Seeking Cooperation under Horizon Europe CL3–DRS: Volunteer‑Driven Smart Disaster Response—AFAD Model, Multi‑City Pilots & Interoperable Coordination

Context.

We are forming a consortium for Horizon Europe Cluster 3 – Disaster‑Resilient Society DRS‑01 and DRS‑04, leveraging the AFAD Volunteer System to co‑design multi‑city pilots that improve mobilization, coordination and interoperability.

Why AFAD Volunteering System as a reference?

The AFAD Volunteer System is a national‑scale model (launched 2019) with e‑Government onboarding and tiered training (Basic → Support → Technical/Team in development). As of 2025, it reports 1,628,514 total volunteers (with 66,480 new in 2025) and 78,945 Support‑level graduates (with 14,881 new in 2025). Volunteers apply via e‑Government, complete online modules on gonullu.afad.gov.tr, and can freeze/cancel membership through the same channels—providing a mature operational baseline for EU pilots.

What we propose.

• Volunteer Competence & Mission Matching: Map volunteer skills and availability to incident needs; digital ID, consent, shift check‑in/out, and readiness workflows aligned with AFAD practices.

• Field Coordination & Situational Awareness: Mobile app + command dashboard for tasking, safety checklists, geospatial layers, alerts, and shared resource inventory across agencies.

• Multi‑City Pilots for DRS‑01 / DRS‑04: At least two cities run table‑top + live exercises (e.g., flood/wildfire/earthquake), measuring mobilization latency, task completion, inter‑operability, and _public awareness_—targets directly in line with Disaster‑Resilient Society objectives.

• Data Governance, Ethics & Standardization: Privacy‑by‑design (e.g., lawful bases, consent, minimization), volunteer safety, and take‑up/standard tracks for broader EU adoption.

Indicative Work Packages (align with our LoIs; editable):

• WP1 – Requirements & Co‑Design: Needs assessment with end‑users; ethics, DPIA, and KPIs.

• WP2 – Tech Framework: Volunteer registry APIs, mobile & dashboard, interoperability profiles.

• WP3 – Pilots & Exercises: City pilots (DRS‑01/04), metrics, after‑action reviews.

• WP4 – Impact & Take‑up: Training kits, standardization inputs, sustainability/business models.
  (Replace/edit with the work packages from your Letters of Intent as needed.)

Requested partners — Type of cooperation sought.

• Research and Innovation Action (RIA): R&D SMEs and research institutes in disaster informatics, AI/decision support, GIS/mobility, secure comms, and cyber‑secure public safety tech.

• Innovation Action (IA): End‑user authorities (civil protection, fire & rescue, municipalities), systems integrators, certification/compliance experts for large‑scale deployment.

• Optional CSA linkage: Networks/NCPs for training, dissemination, policy & standardization.

Expected results & impact.

• ≥30% reduction in volunteer mobilization time in exercises; improved cross‑agency task throughput.

• A reusable interoperability profile for volunteer‑centric incident management.

• EU‑wide training & adoption packages grounded in a proven national model (AFAD).

Project stage
Planning – Conception stage (co‑design with partners and pilot scoping underway).