Conflict Engineering proposal Questions to consider during this presentation: Do you want to participate in a consortium to develop this idea? Do you want to participate in a peer review? Objective of the presentation

What is ‘conflict engineering’? Seismic engineering as an analogy: we know how buildings will perform during earthquakes knowing this, we have damage scales, assessment tools and repair guidelines No such understanding exists for buildings impacted by conflict! -objective of the project write key words or bullets instead of a block of text -add an image “we are putting together a concept on what we are terming currently ’conflict engineering’. In seismic engineering, we know how building will perform, and so can agree damage scales, assessment tools and repair guidelines. We have no such understanding of how building perform when impacted by ordnance, in engineering terms. This initiative implies an environmental component. If we have an opportunity, I would be interested to know if your consortium finds this of value to comment upon, collaborate with, and/or peer review, ideally through the Meetings.”

Why? The scale of need is trending up Can have a great impact for the intended audience of self-recovery actors - 85% of the affected population in post-disaster contexts depend on self-recovery -There are currently 25.4 million refugees and 40 million internally displaced people in the world and the total number of refugees and IDPs is increasing from 1,717,966 in 1955 to 59,059,863 in 2017. Given that a large proportion of these people will have been displaced as a consequence of losing their homes to conflict, these numbers give a sense of the scale of repair and rehabilitation need.

Proposed initial outputs 1. An understanding of how conflicts impact building, in engineering terms 2. A damage scale for conflict damage, similar to those which exist for natural hazards 3. “Is my house safe?”, a non-specialist damage assessment tool 4. “How can I safely repair my house?”, guidance on repairs and rehabilitation for lower damage categories

Scope – what types of building? Vernacular construction methods found in conflict and post-conflict contexts around the world Construction methods and materials, such as reinforced concrete with concrete block infill, confined masonry, rubble masonry, mud brick, RC frame and infill. Types of impact from different weapons impacting different locations a mortar round might hit a roof, or a tank shell a wall Occupancy types, e.g. House owner–occupier, Apartment owner–occupier, House tenant, Apartment tenant.

Next Steps Gain endorsement Finalise and circulate proposal Engage donor community formally Peer review through the practitioners’ networks “This preliminary draft outline is intended to be circulated amongst interested stakeholders, including academic institutions, humanitarian partners, engineers and potential funders, in order to establish the credibility of the proposal and to engage a consortium interested in its review and use. Once initial feedback has been incorporated, the document will serve as an initial concept note to assess interest in developing this idea further, into a complete research and funding proposal”

Further work Progress in understanding conflict engineering can unlock further work by all stakeholders, such as: Humanitarian Developmental Academic Private sector Potentially including: Infrastructure assessment and repair tools Specialist guidance for civil engineers for full reconstruction Fire damage Possibly: -The settlements approach/area-based approach -The humanitarian-development nexus -Damage and loss assessment -Community-based emergency preparedness -Early recovery and resilience -Cross-over benefits to WASH and Protection sectors