This report summarises an ongoing effort by the World Economic Forum to serve as a catalyst for greater private sector involvement in responding to natural disasters. Although it is generally recognized that the private sector has an important role to play in addressing the increasing socio-economic consequences of disasters, there has been relatively little effort to understand the potential for contributions by specific industries, or to develop models of engagement that recognize the need for local action and ownership while being replicable, scalable and justifiable in business terms.

This report elaborates a new framework for the engagement of the engineering & construction industry sector during relief, recovery and prevention efforts as a result of natural disasters. The framework, called the Engineering & Construction Disaster Resource Partnership (DRP), builds on the experience of the Forum’s Disaster Resource Network (DRN) in India and Mexico, and the Logistics & Transport Industry’s Logistics Emergency Teams (LETs). Both of these models have demonstrated the critical role that industry can play during natural disasters and the broader partnership potential with government, the humanitarian community and other key stakeholders.