A lecture was organised for JLGC staff on the forthcoming field research in Japan by Rocio Carrero, Research Associate at the City Leadership Initiative (CLI) within UCL STEaPP. Dr Carrero’s research project focuses on the Informal Governance Systems (IGS) which are constituted by individuals and groups connected to each other by non-institutional channels, such as family, neighbours, churches, schools, etc. and how IGS plays a fundamental, yet not-well understood, role in disaster risk reduction. The project aims to promote a better understanding of IGS in disaster scenarios to enable authorities and communities to better prepare for, cope with and recover from such disasters.
CLI is producing evidence on the role of IGS in disaster response and recovery, analysing the specific cases of Sendai (Japan) and Kathmandu (Nepal), hit by the Tōhoku and the Gorkha earthquakes in 2011 and 2015 respectively. It will examine the IGS activated during and after the two crises by conducting two field work campaigns, as well as engaging multilateral and bilateral agencies, local officers, humanitarian experts and local civilian groups directly involved in the disasters.
The project is being developed in collaboration with the Red Cross International and the Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction of the World Bank, as well as Durham University and the KFW Development Bank, with support offered by JLGC in London. In a wide-ranging discussion, Dr Carrero addressed the scope of institutional actors at local level in Japan, the capacity of authorities to accept external aid and support during the disaster response phase, the role of social media and digital networks in community response/official information and how education authorities and institutions in Japan play a part during and after disasters.
