Informatics for Multi-hazard Risk Resilience (i-Risk)

i-Risk will develop the next generation of research leaders to advance understanding and deliver innovative tools and solutions for multi-hazard systemic risk resilience and sustainability practice. 41+ Doctoral Researchers (DRs) will undertake a structured training programme and partner co-created interdisciplinary research projects. i-Risk builds on 4 leading UK institution’s long-standing strengths at the vanguard of informatics, multi-hazard risk, and resilience research, with unparalleled facilities and >70 multidisciplinary academic supervisors for subject-specific support, providing students with an exceptional research environment. Escalating climatic hazards, like floods, heatwaves and droughts, increasingly strain national and global infrastructure, people, and their property. Natural hazard related disasters and their consequences are rapidly multiplying: from 1980-1999, 4,212 events impacted 3.25bn people and cost US$1.6tn; by 2000-2019, 7,348 events impacted 4bn and cost US$2.97tn. This urgently demands effective Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies. DRR is at the heart of international agendas – like the Sendai Framework and the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – and integral to several UN Sustainable Development Goals; yet current research gaps hinder progress. DRR efforts are often siloed, failing to account for multiple, concurrent hazards interacting with infrastructure systems and diverse human sectors, and the complex risk landscapes arising from them. Advancements in digital informatics, such as high-performance computing (HPC), big data analytics, AI and digital twins, offer an opportunity to address these challenges, but a national and global engineering skills gap jeopardises progress, as recognised in many government reports. An online survey of over 30 partners identified that future research leaders need multiple technical skills and capabilities to identify and translate challenges? into research problems, harness technology and knowledge for future-proof solutions?, anticipate and manage future evolving risk, and adapt to rapidly changing technology, knowledge and environments. Cohort-based doctoral training is recognised as an ideal method to impart these skills, fostering a tight network of students and supervisors, encouraging academic discussion and innovation, and promoting new thinking in academia and industry. This approach aligns with the demand for comprehensive doctoral training in resilience and sustainability – particularly to address the intertwined challenges of climate change, DRR, and societal resilience – as acknowledged by various organisations, e.g. the Skill and Net Zero Advisory Group (SNZAG). The i-Risk programme aims to produce future leaders capable of translating new knowledge into practical solutions for a wide range of DRR stakeholders. We have co-developed the proposal with industry and stakeholders to deliver critical research in the following themes: Deploying nascent technologies and intelligent observation/monitoring approaches to gather rich data to understand evolving hazards; Developing HPC and data analytics approaches/tools to model and understand intertwined natural, social, and engineering systems, enabling analysis and characterisation of multi-hazard systemic risks; Predicting and forecasting hazard risks for timely, reliable warnings, facilitating effective risk mitigation and community/infrastructure resilience; Delivering innovative tools and solutions supporting sustainable multi-hazard systemic risk management, rendering hazard/risk information accessible to/intelligible by end-users/stakeholders, advancing sustainability practice and policy. i-Risk is unique, and strongly aligns with NERC/UKRI's strategic plans and NERC’s Digital Strategy. Whilst other initiatives include informatics, they are incidental to theme-based CDTs and DTPs, missing the opportunity to valorise new technology and data via a holistic and systemic focus on the exploitation of nascent informatics for understanding and managing evolving, interactive climate hazard risks.