Connect and collaborate with industry and academic colleagues to enable right-time right-place solutions for immediate take-up
  3. Deliver tailored decision-making to help communities successfully navigate disaster risk and consequences management  
  4. Inform, share and translate research and experience to build disaster resilience

National Disaster 4 priorities:

Four national priorities across the five years from 2019-2023:

  1. Understand disaster risk
  2. Accountable decisions
  3. Enhanced investment
  4. Governance, ownership and responsibility

Sendai Framework 7 targets:

Substantial reductions in:

  1. global disaster mortality
  2. the number of affected people globally
  3. direct economic loss in relation to GDP
  4. disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services

Substantial increases in:

  • the number of countries with national and local
    disaster risk reduction strategies
  • enhanced international cooperation to developing countries
  • availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems

17 UN Sustainable Development Goals:

  1. No poverty.
  2. Zero hunger.
  3. Good health and well-being.
  4. Quality Education.
  5. Gender equality.
  6. Clean water and sanitation.
  7. Affordable and clean energy.
  8. Decent work and economic growth.
  9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure
  10. Reduced inequalities
  11. Sustainable cities and economies
  12. Responsible consumption and production
  13. Climate action
  14. Life below water
  15. Life on land
  16. Peace, justice and strong institutions
  17. Partnership for the goals