Discussion 1: Access to Risk Information & Resilience Solutions

Sophie Abraham
Wed, 02 Apr 2014 14:52:31 +0000

Dear All,

Our second round of discussions this week is entitled: “Decreasing Existing Risk Exposure: Business Solutions for Governments and Enterprises”. It will focus on the exchange of risk information and business solutions between the public and the private sectors and how this process of exchange can reduce disaster risk for cities, global value chains as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s). Public-private partnerships for disaster risk reduction and resilience are based on the recognition that neither the public, nor private sectors can manage such risk on their own. Collaboration is essential, not out of altruism, but out of sheer self-interest.

The topic of Discussion 1 is on “Access to Risk Information & Resilience Solutions”. While we can all agree that disaster risk management policies need to be underpinned by robust mechanisms for information generation, management, and sharing, there still remains a number of key challenges in acessing and sharing risk information.

I look forward to your contributions to this discussion around the questions listed below.

Many thanks and kind regards,

Sophie Abraham (Willis Group, UNISDR Private Sector Advisory Group member)
Moderator, Online Consultation, Business for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience

Key Questions for Discussion:
1. How can the post-2015 HFA leverage private sector expertise and incentivize public-private partnerships to decrease the existing risks of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, water and power plants and transport lifelines? Please give examples of good partnerships and the preconditions that enabled such a partnership.

2. How can the private sector better share its data management expertise and advanced analytical capacities with the public sector and the communities they operate in? What are the mechanisms in place for sharing that work now, and what can/should be improved further?

3. What existing data and risk information (e.g. meteorological) could be more actively shared with the private sector, both multinationals and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s)?

4. What social media channels can be used to communicate risk information to the private sector? How can the private sector, in turn, communicate that information to its clients/customers to spread risk and resiliency messages?

5. How can the public sector create an enabling environment to increase the penetration of disaster insurance solutions, and access to insurance analytics and science to support risk awareness?