Challenges
Climate change and its resulting natural disasters have become a growing global concern. Extreme weather patterns are increasingly evident worldwide, manifesting in severe heatwaves, wildfires, floods, earthquakes, and other devastating events.
Greece has been particularly hard-hit by the consequences of climate change, experiencing multiple natural disasters in recent years. Regions such as Thessaly, Evros, Evia, Rhodes, and Attica have been severely affected with the country facing unprecedented environmental, social, and economic challenges.
The impact of these disasters is multifaceted. Greece’s infrastructure, already weakened by economic crises, is ill-prepared for the increasing frequency of natural calamities. Aging roads, limited public services, and inadequate emergency response capabilities have been overwhelmed by the severity of these events. Early warning systems, while existent, are often insufficient, leaving residents with minimal time to react or evacuate. Meanwhile, traditional disaster management approaches have struggled to address the growing scale of the crises.
The consequences of these natural disasters extend far beyond immediate destruction. Homes have been lost, agricultural lands ravaged, and livestock decimated. This ongoing environmental damage poses long-term risks to the country’s economic stability and social cohesion. The strain on local communities has been profound, leaving recovery efforts stalled and exposing weaknesses in Greece’s ability to respond effectively.
To reduce the ever-increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters’ catastrophic consequences, the Greek network of EDIHs (DigiAgriFood, smartHEALTH European Digital Innovation Hub, GRdigiGOV innoHUB, Smart Attica European Digital Innovation Hub, Health Hub iED - Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, SYNERGiNN and easyHPC) collaborated, to harness the country’s digital capabilities, aiming for a more resilient future.
Solutions
A methodology to form a Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan
The challenge of enhancing resilience to natural disasters was addressed through a collaborative effort led by the Greek EDIH partners. The overall attempt of the project was to bring together key actors in natural disaster management for a coordinated, innovative brainstorming event. Each partner contributed equally across all activities, ensuring a multidisciplinary approach. The project was structured in four key phases, each addressing specific challenges in disaster response, as outlined above:
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Mapping and matching needs. This phase defined the intervention phases (prevention, crisis management, post-crisis recovery) and identified essential tools, services, infrastructures, and processes through stakeholder discussions. A dedicated Task Force was formed, composed of public and private sector representatives, disaster management experts, and digital transformation specialists, ensuring a multidisciplinary approach.
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Project outline composition. The Task Force created a detailed project outline, specifying actions, outcomes, tools, and stakeholders for each intervention phase. This stage also involved expanding the Task Force to include necessary expertise and skillsets and preparing a template for the Detailed Project Definitions.
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Detailed Project Definitions. In this phase, each project's specific actions, expected outcomes, and digital tools were finalised.
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Funding Proposal Drafting. Eight detailed potential calls were drafted and proposed to National Authorities. These calls emphasized using innovative technologies to support communication, education, and awareness tailored to regional needs.
The project aimed to cultivate a deeper societal appreciation of the environment and enhance the state’s efficiency in fighting the catastrophic impact of natural disasters by fostering active engagement through digital tools and broad communication.
Results and Benefits
The structured approach taken by the Greek EDIHs and their partners addressed the immediate challenges of natural disaster resilience and laid the groundwork for a sustainable, long-term digital transformation in disaster management. Furthermore, through this constructive collaboration among EDIH partners, we developed a methodology that is both effective and applicable to future projects and collaborations.
Impact on Capabilities and Workflows
New Capabilities Achieved: Before this initiative, the lack of a unified and data-driven approach limited stakeholders' effectiveness in crisis scenarios. Now, with a clearly defined Masterplan:
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Coordinated Crisis Management: The Task Force's detailed project outlines facilitated smoother coordination, ensuring all actors work in unison using shared, accurate data.
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Proactive Disaster Prevention: Predictive analytics enable authorities to anticipate natural disasters more effectively, minimising damage through preemptive measures.
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Community Engagement and Education: Through digital communication platforms, the initiative empowered citizens to understand and actively engage in disaster preparedness.
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Seamless Integration of Digital Tools: The structured plan provides stakeholders with interoperable systems, allowing real-time information sharing and efficient disaster response.
Qualitative Outcomes:
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Societal impact: By employing digital communication and awareness tools, the project cultivated a deeper appreciation for environmental stewardship. It also created a cultural shift towards proactive disaster readiness, embedding resilience in everyday practices.
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On a strategic level, policymakers now have access to comprehensive data for crafting evidence-based policies, enabling smarter allocation of resources and continuous improvement of disaster management strategies.
Long-Term Economic and Societal Benefits
By creating a replicable methodology and emphasizing digital transformation, the Greek EDIHs have laid the foundation for scalable and sustainable disaster resilience strategies. The Masterplan not only addresses immediate natural disaster threats but also equips stakeholders with the tools and frameworks needed for long-term resilience. The potential for expanded collaboration within the EDIH network across Europe is significant, offering a model to be adapted and scaled to other regions grappling with climate change.
The strategic approach, characterised by its inclusivity and emphasis on digital solutions, ensures that Greece, and potentially other European regions, are better prepared for the escalating threat of natural disasters, making a lasting contribution to societal safety and environmental stewardship.
The expected financial benefits of the Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan are significant, both in terms of direct cost savings and broader economic resilience as outlined below:
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Direct Cost Savings by improving efficiency and reductions in property and infrastructure damage
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Operational and Resource Optimisation
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Reduction in resource waste
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Business continuity and economic stability
Perceived social/economic impact
The Natural Disaster Resilience Masterplan collaboration will have significant and far-reaching social impacts, by raising social awareness and addressing the urgent challenges posed by climate change and natural disasters in Greece. The Greek network of EDIHs successfully established a methodology that brings the country a step closer to resilience against extreme weather events, which have become increasingly frequent and severe.
Given that climate change and its consequent natural disasters are pervasive phenomena, it is essential to work persistently and patiently to build a robust foundation for future crisis management efforts. Widespread and active participation is crucial to shield our communities from the broader social and economic implications of natural disasters.
Overall, the implementation of the solution will not only strengthen Greece’s capacity to manage and recover from natural disasters but will also support a more resilient and prepared society.
This approach provides a model for other regions facing similar challenges, demonstrating how the use of digital capabilities can lead to significant social and economic benefits. Consequently, the Natural Disaster Resilience Masterplan addresses current difficulties in various Greek regions and represents a methodology we aim to expand and apply in future national and European collaborative projects.
Lessons learned
During our collaboration on the Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan, several key lessons emerged that offer valuable guidance for future projects.
The most critical lesson was the importance of early alignment on project objectives. Addressing the specific needs of the initiative early in the project helps partners seek more targeted and effective solutions. Our experience with the Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan underscored the necessity of a clear and precise project outline for productive outcomes.
Consequently, we developed the methodology for engaging with interested stakeholders- national institutions, and the public and private sectors- to actively listen to their input and identify their needs, even when these needs take time to be clear and articulated.
Looking ahead, a key improvement would be to establish streamlined communication channels to enhance information flow and reduce delays. This approach would address potential communication gaps and support more effective future projects. This lesson is particularly relevant as we aim to apply the methodology developed at a national level through the Natural Disaster Resilience Masterplan to a European scale.
The Benefits of the collaboration
The Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan aimed to bring together partners from the EDIH consortia, associated organisations, and private companies, as well as supporting partners of the hubs across Greece, to explore strategies for preventing, managing, and mitigating the impact of natural disasters. Furthermore, the Hellenic Rescue Team of Attica, along with the representatives of the regions of Attica, Thessaly, and Central Greece, contributed significantly to the initiative.
Collaborators: DigiAgriFood, smartHEALTH European Digital Innovation Hub, GRdigiGOV innoHUB, Smart Attica European Digital Innovation Hub, Health Hub iED - Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, SYNERGiNN and easyHPC
Lessons learned – do’s and don’ts of the collaboration
During our collaboration on the Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan, we learned several key lessons that can guide future efforts. Early alignment on project objectives was crucial; by clearly defining the goals of prevention, crisis management, and post-crisis recovery from the beginning, we ensured that all partners shared a common understanding. This made the process of brainstorming, sharing ideas, and proposing solutions more productive and effective.
Coming from different fields of expertise -technology, industry, culture, finance, and more- each partner brought deep knowledge of their know-how, expertise, and disciplines along with a strong willingness to cooperate. This diverse cohort significantly enriched the outcome of the Natural Disasters Resilience Masterplan.
However, we also encountered challenges that provided important lessons. Coordinating more than 100 organisations operating in such a multitude of fields was as challenging as it was creative. The main challenge and uniqueness of this project was the lack of a specific framework and requirements from the authorities concerned. So, there was a need to coordinate effectively the setting of such requirements and criteria of success for the proposed outcome of the initiative, before optimising the adaptation of the partners’ capabilities and skills to respond accordingly to the defined needs.
Moving forward, we recognised the need for streamlined communication channels to improve information flow and reduce delays. The whole initiative concluded in only three months. A centralised communication platform would have kept all partners better informed and engaged, even after the project was concluded. This would support the extension of the project to follow-up collaborations.
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