DIREKTION Publishes Vision Paper Calling for a European Capability-Driven Approach to Disaster Resilience Innovation

Consortium sets out a long-term roadmap to close the gap between research and operational adoption for responders and civil protection authorities across Europe.

The DIREKTION consortium has published its Vision Paper, outlining a long-term strategy for accelerating the uptake of innovation in disaster risk management across Europe. The document, part of the EU-funded Horizon Europe project, responds to a persistent gap between the scale of European investment in disaster resilience research and the number of solutions that ultimately reach operational use by emergency responders.

According to the consortium, Europe continues to face increasingly frequent and complex disasters, even as substantial funding flows into research and innovation programmes. Many promising technologies, tools and methodologies, however, struggle to progress beyond the research stage and become embedded operational capabilities for first responders and civil protection authorities.

To address this, the Vision Paper proposes a capability-driven approach that places the operational needs of responders at the centre of the innovation process. Rather than establishing a further stand-alone initiative, DIREKTION calls for a European Disaster Resilience Knowledge Network that connects existing initiatives, communities and stakeholders. The aim is to strengthen the identification of capability gaps, improve the visibility and assessment of innovative solutions, and support knowledge capitalisation, interoperability and long-term sustainability across the sector.

The paper sets out a Vision 2035 in which innovation is driven directly by responder capability needs, solutions are more rapidly identified, assessed and adopted, and responders, researchers and innovators collaborate through structured, ongoing dialogue. It further envisions systematic capitalisation of research results, clearer adoption and procurement pathways, and sustainable funding mechanisms to support innovation uptake over the long term. Training and capability development, the consortium argues, must also fully integrate innovation rather than treat it as a separate track.

For an industry built on ensuring reliable, resilient communications for first responders and public safety agencies, the Vision Paper's emphasis on connectivity and cross-stakeholder coordination resonates directly with ongoing efforts across the critical communications sector to bridge the gap between emerging technology and field-ready deployment.

The Vision Paper is now open for endorsement by organisations and individuals wishing to support the initiative. The consortium states that endorsement signals a commitment to strengthening innovation uptake, improving responder capabilities and building a more resilient Europe.

DIREKTION is the Disaster Resilience Knowledge Network, an EU-funded initiative under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, grant agreement No 101121249. The project focuses on identifying capability gaps, assessing innovative solutions and fostering collaboration between responders, policymakers and researchers to strengthen disaster management and response across Europe.