ODI is pleased to announce that it has been successful in securing multi-year funding as part of two major new research consortia looking to improve disaster resilience to earthquakes and volcanoes. Both projects are funded by the NERC/ESRC Increasing Resilience to Natural Hazards Programme.

The first project, Earthquakes without Frontiers, sees ODI's Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) programme supporting efforts to maximise policy uptake and impact of research into continental seismic risk and resilience. The project will be led by Professor James Jackson at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, working closely with Universities of Oxford and Durham, the British Geological Survey and local partners in China, Central Asia and Nepal.

John Young, Head of the RAPID Programme, said:

“This is a very exciting opportunity for RAPID to work with natural and social scientists, policymakers, operational agencies and civil society organisations to maximise the uptake of the research into policies and practice that will contribute immediately to increased resilience”.The second project, Strengthening Resilience in Volcanic Areas (STREVA), will see ODI’s  Climate Change, Environment and Forests Programme working in the Eastern Caribbean and Latin America to research what it takes for governments to invest in risk reduction measures. The project will consider issues of capacity, communications and the politics of risk management. It will be led by Dr Jenni Barclay of the University of East Anglia, working with the Universities of Oxford, Bristol and the British Geological Survey complemented by local research partners.

Head of CCEF, Dr. Tom Mitchell, said:

“I am delighted with the result. This success underscores ODI's position as one of the foremost policy research organisations on disaster risk, resilience and humanitarian issues.”

Both projects will begin in Summer 2012, and ODI is looking forward to playing a pivotal role in sharing ideas and lessons between the two initiatives.