Applications are due January 12, 2024
The Averted Disaster Award aims to recognize successful interventions implemented worldwide that help ensure society continues to function, thrive, and recover quickly in the face of disaster. We invite individuals, project teams and organizations of all sizes, regions, and industries to submit nominations that highlight successful interventions.
Provide a case for why and how the intervention was successful at mitigating potential disaster using the application below. This is your opportunity to tell us about the impact of the disaster intervention nominated and why it deserves to win!
Judging criteria
Judges will assess each application against the following criteria:
- Level of Impact of the Disaster Averted
- Quality of Evidence Based Results
- Potential to Replicate Adapt and Scale
- Levels of Inclusivity, Equity and Focus on the Most Vulnerable
- Narrative Clarity and Contribution to Understanding Risk and Risk Mitigation
What types of disaster mitigation interventions can be submitted for the award?
Interventions take many forms. The most obvious interventions are structural in nature, such as sea-walls or reinforced bridges. Certain activities, such as controlled forest burns, count as interventions too, since they reduce future wildfire risk. Financial products that manage disaster risk, such as flood insurance schemes, count as interventions as well. Interventions can also occur at the individual or community scale, where, for example, placing sandbags to protect critical locations such as grocery stores or hospitals can ensure that the community as a whole can recover more quickly from flash floods. It is important to keep in mind that interventions are proactive and not reactive: interventions are generally pre-meditated and implemented before the disaster occurs.
Who can submit to the Averted Disaster Award?
Any individual, project team, or organization interested in recognizing a successful disaster mitigation intervention can submit a nomination for a particular intervention, irrespective of whether they have a personal connection to the intervention.
What will the winning submission receive?
The winning submission will receive travel, accommodations and complimentary ticket for one person to attend the Understanding Risk 2024 in Tokyo Japan where the winning intervention will be featured as part of a session during the event.
What will ADA do with the winning submission(s)?
A documentary short film will be developed to showcase the intervention from the winning submission. The documentary will highlight the impact of the intervention and best practices for implementing such interventions in other regions. The goal of the documentary is to reward and publicize good intervention practices.
The winning nomination will also be featured during a session at the Understanding Risk forum, spotlighted in the Understanding Risk Community newsletter that reaches 13,000 members and included on the Averted Disaster Award website.
All shortlisted nominations will be highlighted.
When will the ADA winner be announced?
The 2024 Averted Disaster Award winner will be announced at Understanding Risk 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.