Preparedness and Resilience to address

Urban Vulnerability
Reporting

Project Information

PRUV Funded under

EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Grant agreement ID: 691060 Actions

 Total cost
€ 1 129 500,00

DOI EU contribution
10.3030/691060 
€ 1 129 500,00

Coordinated by
Closed project UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN,
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
Start date End date
1 January 2016 31 December 2019
IRELAND, DUBLIN
Ireland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PRUV (Preparedness and

Resilience to address Urban Vulnerability)
Reporting period: 2018-01-01 to 2019-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project 

The challenge posed by urban vulnerability is immense and is being compounded by rapid unplanned
urbanisation, climate change and resource pressures. While the realisation that there is a fundamental
shift in the landscape of crises to cities is no longer contested, aid actors are nonetheless grappling
with the complexities of adapting their approaches to the urban context. The Preparedness and
Resilience to address Urban Vulnerability (PRUV) Consortium aims to inform the pressing need to

1 of 4
 reshape how humanitarian action and development aid is undertaken in urban areas to address the
challenge posed by urban vulnerability. Assembled within the PRUV Consortium is an exciting mix of
actors with considerable experience and expertise in urban contexts that will transcend disciplines
and sectors to frame a new resilience and preparedness paradigm to respond to urban challenges. It
seeks to combine existing best practice with innovative thinking and technology to challenge current
state of the art thinking in order to arrive at a novel approach with affected urban populations at the
centre. By combining legal, social, cultural, political and public health perspectives in a holistic
manner, considerable purchase is added to the research around preparedness and resilience, which,
while not new within the aid sector more generally, has not been focussed sufficiently on the urban
context to date. The opportunities to carry out the research in test-bed sites in Africa, Asia and Latin
America adds to the potentially broad utility and transferability of the findings globally.
The objectives of the project are as follows:
1. To advance the state of the art by exploring the relationship between resilience and socio-economic
issues across a range of societal institutions.
2. To advance the state of the art by addressing the theoretical and practical gaps in the protection of
crisis-affected communities and vulnerable groups in urban settings in order to acquire new evidence-
based knowledge to foster resilience. 3. To advance the state of the art by determining the
contribution of existing legal frameworks at different levels of governance to urban resilience and how
they can be improved.
4. To advance the state of the art by positioning urban resilience within the human security paradigm.
5. To advance the state of the art by modelling the effectiveness of public health preparedness
interventions in urban settings for improving household, community, and local government resilience
to humanitarian crises.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the 
period covered by the report and main results achieved so far
In pursuit of these aims the project is divided into several distinct phases that serve to group the tasks
to be undertaken sequentially within each work package in achievement of this aim. The phased
approach serves to categorise the relevant deliverables.

Phase 1 (January – December 2016)

In this phase of the project considerable progress was made in laying the groundwork for the project
by developing a literature review, conceptual framework and research design to guide each of the five
work packages. As a consortium the project has been engaged collectively across work package
themes in the following areas:
- Selection of PRUV test-bed cities and particular localities within them on the basis of pre-defined
selection criteria;
- Defining project key terms, e.g. resilience, preparedness, urban etc.;
- Compilation of secondary data concerning each of the selected localities;
- Completion of a baseline survey questionnaire for deployment within a survey to be conducted in
phase 2.

Phase 2 (January – September 2017)

2 of 4
 Obtaining secondary baseline data
The data from the localities selected in Nairobi, Kibera and Kawangware, were collected by Concern
Worldwide through the IDSUE Urban Surveillance programme.
Primary baseline data collection
Quantitative baseline data concerning urban livelihoods have been collected on the basis of a
household survey. The survey serves to obtain an understanding of the livelihoods, capacities and
vulnerabilities in the context of the urban informal settlements included within the study. Through
multistage cluster sampling, the survey was conducted including a total of 1136 randomly selected
households in six localities across the three PRUV cities of Bogotá (Altos de la Florida), Nairobi
(Kibera and Kawangwere), and Jakarta (Rawabadack Utara and Lagoa). The data allows for the
obtaining of rich comparative understanding of how conditions across several sectors, detailed below,
vary across the test-bed localities:
• food security;
• hygiene and sanitation;
• health and health-seeking behaviour;
• personal security;
• housing and tenure;
• inter-personal relationships;
• income and expenditure;
• coping strategies in case of shocks and stresses.

Phase 3: Qualitative data collection (October 2017 – December 2018)

Having obtained baseline data from the six localities from both primary and secondary sources, the
data were then collated and stored in order to enable comparability across the six localities.
Qualitative data collection was then undertaken in the three test-bed cities. Key stakeholders within
the localities were identified who would be able to assist with the recruitment and convening of
research participants as part of participatory research methods including interviews, focus group
discussions and social cartographies.

Phase 4: Collaborative analysis and dissemination of research findings (January – December 2019)
Phase 4 of the project involved the collaborative analysis by project partners of the data collected in
Phases 2 and 3. Research findings were also disseminated within the localities in which the research
was undertaken and more broadly in line with the project’s communication and dissemination
strategies.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact 
(including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal
implications of the project so far)
Progress beyond the state of the art
The project has published or is due to publish peer-reviewed papers concerning the following:
- Masculinities within vulnerable urban settings
- The legal and policy framework relating to cultural heritage in urban settings
- Measuring social capital in vulnerable urban settings

3 of 4
 It has also published pioneering reports on the following:
- Child protection and resilience in Nairobi
- Health-seeking behaviour in Jakarta
- The relationship between social capital and urban resilience

The project has also had a significant positive impact on the career and skills development of the
participating researchers. In addition, the project has also fostered the creation of a deep, sustainable
research partnership between academia, the NGO sector and the private sector in relation to research
on urban resilience.

EC signature date 22 December 2015

Last update: 24 April 2020

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/691060/reporting

European Union, 2023

4 of 4