From Science to Practice: A New Zealand Case Study of Improving Natural Hazard Resilience

Abstract eng:
At a fundamental level the earthquake problem is one of risk reduction, but there are major challenges related to the transformation of scientific knowledge into sustainable community practices. The potential scope of shared responsibilities for delivery of social outcomes is also notoriously uncertain. In New Zealand, advances in understanding of seismic risk have occurred on several fronts since the 1930’s, leading eventually to new and widely-emulated practices in seismic isolation and capacity design for reinforced concrete structures. Reconstruction policy was also an early consideration with the Earthquake and War Damage Commission created during the 1940’s. It was recognised that economic recovery had been excessively slow in communities damaged by earthquake, due to lack of insurance and limited access to capital for reconstruction. The Earthquake Commission (EQC), as this government entity has been named since 1993, remains at the centre of arrangements for dealing with geological risks, through its insurance scheme for residential property and its duties to facilitate research and public education into natural disasters and methods of reducing or preventing the damage they cause. EQC fosters research and public education in relevant areas of natural hazards science and engineering and assists its transformation from “science to practice”, offering a connection between scientific progress and improved resilience within the community. In this paper we argue that a key condition for successful knowledge transfer is an adaptive research culture, guided by simple principles rather than precise planning or direction. A core objective is to build alliances across organisations to enable collaborative decisionmaking and iterative learning. Through examples of research and community partnerships, the imperatives for EQC investment in research and public education are outlined.

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