Understanding GEM's potential beneficiaries: a study of earthquake risk reduction activities, needs, and barriers - final report

This report summarizes the findings of an 18-month-long research project led by GeoHazards International (GHI) and Colorado State University’s (CSU) Center for Disaster and Risk Analysis, to achieve the following overarching goals: (i) to discover the needs of selected Global Earthquake Model (GEM) beneficiaries; (ii) to describe how GEM can most effectively communicate its earthquake risk information to these beneficiaries to promote risk mitigating action. To accomplish these aims, GHI-CSU team designed and led a research project that included in depth interviews and surveys with earthquake safety practitioners from government, business, health care, education.

The research project described in this report was designed to learn about the needs of individuals worldwide who are not earthquake risk assessment experts, in order to provide information that could help to guide GEM’s future tool and resource development. This project is an important initiative, as user needs are often not assessed prior to the development of scientific or technical tools.