Before the Flood: Are Forecasts Good Enough for Humanitarian Decision-Making?

SPEAKER | Associate Professor Liz Stephens, Dept of Geography & Environmental Science, University of Reading.

ABSTRACT | The forecast-based Financing initiative, led by the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, has challenged the status-quo and developed a systematic way for humanitarians to use forecasts to take action before a disaster strikes.

In this talk I will discuss the work that academics have been doing with humanitarians to support this initiative, challenging misconceptions about the skill and applicability of forecasts at different lead times, working together to support humanitarian decisions, and scaling up from initial pilot projects.