The Center advances disaster resilience through a diverse portfolio of internal and external partnerships that connect researchers, public agencies, Tribal governments, and community organizations to generate evidence, inform policy and strengthen preparedness and recovery across scales.
External partners
The Public Health Extreme Events Research (PHEER) Network is a nationwide community of researchers working to close critical gaps in how the U.S. understands the health impacts of disasters. As extreme events—from heat waves and wildfires to hurricanes and chemical releases—grow more frequent and severe, communities need rapid, reliable information about who is being affected and how.
The PHEER network exists to deliver exactly that. PHEER brings together experts across public health, environmental science, epidemiology, emergency management and community engagement to mobilize quickly after disasters. The network’s work spans rapid field assessments, community‑engaged research and cross‑disciplinary studies that illuminate how extreme events shape health outcomes. The UW serves as the administrative lead for PHEER, with Nicole Errett as one of four founding leaders alongside researchers from University of California Los Angeles, University of Delaware and New York University.
The North American Alliance of Hazards and Disaster Research Institutes (NAAHDRI) unites leaders of university-based disaster research centers across North America to advance research, education and policy in disaster risk reduction and resilience. As part of the broader Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes, NAAHDRI provides a shared forum for universities and partner organizations to coordinate research agendas, exchange best practices and elevate evidence‑based approaches to risk reduction, resilience and equitable disaster policy. The alliance focuses on translating evidence into action, promoting equity and driving real-world impact to reduce disaster losses and strengthen community resilience. The University of Washington currently serves as the Secretariat, housed within the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities, guiding NAAHDRI’s operations, strategic initiatives and cross‑institutional coordination.
The Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (NWCPHPR) partners with local, state and tribal health departments across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to strengthen the region’s ability to prepare for and respond to public health threats. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the NWCPHPR promotes evidence-based strategies and works directly with tribal communities to align interventions with local needs. The center’s work focuses on assessing and addressing current and future hazards, building workforce capacity and leadership and improving public health communications.
The Center has launched a project to strengthen and expand bi-directional partnerships with Tribal governments across Washington state and the Pacific Northwest who are particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. This work includes working collaboratively with Tribes to identify key information needs, determine key topical areas of joint interest and engage in scenario-based discussions, all while respecting Tribal sovereignty, self-determination and traditional natural and ecological knowledge.
DUB-HUB (UW-Based Partners)
The Collaborative on Extreme Event Resilience (CEER) works to build community resilience to disasters and climate change by bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and community organizations. CEER develops and evaluates evidence-based health policies and practices to reduce risks from events like earthquakes, wildfires and hurricanes. The Center for Disaster Resilient Communities (CDRC) partners with CEER to help communities prepare for all types of disasters, improving each phase of the disaster management cycle and advancing science-driven, resilient solutions.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Cascadia CoPes Hub strengthens coastal resilience in the face of chronic and acute hazards. CoPes works closely with coastal communities through collaboratories, community leads and coastal liaisons to ensure research is co-produced with and for local needs, helping communities better prepare for and recover from hazard events.
The mission of the Disaster Data Science Lab is to harness the power of artificial intelligence to help all communities anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. Using a community-centered, interdisciplinary approach, we research, educate and apply data science to create actionable solutions in partnership with the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities.
The RAPID Facility equips researchers with advanced instrumentation and technical expertise to collect critical disaster data, helping communities prepare for, withstand and recover from natural hazards. As the nation’s only comprehensive natural hazards reconnaissance facility, RAPID supports a wide range of disasters, trains researchers and enables systematic, high-quality data collection. By making these datasets openly available, RAPID informs science, engineering, policy and mitigation strategies, advancing disaster risk reduction and building more resilient communities.