Scotland’s new National Centre for Resilience (NCR) was officially opened on 21 March. The Centre will work on a network basis across Scotland, and have its core staffing presence on the Crichton Campus in Dumfries. The centre will bring together science, best practice and local knowledge to develop Scotland’s national capabilities in preparing and dealing with emergency situations relating to weather and other natural hazards.
The NCR includes a number of strategic partners which make up its core membership: Scottish Government, Met Office, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Police Scotland, Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Dumfries & Galloway Council, Sniffer, Scottish Flooding Forum, University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow.
Speaking at the launch event, Environment Minister Aileen McLeod said,
“The National Centre for Resilience will be Scotland’s first resilience ‘centre of excellence’ focusing on natural hazards and how Scotland can become more resilient towards them. It will help improve our understanding of the impact of natural hazards, such as extreme weather events on communities, and provide support to them including practical tools kits, learning and exercise opportunities. The centre will be a national resource helping with, anticipating, and reducing problems from developing in the first place and, where they do emerge, enabling individuals and communities to recover quickly.
“It’s important to bear in the mind that the centre is not a response facility, but a knowledge and research hub, operating on a network basis facilitating the sharing of best practice and developing resources and capacity available locally, but also reaching out to a number of institutions and organisations across Scotland and beyond.”
SOURCE: Keep Scotland Beautiful
Supporting Scotland's Towns