Foreword Our world as we know it and the future we want are at risk. Despite considerable efforts these past four years, we are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. We must dramatically step up the pace of xi implementation as we enter a decisive decade for people and the [...]
...the First Steps Initiative will test its potential value by bringing together a small group of participants from different sectors who have played central roles not only in strategic and operational planning, but also in triggering their implementation. In the first instance, participants will be asked to define and consider the nature and challenges that [...]
Daniel P Aldrich, Northeastern University Abstract While idealized crisis response involves smooth coordination between relevant actors, friction between levels of government and between the state and civil society in responding to catastrophe may be more common. This article builds a theory of cross-level friction during and after crisis by analyzing the conditions when discord [...]
By: Dr. Eric James, Executive Director, Field Ready We follow an approach that is deeply rooted in participatory techniques (and the corresponding equivalents found in the commercial sector in what are known as human-centered design) and start to design and co-create solutions. Any aid agency worth its salt does this but what is special is [...]
Dealing with existential risk The threat of existential risk is increasingly recognised by strategic planners as an issue of ever greater importance. The Geneva Global Initiative (GGI) has been created to undertake research and promote understanding in the field of existential risks and ways to prepare to deal with them. In a meeting on 19 June [...]
Geneva Initiative White Paper OVERVIEW There is a growing gap between the risk – understood as likelihood times impact – of catastrophic systemic failure in complex society, and societal understanding and preparedness. This white paper outlines why risk needs to be reconsidered, the extent of societies capacity to respond, and presents a risk posture that [...]
From the French journal Humanitaires Alternatives, November 2018 The future of humanitarianism Dr Randolph Kent • Director of the Futures Project, Royal United Services Institute (London) Dr. R. Kent Going back over 50 years of history in order to consider the future of humanitarianism. Randolph Kent takes up the challenge, pointing out the structural flaws [...]
QSAND is a free to use shelter and settlement sustainability and resilience self-assessment tool developed by BRE Global (the developers of BREEAM), on behalf of the IFRC. As a part of their commitment to sustainable development, IFRC commissioned the development of QSAND to promote sustainable shelter and settlement activities in the aftermath of natural disasters. [...]
When considering the inter-relationship between technological innovations, societal capacities and needs, the African continent is becoming a fascinating case in point. In many ways, the private sector, local communities, social networks and governments are leapfrogging the pace of technological change in many other countries around the world. Africa in so many ways is becoming an [...]
The 2018 Annual Report, from the The Global Challenges Foundation on global catastrophic risks, presents updates to previously published information about global catastrophic risks and their governance, outlined and explained by leading academic experts.