Communities are at the heart of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM). Their ability to perceive risks, participate in decision-making processes, and build collective resilience is the key factor in addressing future challenges.
This idea is central to ATLAS, a collaborative platform that the Institute of International Sociology (ISIG) is developing within the SYNERGIES project. ATLAS offers tools, resources, and frameworks to move past top-down initiatives and instead focus on participation, empowerment and shared decision-making. It helps users understand their context, provide specialised information, and create strategies which include community input.
The ATLAS framework
The framework of ATLAS is built around three essential pillars of community-centred DRRM: participation, decision-making, and empowerment.
Participation is a dynamic process, and its levels depend on the phase of DRRM, available resources, and the efforts of authorities to involve citizens. Empowerment goes beyond simple participation. It refers to the ability of a community to influence governance outcomes and take ownership of its own resilience. To achieve community empowerment, it is fundamental that decision-making becomes a shared process across all community members at every stage of planning. Taken together, these pillars serve to reshape DRRM as a more democratic, inclusive and effective process.
A user-centred and evolving platform
ATLAS operates as a user-centred ecosystem. It supports users in assessing the level of the community’s empowerment in their context of reference, provides tailored tools and best practices, and strengthens agency throughout all phases of risk governance. The intuitive interface helps stakeholders from different backgrounds, such as civil protection volunteers, community leaders, and citizens, to work together and contribute towards shared resilience goals.
The platform offers a curated selection of solutions and cases, all of which are drawn from real-world experiences and offers inspiration and guidance. Solutions are tested and replicable methods, such as policies and toolkits, while cases present practical examples of civic engagement, including their implementation steps and final results.
Tools for insight and action
One of the main features of ATLAS is the self-assessment tool. It helps users evaluate their DRRM practices, identify strengths and gaps, and receive actionable insights tailored to their context. Based on the results, the platform recommends solutions and cases that match the user’s needs.
Building on these insights, the strategy builder tool transforms priorities and needs into actionable practices. It supports users in building strategies that reflect their assessment results.
Most importantly, ATLAS remains lively and useful because user can share their own cases and solutions, making the platform richer and more diverse.
Rethinking resilience through community engagement
Every community has different needs, risks, and capacities. ATLAS acknowledges this diversity and offers pathways to move towards long-term and partnership-based strategies.
DRRM requires understanding people’s experiences, amplifying their voices, and supporting their leadership in shaping a safer future. ATLAS helps transform awareness into action and action into lasting resilience by fostering participation, shared decision-making and empowerment.
