Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Methods
Get a solid basis for disaster risk reduction planning. Learn how to perform vulnerability and capacity assessments of both chronic vulnerabilities and those related to extreme events and hazards.
This course will enhance your skills in disaster risk reduction planning along with decision analysis and planning for uncertainty.
We focus on the entire vulnerability and risk assessment process, from using different methods to analyse risk to evaluating their results.
The concept of vulnerability is vital in this context, as it allows us to understand why some individuals or systems are more at risk than others, thus widening our scope of possibilities for risk reduction. IFRC’s Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) tool is applied for a case study during the field trip.
The field trip to a South-Asian country (Bangladesh, India, Nepal or Sri Lanka) include 1 week of training and lectures; 1 week of fieldwork; and a week of visits to different organisations working in the field of disaster risk reduction. After the field trip, you will have 1 week for a written assignment, which takes place online.
The course is focused on the basics of vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA) including definitions of risk, methods for risk analysis, decision analysis, management of uncertainty, and analysis of chronic vulnerabilities as well as those related to extreme events and hazards. The course is based on IFRC’s Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) Methodology. A central part of the course is the case study and fieldtrip, which involves performing a vulnerability and capacity assessment for an area/city/village/community. The students will work with the case throughout the course.
On completion of the course, you will be able to:
- Understand how risk perception influences the evaluation of risks.
- Critically analyse different types of vulnerabilities to hazards and their potential consequences.
- Develop a set of guidance and recommendations for vulnerability and risk reduction in the case study.
- Identify a variety of tools and techniques applied in VCA concentrating on use, characteristics and caution measures.
- Examine critically an actual VCA plan produced from a real life case.
Participants must
- Hold a relevant bachelor degree or equivalent
- Have a minimum 2 years of relevant job experience
- Be proficient in English
Find detailed information about the current admission criteria.
Emmanuel Raju, Associate Professor, Global Health Section, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.
Anne Bach Nielsen, Postdoc, Global Health Section, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen.
This course is offered as an elective part of the Master of Disaster Management
Priority is given to students enrolled on Master of Disaster Management. Once the enrolled students have been admitted to the course, the remaining seats are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Course details
| Duration: | 4 weeks |
| Dates: | 5 February - 1 March 2024 |
| Frequency: | Once every year if there are sufficient number of registered participants |
| Place: | University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Course fee: | EU/EEA citizens Master student: 12,000 DKK + expenses for field trip Single course student: 21,000 DKK + expenses for field trip Non-EU/EEA citizens Master student: 17,500 DKK + expenses for field trip Single course student: 25,000 DKK + expenses for field trip Expenses for the field trip: flights, travel insurance, accommodation, subsistence and vaccinations. Terms and conditions |
| Level and credit: | Master's course; 5 ECTS |
| Examination date: | See exam dates |
| Application deadline: | 12 December 2023 |
| Admission: | To be admitted, you must meet the admission criteria for Master of Disaster Management |