Expert Group Meeting on Principles for Resilient Infrastructure

13:00 - 15:00 GMT

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), jointly with University College London (UCL) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) are convening an Expert Group meeting on the ‘Principles for Resilient Infrastructure’. This virtual meeting will take place from 13:00 – 15:00 GMT on January 25, 2022.

Existing infrastructure systems and the services they provide are increasingly being affected by natural and man-made hazards, and from the impacts of climate change. Investment, policies, strategies and regulatory frameworks need to be based on evidence of risks and on a clear understanding of the vulnerabilities of infrastructure systems. However, one of the key gaps in the infrastructure resilience arena is a shared view of: what infrastructure is in scope; the extent of resilience; the scale and ambition for resilience; the definition of resilience; and, what can be done to improve infrastructure resilience.

Moreover, the current approach to infrastructure planning, financing, design, development, including operation, does not fully take into account either the interdependent nature of infrastructure and services, or the increasingly complex nature of risks and the cascading impacts that a disaster can have across the whole infrastructure system. A "think resilience” approach would address these concerns, encouraging a more comprehensive way of looking at risks and interlinkages.

To address these issues, UNDRR, with the support of UCL, is developing a set of principles for infrastructure resilience to:

I. Assist in raising awareness and setting a common basic understanding of what “resilient infrastructure” constitutes;

II. Form the basis for planning and implementation of infrastructure projects that take resilience as a core value;

III. Communicate the desired outcomes of national infrastructure systems to establish resilience of critical services; and,

IV. Assist the public and private sectors in making risk-informed policy and investment decisions.

The purpose of the Expert Group meeting on the Principles for Resilient Infrastructure is to solicit input and feedback from leading experts on the Principles, their applicability to various sectors and the indicators that are needed to measure them.

The Expert Group meeting will discuss the following topics:

1. What are the Principles for Resilient Infrastructure?

2. Applicability by Sector and Holistically

3. Net Resilience Gain and Resilient Infrastructure KPIs