The World Bank Institute (WBI) endorsed by the Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative (CADRI) of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is launching an initiative to partner with regional centers to support training for disaster risk reduction capacity building. This is an invitation to eligible regional organizations involved in disaster management activities who are interested in partnering together to deliver blended training on disaster risk management in their region.

The initiative is part of the  Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Learning Program developed by the World Bank Institute (WBI). This program through partner organizations provides training to government officials, disaster professionals, NGOs, and development practitioners around the world. The objective of the program is to: i) raise awareness among key stakeholders on disaster risk management; ii) promote proactive risk management practices; and, iii) advance the analytical skills and professional knowledge of development practitioners in the area of disaster risk management.   

The Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Learning Program is a sustainable global capacity building program that is regionally tailored, adopting the use of blended learning activities and delivery modes. The Partnership aims to assist the organisation to:

1) Advance the analytical skills and professional knowledge of development practitioners in the area of disaster risk reduction
2) Integrate learning curriculum into existing development projects or education and training programs, using the organization’s own and other resources and partnerships
3) Increase access to education, training and knowledge sharing across the country and region
4) Produce blended learning activities that address learners’ needs
5) Create a pool of instructors and facilitators with adequate capacity to teach in the area of disaster risk management
6) Facilitate learners’ communications with content experts and practitioners who have an international background in the area of disaster risk management  

Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management
An introductory course, Comprehensive Natural Disaster Risk Management, gives an overview of major disaster risk management issues that are explored in more details in specialization courses. This course targets general development practitioners to raise their awareness and sensitivity in prevention of natural disasters.

Financial Strategies for Managing the Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters
This course focuses on financial, economic and development impacts of disasters, and trade-offs  involved in disaster risk financing providing policy makers with tools and institutional designs for improved planning, budgeting processes, and national macroeconomic projections. 

Safe Cities
The Safe Cities course addresses particular concerns of urban managers and planners and reviews processes, regulations, enforcement issues and methods essential to reducing exposure to hazards and limiting the physical vulnerability of high-density settlements.

Community Based Disaster Risk Management
This course focuses on prevention, mitigation and the need to active participation of local actors in design, development, implementation and monitoring of activities related to phases of disaster cycle. 

Damage and Reconstruction Needs Assessment
The Assessment course enhances the participants’ understanding of the social, economic and environmental effects of natural disasters and introduces instruments for quantifying direct damages, indirect losses, and the overall macroeconomic effects of catastrophic events. 

Earthquake Risk Reduction
This course links the science and engineering of earthquakes to structural and non-structural risk reduction practices. The course introduces the basic approaches to earthquake risk reduction, discussing the effectiveness of each in various regions of the world. 

Climate & Disaster Risk Management
This course provides an introduction to the science of climate change, reviews the climate change impacts on natural hazards, and the trends in magnitude and frequency of climatic extremes and changes in average climatic conditions. It explores the inter-linkages between disaster risk management and climate change adaptation and outlines strategies, methods and tools for integrated climate risk management.

Future course:

Land Use Planning for Urban Risk Reduction
The Land-Use Planning course is a specialization intended for professionals involved in public infrastructures, critical facilities, and lifelines such as land use planners, zoning officers, and building and housing officials and housing officers.     

The organization or partnership of organizations must:

1) Serve a group of countries/region;
2) Be involved in the areas of disaster management and risk reduction;
3) Have a mandate of enhancing disaster management capacity in their region;
4) A history of training and capacity building in the realm of disaster management;
5) Either have experience of or interest in both traditional face-to-face methods of learning as well as the use of blended learning activities and delivery modes;
6) Be able to identify two or more resource people in the organization to fill the following roles: project manager, facilitator(s), and supervisor of facilitators [if facilitator role is outsourced outside the organization]
1) A commitment towards the growth of a sustained program on disaster risk reduction and internal resources for doing so or potential funding sources  

Step 1: Check the Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Learning Program website for any further information and to view sample course material at www.wbidrm.org

Step 2: Complete the ‘Expression of Interest Form’

Step 3: Attach a Covering Letter from your organization according to the following guidelines:

1)       Title “Application for Partnership for the Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Learning Program”

2)       Mandate of the organization

3)       History of the organization

4)       Statement on commitment for: i) the proactive incorporation of delivery of the Program into the organization; ii) a multi-year collaboration; iii) commitment to ensure financial sustainability of the program through a viable business plan and, iv) no less than 6 course deliveries per calendar year

5)       Signed by the head of organization

Step 4: Send a hardcopy or fax of the Cover Letter and completed Expression of Interest to:

Berna Yekeler
World Bank Institute
1818 H Street, N.W. MSN J4-400
Washington, DC 20433 USA
Tel: +1-202-473-7632
Fax: +1-202-334-8350
byekeler@worldbank.org
www.wbidrm.org

Step 5: Send an electronic copy of the documentation, including a scanned copy of the Covering Letter, to byekeler@worldbank.org. For further information, please contact Berna Yekeler at Tel: +1-202-473-7632.