Goals and areas of expertise
The Center for Interdisciplinary Disaster Research is an association of research groups in the field of disaster research at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau. The aim is to utilize the potential of interdisciplinary research between technology, economics and education. Our specific expertise covers the following areas:
Education in civil protection
disaster management
Resilience in flood risk management
Latest news
3rd CIDR Talk "Temporary organizations in emergency response"
The Center for Interdisciplinary Disaster Research (CIDR) at RPTU had the privilege of welcoming Prof. Dr. Michael Grothe-Hammer (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim) as a guest speaker. In his lecture entitled"Co-fabricating the permanent to enable temporary organizing: Insights from an ethnography of emergency response operations" , he provided deep insights into the coordination dynamics of emergency response - and delivered an analysis that was as inspiring as it was insightful.
Based on an ethnographic study of emergency response operations in Germany, the lecture examined how organizations coordinate under conditions that require both stability and flexibility. The focus was on the question of how an effective crisis response is created between permanent structures and situational improvisation - and how both sides depend on each other.
Key findings
Temporary forms of organization are closely interwoven with permanent structures - such as inter-organizational planning groups and established routines.
Emergency operations can in turn transform these permanent structures - the relationship is not a one-way street.
Effective crisis coordination often depends on key individuals who connect different organizational levels and contexts.
Structures develop their greatest added value when they are designed not only for exceptional situations, but also for regular operations.
The ensuing discussion provided space for a lively exchange - many thanks to all participants and to Prof. Gordon Müller-Seitz (Chair of Strategy, Innovation and Cooperation) for organizing this event.
Cooperations
Science
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands)
- Free University of Berlin
- Geo Research Center Potsdam
- Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, (United States)
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg
- Medical School Hamburg
- Free University of Berlin
- Berlin University of Technology
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)
- Mines Tech, Paris (France)
- RWTH Aachen University
- Berlin University of Technology
- Braunschweig University of Technology
- Dortmund University of Technology
- Dresden University of Technology
- Munich University of Technology
- Umeå University (Sweden)
- Environmental Research Center Leipzig
- University of Hamburg
- Universitae Politehnica Timisoara (Romania)
- Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain)
- Université de Lorraine (France)
- University College London (Great Britain)
- University of Namibia (Namibia)
- University of Queensland (Australia)
- University of Tokyo (Japan)
- Warwick Business School (Great Britain)
- et al.
Practice
- Professional fire departments Kaiserslautern, Magdeburg, Neuwied and others
- Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance
- Deutsche Bahn InfraGO
- German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA)
- Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband
- Düsseldorf Fire Brigade
- Hamburg Fire Brigade
- Flood Competence Center Cologne
- Saxony-Anhalt State Office for Flood Protection and Water Management (LHW)
- Technical Relief Organization, SEEBA, local associations Sinzig, Euskirchen, Achim and others
- West Palatinate Clinic Kaiserslautern
- and others