Sweden National Platform
History
Sweden established a national platform in 2007 for the Hyogo Framework, with a focus on natural disasters. In line with the broader mandate of the Sendai Framework, the Swedish implementation was shifted towards the newly developed national platform for crisis preparedness and civil defence in January 2017. In 2021, this platform was revised into a new structure for civil preparedness, involving 10 thematic sectors and six geographic areas.
Structure
The restructured Swedish national platform uses the process for the National Risk and Capability Assessment (NRCA) and the risk analysis linked to it to identify prioritized areas for development. The purpose is to identify and analyse risks, vulnerabilities and society's capability to prevent and respond to the risks.
The new way of working is based on existing coordination forums and working groups developed for the Swedish system for civil contingency management. The 10 civil preparedness sectors are legislatively mandated, and they consist of governmental agencies with key responsibilities in the Swedish civil contingency system and representatives from the county administrative boards (regional level). There are also specific forums for county administrative boards with representatives from local councils and a forum for civil society actors. Additional stakeholders can be added to the temporary or permanent working groups. A cross-sectoral long-term working group on natural hazards is in operation. In this particular working group, the link between DRR and CCA is very clear. There is much more DRR work in progress, but it is outside the scope of the national platform. Therefore, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) will be discussing how to link DRR in Sweden and even create synergy with stakeholders who are implementing 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Mandate
The stakeholders in the coordination forums coordinate their planning by discussing and reaching a common understanding of relevant risks, threats and hazards, as well as the capabilities needed to face current challenges.
The process for the National Risk and Capability Assessment (NRCA) is used to create a common understanding of the following:
- serious risks in Sweden
- possible consequences of the serious risks
- vulnerabilities in society
- the capability to prevent and respond to the risks
The results are a strategic basis for directing and developing the civil contingency system.
Activities
Regular forum meetings, workshops, conferences, exercises and occasional field observations.
In addition, MSB provides guidance to the Swedish counties and municipalities on implementation of the SFDRR. If they are engaged in the Making Cities Resilient campaign, MSB informs them of tools such as the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities and peer reviews. Participating cities also learn about and participate in international opportunities such as conferences, EU projects and exchanges.
Budget
The national platform is financed through MSB’s ordinary budget. This allocation covers the costs of planning and conducting meetings as well as follow-up work for the cooperative forums. In addition, the Swedish Government Appropriation 2:4 is a funding source for national platform cooperation activities.