On Wednesday, 4 February 2026, representatives of IRDR’s International Centres of Excellence (ICoEs) joined online for its first meeting for 2026. Pictured are several of the meeting attendees.
On Wednesday, 4 February 2026, the Integrated Research on Disaster (IRDR) programme held the first meeting of its International Centres of Excellence (ICoEs) for 2026. Held online via Zoom, the meeting brought together representatives from the majority of the current cohort of IRDR ICoEs to discuss specific updates, including the successful outcomes of the 2025 call for applications for new IRDR ICoEs; and the role of each Centre in assisting the overall IRDR programme in participating in the post-2030 agenda setting exercise.
Prof. Saini Yang, IRDR’s Executive Director, opened the meeting and provided the attendees with an update on the successful conclusion of the 2025 call for applications for new IRDR ICoEs. Dr. Yang noted that, following a rigorous evaluation process, it was found that the three selected host institutes embodied integrated approaches to disaster risk reduction (DRR) that directly contributes to IRDR’s mission.
The ensuing discussions highlighted the importance of ICoEs in advancing IRDR's mission by aligning each Centre’s work with the programme’s three research priorities and five work streams. Prof. Yang explained the concept of work streams, a feature of the second phase of IRDR that is quite different from that pursued during the first phase of the programme. She emphasised their open and dynamic structure compared to the previous working groups structure of IRDR phase I, and described the five work streams as sub-programmes focusing on specific topics like climate change and public health, with the goal of generating scientific output in preparation for the post-2030 agenda deliberations.
The meeting marked a pivotal juncture in the IRDR programme as it prepares for the greater involvement of the wider IRDR network, inclusive of its ICoEs, in setting the agenda for the post-2030 era.
The meeting ended with a commitment from all ICoEs to actively play their various roles in implementing IRDR's Action Plan, 2025-2027 to mobilise science for the reduction of all types of disaster risk.
