What we do
The Joint Centre for Disaster Research provides a state of the art, high-quality, graduate teaching and contemporary research programme to both Aotearoa New Zealand and people worldwide.
By doing so, we develop community disaster resilience by leading and delivering risk identification, communications, and reduction and readiness programmes in communities and organisations across the nation and beyond.
Who we are
World class teaching by world class faculty
We are Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest-serving accredited education in this area.
From short professional development courses, undergraduate certificates and bachelor qualification, to postgraduate diplomas, certificates, master degrees, and PhDs, we offer one of the broadest range of emergency management education, development, and research anywhere.
As one of the pioneers in Australasia to offer a doctorate in emergency management (Doctor of Philosophy in Emergency Management), we are a world-leading institution that underpins its teaching with rich and contemporary research.
Our research
The Joint Centre for Disaster Research (JCDR) does multi-disciplinary applied research to understand the impacts of natural, man-made and environmental disasters on communities.
We work with our partners to improve the way societies manage disaster reduction, readiness, response and recovery.
Research areas
The Joint Centre for Disaster Research covers a broad range of topics across emergency management that tackle real-world situations and solutions.
Disaster risk and science communication
Disaster risk and science communication is the communication of science advice for individual and organisational decision-making during natural hazard events.
Topic areas include:
- communication of probability forecasts and uncertain science advice
- hypothetical scenarios to explore effective communication
- public response to aftershock information
Education, outreach and social networking tool
We measure community understanding of, and preparedness for, natural hazards including volcanic eruptions. We specialise in participatory methods and risk perception research.
Our results are used to develop scenarios, training tools and educational strategies for communities, businesses and schools.
We also specialise in the use and impact of social networking tools in a disaster context. Our team focuses on people's interactions with information and communication technologies, and how this can contribute to a resilient culture.
Our key area is public information-seeking activities and the self-organising capabilities of disaster-affected communities.
Māori and Indigenous risk reduction and disaster management
The Indigenous Disaster Risk Management team engages with Māori communities and other Indigenous peoples.
Topic areas include:
- the role culture plays in facilitating disaster preparedness
- risk mitigation
- emergency management
We also look at disaster recovery and community resilience in the context of humanitarian, health and natural hazard events.
Psychosocial support and community resilience
We research the psychosocial impact of disasters on health care and social welfare professionals. We advise agencies including the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Health.
We also develop tools and guidelines to empower communities to become resilient to natural hazard events.
Our research focuses on understanding the factors that enable a community to withstand the consequences of natural hazards. We also research local, regional and national factors that influence communities.
Lauren Vinnell's profile
David Johnston's profile
Julia Becker's profile
Multi-hazard warning systems
Warnings comprise an important component of responding to emergencies. We undertake research on different aspects of warnings systems.
Topic areas include:
- the technological components of warnings systems
- preparedness and planning for effective warning
- best-practice warning communication
- understanding human behaviour in warning situations.
We investigate warnings across a range of perils including
- earthquakes
- tsunami
- weather and flood events
- volcanoes
- landslides in both short-fuse and longer term warning contexts
Disaster response and recovery management and leadership
The coordination and leadership of organisations and communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergency situations is a crucial area of research.
Understanding how response and recovery capabilities are most effectively developed, maintained, and learned from is an essential area of emergency management research.
Topic areas include:
- emergency response
- management, planning and response
- recovery management and leadership
- incident command and management
- system development and application
- centre design and operation
- intelligence delivery
- capability development
People-centred technologies and systems for disaster management
Our research looks into enhancing disaster resilience through understanding technology and systems and their intersection with human behaviour especially in the context of crises. Our team investigates both the technical feasibility and social acceptability of technological systems.
Topic areas include:
- artificial intelligence
- big data analytics
- decision support systems
- early warning systems
- technology acceptance
- usability, user perceptions and behaviour
We welcome research ideas that use methodologies such as design science and participatory design.
Partners
We work with a range of academic and industry partners.
The Crisis Response and Integrated Simulation Science Laboratory (CRISiSLab)
The CRISiSLab is a research and learning laboratory based out of the JCDR providing a platform to conduct transdisciplinary socio-technical research at the human-technology interface.
Te Toi Whakaruruhau o Aotearoa – The EQC Mātauranga Māori Disaster Risk Reduction Centre
Contributes to creating a resilient New Zealand through building Māori disaster risk reduction research and workforce capabilities as well as developing and applying indigenous innovation to minimise hazard risks and impacts on the people and taonga of Aotearoa.
Te Toi Whakaruruhau o Aotearoa
We also work with:
Research projects
Explore a selection of our recent research projects.
Facilitating psychosocial community recovery
The project, updating psychosocial support guidance and reviewing community recovery models is funded by the MBIE COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund and resulted in two reports.
A desk review examined the psychosocial impacts of the COVID crisis and provided updated psychosocial support approaches and interventions.
A second related report focused on facilitating community recovery. The reports were shared in regional workshops to support agencies in their recovery planning.
Earthquake Early Warning: Marion Tan and Raj Prasanna
The project is investigating the feasibility of using community-based low-cost sensors to issue out earthquake early warnings (EEW) for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Understanding the viability of EEW for New Zealand requires a multi-faceted transdisciplinary approach that engages with various stakeholders to address complex technical and social issues.
The project has four research themes:
- social sciences – including public and stakeholder engagement
- earthquake prediction and modelling
- IoT, sensors, and telecommunications
- data and knowledge management.
HIWeather Citizen Science Project
Part of the World Meteorology Organization, HIWeather Citizen Science aims to improve the effectiveness of weather-related hazard warnings.
We research, investigate, and share resources from existing successful citizen science initiatives. We also provides tools to encourage and enable more groups to do citizen science.
Hawke's Bay Tsunami Warning package project
We investigated how we might accommodate large numbers of people after a large earthquake and tsunami in Hawke's Bay.
The Hawke’s Bay Regional Alerting Systems Review project team is doing a review of what public alerting tools currently exist and assessing the best options for the region.
Communicating Uncertainty, Science, and Risk
We are trying to understand how to improve communication of physical science to decision makers, including the public.
Communication about:
- mental models and science communication in a crisis
- uncertainty
- multi-hazard risk
- probability, likelihoods, forecasts, and warnings
- disaster preparedness
- spatial and temporal uncertainty visually
- enhancing inter-agency science communication
Study emergency management
We offer emergency management programmes from short professional development courses, workshops, to tertiary education like undergraduate qualifications, postgraduate diplomas, certificates, to master degrees, and PhDs to people worldwide.
Professor David Johnston
Deputy directors
Associate Professor Julia Becker
Staff
Part-time
Matt Luani
Rasika Nandana
Kelvin Tapuke
Dr Caroline Holden
Sara Harrison
Annal Dunghana
Piata Inch
Visiting academics
Dr Ben Payne
Publications and reports
Staff and students at the centre publish internationally recognised research through a variety of channels – including journal, books, conference papers and disaster publications.
Published work
Research reports
Our reports provide regular updates about current research and information relating to the Centre. The JCDR newsletter is scheduled to be published bi-annually.
Other disaster publications
Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies
An electronic online journal, edited by the Centre and published by the School of Psychology.
GNS Science
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd, a New Zealand Crown Research Institute.
NIWA
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a New Zealand Crown Research Institute.
EQC
The Earthquake Commission is a New Zealand Crown entity.
Online Institutional Repository, Disaster Research Center (DRC), University of Delaware
Contact us
Joint Centre for Disaster Research
- Phone
- Location
Physical address
Massey University
Building T28 - (via Entrance E from Tasman St)
Mt Cook
Wellington
New ZealandPostal address
Joint Centre for Disaster Research
Massey University
PO Box 756
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
Professor David Johnston
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