The EU has launched a peer review programme for Disaster Risk Management. The objective of the peer reviews is to facilitate exchange of good practices and recommend improvements in disaster management policy and operations of the reviewed countries through mutual learning and expert review from reviewing countries. Participation in the peer reviews is on strictly voluntary basis for both the reviewed countries and the peer reviewing countries. The peer review process should also foster policy dialogue, improve consistency and steer progress in critical areas for the EU cooperation on civil protection and disaster risk management.
Peer reviews are important elements of both prevention and preparedness in the Mechanism. Because of the nature and the objective of the peer review process, which aims to help mutual learning and improve policy-making, this governance tool is considered to be an important contributor in the overall objective of the Mechanism towards the strengthening of cooperation between the Participating States, and an essential element to ensure an integrated approach to disaster management, linking risk prevention, preparedness and response actions.
The EU peer review programme 2015-2016 builds on two pilot peer reviews that were conducted in the UK and Finland in 2013 and 2014 respectively. It also builds on work by the OECD and UNISRD on peer reviews of disaster risk management in terms of both procedure and methodology.
[Text: Falck]
The peer review programme is executed by a consortium consisting of Falck, the Estonian Rescue Board and the Safety Region South-Holland South. Ruud Houdijk is subcontracted as an expert for the development of the thematic peer review frameworks for risk assessment and for risk management capabilities and will be part of some of the peer review missions.
For more information on the peer review programme, visit the website.
