Work Package 2
Work Package Name: User Requirements, Architecture
Lead Beneficiary: UU
Stakeholder Engagement and User Requirements
In RISKADAPT, the engagement of stakeholders plays a crucial role in shaping the development of the PRISKADAPT platform. Task 2.1 focused on identifying and involving key stakeholders—such as decision-makers, infrastructure operators and citizens—across the pilot sites: the Polyfytos Road Bridge (Greece), the Energy Transmission Grid (Finland) and Cattinara Hospital (Italy). These stakeholders were organized into Communities of Practice (CoPs), which facilitated discussions on infrastructure vulnerabilities and the societal impacts of climate-induced disruptions.
Through interviews, focus groups, surveys and workshops, the project gathered valuable insights into user needs and adaptation priorities. In Greece, emphasis was placed on the impact of bridge closure on mobility and public services. In Finland, energy infrastructure resilience was a key concern, particularly regarding power outages and climate-induced icing. In Italy, the focus was on ensuring hospital functionality during extreme weather events, addressing health service continuity and emergency preparedness.
The findings from these activities, among others, led to the definition of user requirements, which include access to real-time information, risk assessment tools and a user-friendly interface for decision support. These insights will directly inform the development of PRISKADAPT, ensuring that the platform meets the needs of stakeholders in building climate resilience. The outcomes of Task 2.1 set the foundation for the next steps in WP2, where these user requirements were further analyzed and integrated into the project’s technical framework.
System Specifications and Architecture
To effectively support climate adaptation decisions, RISKADAPT is developing a comprehensive digital platform, PRISKADAPT. Task 2.2 focused on defining the system’s specifications and architecture to ensure seamless integration of data, models, and user needs identified in Task 2.1. This involved designing a reference architecture that aligns with national and international standards while providing clear guidance for the technical developments in Work Packages 3, 4 and 5.
The system is structured to incorporate climate hazard data, infrastructure vulnerability assessments, social impact and total risk analyses. It integrates multiple modules, including those for weather-related risks, structural adaptation solutions, and decision-support tools. The platform’s design ensures interoperability between different components, enabling a user-friendly experience for decision-makers.
By establishing clear specifications, Task 2.2 lays the foundation for a robust, data-driven system that will help stakeholders assess risks and implement effective adaptation measures. This work ensures that PRISKADAPT will be a reliable tool for supporting infrastructure resilience against climate challenges.
Deliverables
D2.1 – CoPs, Co-designed User Requirements
D2.2 - Specifications, Architecture
D2.1 – CoPs, Co-designed User Requirements
The aim of this report is to: (a) identify and engage relevant stakeholders and form Communities of practice (CoPs); (b) collect and identify the social impacts and user needs; as well as (c) specify the user requirements, that will be translated into technical specification in Task 2.2. In three pilots an explorative study incorporating a literature review, content analysis, interviews, questionnaires and focus groups etc. was conducted to gather information on social impacts, user needs, and user requirements. The three pilots encompass the Polyfytos Bridge in North Western Macedonia in Greece, the energy transmission grids in Finland and the Cattinara hospital in Trieste in Italy. After the identification of the stakeholders for each pilot an approach was developed to engage them in stakeholder groups, e.g. Communities of Practice (CoPs).
The findings of data collection in Pilot 1, 2 and 3 show that social impacts and user needs differ, but in general access to services, and timely information after a climate induced disaster are needed. For Pilot 1 (the Polyfytos Bridge in North Western Macedonia in Greece) this means information on alternative routes, continuous access to public services, the state of the art of the bridge and the opening of the bridge. Concerning Pilot 2 (energy transmission grids in Finland) the consequences of a power failure have a huge impact on society and economy and information on future climatological developments, particularly on icing, are important. With regard to Pilot 3 (Cattinara Hospital in Trieste in Italy) access to health services are needed as well as information on public services, transportation and infrastructure. In addition, the user requirements resulting from the pilots have been identified and analysed. The requirements have many similarities, such as addressing risks, access to the data base, user-friendly interface and reliable information. These requirements will be used as the main input in T2.2.
Stakeholder engagement is relevant for the project because end-users of the RISKADAPT platform have valuable feedback on the platform that will be developed contributing to the rebuilding or renovating of infrastructure after a severe weather event and users of the infrastructure – bridge, energy grids and hospital – give insight into their needs.
The Communities of Practice organized as meetings, workshops and sessions are meant to engage stakeholders, particularly end users, in the development of the RISKADAPT platform. At the same time, the developers of the RISKADAPT platform learn from the input of stakeholders in terms of performance of the platform. Additional information based on secondary data for pilot 1 and pilot 2 shows that social impacts as result of a bridge closure may lead to cascade effects, varying from significant disruptions to mobility, emergency response, and the transportation of essential goods to isolation of communities that, in turn, lead to life-threatening delays in accessing healthcare and emergency services. Disaster preparedness contributes to less social impacts. Therefore, citizens need to be aware of the situation – in this case the energy situation – and learn how to deal with a situation of energy outrage.
The key finding of this deliverable is that user requirements, user needs and social impacts are not always easy to identify due to the type of infrastructure. Generally, health services are organized locally, e.g. a hospital with a regional function, while energy infrastructure is organized nationally and a bridge may have a regional as well as an international function. In addition, there are many users of the infrastructure. Therefore, we decided to identify the main stakeholders for each pilot and worked on their active involvement in the development of the RISKADAPT platform.
Read the full deliverable here.
D2.2 - Specifications, Architecture
RISKADAPT will provide, in close cooperation with the end-users/other stakeholders, a novel, integrated, modular, interoperable, public and free-of-charge, customisable user-friendly platform (PRISKADAPT), to support systemic, risk-informed decisions regarding adaptation to Climate Change (CC) induced compound events at the asset level, focusing on the structural system. PRISKADAPT will explicitly model dependencies between infrastructures, which, inter alia, will provide a better understanding of the nexus between climate hazards and social vulnerabilities and resilience. Moreover, this project will identify gaps in data and propose ways to fill them, so as to advance the state-of-the-art in asset level modelling by means of utilizing advanced climate science to predict CC forcing on the structure of interest and structural analyses that are customised to the specific structure of interest. The proposed approach considers all major CC induced load effects in tandem with material deterioration, novel probabilistic environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of structural adaptation measures as well as a new model to assess climate risk that will combine technical with social risk assessments. PRISKADAPT will provide values to a set of indicators for each asset of interest, quantifying primary parameters and impacts, and will deliver all the required information for adaptation decisions in the form of a Model Information System (MIS). PRISKADAPT will be implemented in the case studies of the project pilots that involve specific assets, however, it will permit customisation with local parameters and data, so it can be applied across Europe for CC adaptation decisions involving assets of similar function, that are exposed to multiple climate hazards.
Deliverable 2.2 “Specifications, Architecture” aims to: (a) develop the baseline specification of the system functionalities, to meet the needs identified in T2.1 taking into account existing national and international regulations; (b) describe the modules of the RISKADAPT platform; (c) present the RISKADAPT system architectural specification; (d) identify the interfaces of the internal components and the foreseen interactions between the components, as well as the interfaces for interoperability of the system with RISKADAPT applications, in order to guide the development in a way that will later on enable their integration into the system.
This deliverable plays a pivotal role in the development of RISKADAPT by serving as the foundation for subsequent technical work in WP3, WP4, and WP5. It ensures a structured approach to implementing the platform, thereby enhancing resilience through improved climate risk assessment and adaptation strategies at the asset level.
The primary beneficiaries of this work include RISKADAPT technical partners, public authorities, infrastructure owners and operators, researchers, technology providers, and policymakers involved in climate adaptation planning. By providing an openly accessible framework, the deliverable enables these stakeholders to adopt and customize PRISKADAPT for diverse infrastructure types across Europe, ensuring broad applicability. By establishing clear system specifications and architecture, this deliverable ensures the successful development and deployment of PRISKADAPT, ultimately contributing to stronger, data-driven climate adaptation strategies across Europe.
Read the full deliverable here.