With ICA better prepared for disasters!

9 November 2022 - With the establishment of the Infra Capacity Alliance (ICA), the Netherlands is better prepared for crises and major disasters, such as a flood disaster, earthquake or the reception of refugees. Within ICA, various civilian companies and government organisations are joining forces to initially have guaranteed yet flexible availability over materials immediately needed in such scenarios. These include power, water, temporary bridges and emergency housing. On the other hand, this cooperation greatly increases the predictability of certain disasters. This allows even faster action and citizens get the help they need faster.

The world is changing rapidly due to climate change, geopolitical shifts and wars. Social problems are becoming increasingly complex and often have no clear owners. Solving these problems therefore requires cross-sector and cross-chain collaborations, in which partners work together, innovate and co-create. Within ICA, civilian companies and government organisations work together intensively as partners with the aim of acting more efficiently and scalably in times of crisis.

Guaranteed availability
The combined amount of resources and knowledge within the Infra Capacity Alliance is considerable. This enables government bodies to quickly access the right knowledge and equipment in times of crisis. This could be temporary housing for affected citizens, electricity, water or equipment to work with at the disaster site. Through ICA, the government has this equipment and, above all, the specific expertise on standby at all times, to be called upon when needed. Thus, the aid is scalable and has availability over all this without bearing the huge cost of keeping it continuously available itself. Moreover, within this system, everyone can focus on their core expertise.

Predictability
In addition, by putting all the knowledge and models of civilian partners and governments 'on top of each other', it turns out that the predictability of certain crises such as flood disasters is increased. This allows the government to be even better prepared and, in case of emergency, to switch faster to deal with the crisis.

Further expansion
Within ICA, companies such as MTD (water supplies), Jan Snel (housing solutions), Bredenoord (mobile power supplies), Riwal (equipment for working at height) and Janson Bridging (temporary bridges) are currently working together. In the coming period, ICA intends to further expand the partnership with safety regions, provinces, municipalities, COA, Water Boards, NGOs and other civilian organisations. In that context, the first ICA conference was held yesterday in Montfoort with many such organisations also able to get involved. This will make us even more efficient, flexible and, above all, better prepared for the next crisis.

Read more about it on infracapacityalliance.org