Research in the resilience of infrastructure systems has constantly been increasing during the past decade and is expected to continue to grow. Although the term resilience was not uncommon in 19th-century material science, the current meaning of “system resilience” is rooted in 1970s research in ecology.

Self-repairable computer systems, developed in the same decade for space and defence applications, are examples of resilience applications in engineering. Following the significant evolution of resilience applications in the domain of technical systems in the past two decades, the term resilience entered the policy domain in January 2023, when the Directive on the Resilience of Critical Entities (CER Directive) went into force replacing the 2008 Critical Infrastructure Directive.

The 63rd ESReDA seminar addresses two fundamental elements:

• The methodological development of resilience assessment from a conceptual framework to modelling approaches

• The metrics for resilience assessment and development of quantitative tools for decision making

The seminar offers a forum for exploring the above points, stimulating discussions on theories, concepts and experiences of resilience assessment methodologies and applications.

The aim is to encourage new ideas, scientific and conceptual papers, case studies and cross-sectoral research on the topic with examples and applications of infrastructures exposed to both technological and natural hazards and threats, such as:

• Disruptions of infrastructures due to ageing or random failures
• Natural disasters
• Intentional attacks or man-made hazards
• Emerging threats ( hybrid)

Project group (PG) on Resilience Assessment of Critical Infrastructure

ESReDA is currently considering a new project group (PG) on Resilience Assessment of Critical Infrastructure, pending approval by the General Assembly of ESReDA during the meeting in April 2023. This PG continues the work carried out by the previous ESReDA project group “Resilience Engineering and Modelling of Networked Infrastructure” during 2018-2021 years.

The aim of the PG is to develop and propose an integrated approach for quantitative resilience assessment including management decisions (comparison of solutions for investment, and maintenance) in a context of uncertain scenarios (global change and emerging threats).

A dedicated project group meeting is planned on October 24, the day before the seminar. Participants are welcome to join the meeting as either PG members or observers.

Submission of abstracts

Authors are invited to present their proposals in several infrastructure sectors, including:

• Energy sector (electricity, gas, hydrogen)
• Transport sector (rail, road, air and maritime)
• Other critical infrastructures, networks and entities
• Urban development
• Public sector and government

Interdependencies of infrastructures and cascading effects are also among the accepted topics, along with others that fit well within the topic of resilience assessment.

Abstracts, not exceeding 400 words, should state:

• Tentative title
• Principal author
• Objectives
• Relevance for the Seminar and Novelty
• Methods and findings

Extended abstracts are an alternative to full papers. An extended abstract should be at least one page long and it should include a list of the most relevant references (5 or 6). Both extended abstracts and full papers will be published in the seminar proceedings.