Between April and August 2026, the SYNERGIES project successfully conducted a series of Validation Workshops in La Réunion. The primary objective of these events was to assess the practical usability, applicability, and added value of the SYNERGIES results in a realistic disaster preparedness context.
Bringing together a diverse group of local stakeholders (including public authorities, civil society organisations, first responders, volunteer networks, and the education sector), these workshops provided a platform to test the project’s core solutions. Through facilitated, hands-on sessions, participants evaluated the ATLAS of Empowerment, the SAVIT Catalogue, the SAVIT Tabletop Game, and the PrepCap System.
Key takeaways from the field
The validation exercises yielded strategic conclusions that will guide the final deployment of our tools:
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An integrated ecosystem: the SYNERGIES tools are most effective when used as complementary resources rather than isolated products. They seamlessly support different stages of preparedness, from problem identification and self-assessment to capacity building and operational planning.
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The importance of context: preparedness solutions cannot simply be transferred between settings. Participants consistently stressed the need to adapt tools to local institutional structures, territorial characteristics (such as island contexts), and available capacities.
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Practical value for communities: tools like the SAVIT Catalogue and Tabletop Game proved to be highly valuable for learning how to integrate spontaneous volunteers safely and effectively. Meanwhile, the ATLAS and PrepCap systems were strongly recognised as relevant, mature platforms for structured self-assessment, scenario-based collaborative planning, and strategy development.
These workshops demonstrated that the SYNERGIES approach is a successful facilitation framework, helping stakeholders move from identifying local challenges to developing tailored, actionable pathways.
We invite you to explore the detailed findings, qualitative feedback, and our next steps.
