National Knowledge and Research Center for Emergency Readiness
The National Knowledge and Research Center for Emergency Readiness with approximately 90 researchers was established in January 2018 by the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) of the Ministry of Defense. Since 2023 the Center has been funded by the Israel Ministry of Welfare. Core institutions involved are University of Haifa (the Center hub), the Technion and the Hebrew University, together with researchers from the Center for Military Analyses in Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Rambam Hospital, Tel Hai College, and the Israel School for Humanitarian Aid; with partners from the municipality of Haifa and NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief. The Center's mission is to provide a state-of-the-art scientific research institute to serve as a think-tank for policy framers, decision-makers, the academic community and practitioners from all sectors. The two intertwined functions of the Center are 1) independently generated, cutting-edge and multi-disciplinary research, and 2) solicited real-time response to requests by NEMA, government ministries, elected officials, NGOs and other stakeholders.
The Center is a member in GADRI (Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes), an international forum for sharing knowledge and promoting collaboration on topics related to disaster risk reduction and resilience to disasters.