Call for abstract: International Conference on Big Data for Disaster Response and Management in Asia and the Pacific

As the frequency and intensity of disasters increase in Asia and the Pacific, the use of big data is becoming crucial for timely, evidence-based decision making in disaster management. 

Rapid assessments of the impact of disasters on social and economic conditions support effective disaster response and management. Studies are exploring non-traditional datasets such as remote sensing, mobile location data, and social media data, in combination with traditional datasets from surveys and census to assess the impact on different segments of the economy. Some examples are in Asian Development Bank’s Technical Assistance:  Nowcasting and Disasters: Impact-Based Forecasting and Socioeconomic Monitoring.   

The Call for Abstracts welcomes research and practical applications on the theme “Big Data for Disaster Response and Management in Asia and the Pacific”. Contributions from both academic and practitioner communities are encouraged. The motivation is to gather case studies and applications of different big data and new methodologies in disaster assessments, with a focus on economic and social impacts, in Asia and the Pacific. The Asian Development Bank and the International Research Institute of Disaster Science will jointly organize a conference in Sendai, Japan on 15–17 February 2024. Please refer to the submission guidelines for further information. 

Submission guidelines

Authors should submit a 500-word abstract by 10 October 2023. The submission should highlight the motivation, dataset and methodology for a policy relevant research application on the theme, and include:  

• Title 
• Name of author(s) and affiliation(s) 

Authors of selected abstracts should submit presentation materials and a draft paper (if available) to share with discussants by 15 January 2024; and commit to in-person participation during the conference on 15-17 February 2024. The material should discuss policy recommendations and/or action points based on the research insights.  

ADB will support travel and accommodation for one author per paper, who must be a citizen of an ADB member economy.

Papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication in special issues of Economics of Disasters and Climate Change and Progress in Disaster Science in 2024, and will undergo the standard review process. 

Event Timeline   

Selection Criteria

Participants must certify that the submitted entry is original and has not been previously published or made publicly available. Participants must also certify that the submitted entry does not infringe on any copyright, privacy rights, or legal rights of any third party. Submissions will be judged based on criteria such as:   

• Technical Novelty 
• Innovative Use of Big Data 
• Scalability and Sustainability 
• Potential Policy use 
• Readability/Coherence  

Organizing Committee

• Madhavi Pundit, ADB
• Shunichi Koshimura, IRIDeS
• Takako Izumi, IRIDeS
• Ilan Noy, Victoria University of Wellington

Event Partner

Association of Pacific Rim Universities  

For inquiries, please contact:  Madhavi Pundit (mpundit@adb.org)  Priscille Villanueva (pvillanueva@adb.org)