Engaging diverse stakeholders in exposure data collection: Participatory tools and activities

Extreme natural events, including earthquakes and tsunamis, can significantly impact communities, ranging from physical damage to casualties and socio-economic disruptions. To reduce disaster risk, it is paramount to engage diverse stakeholders with different expertise levels. This work discusses different methods that involve a wide range of stakeholders in participatory activities and leverage exposure-related knowledge. Practitioners, academics, policymakers and emergency managers were involved in exposure development activities at a national and regional scale. Residents, civil protection officers and school students contributed to identifying dominant building typologies collecting information on single buildings. Each method identified challenges and opportunities of interacting with societal stakeholders for disaster risk reduction purposes. This work demonstrates that a wide range of societal stakeholders can contribute to exposure development if enabled in structured, tailored participatory approaches. Finally, it discusses the benefits of integrating the described methods into a collaborative stakeholder interaction framework for exposure development. • Societal stakeholders provide exposure data often overlooked in exposure development. • Workshops, field work and citizen science enhance societal stakeholders engagement. • Exposure datasets developed using input from societal stakeholders improve DRR.