Paper short abstract:

ARMNET is about linking Risk Management Practitioners and Researchers across the Arctic Regions of Canada, Russia, and Alaska to improve Risk, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation through comparative analysis and applied research using participatory and community based approaches.

Paper long abstract:

The Arctic Risk Management Network (ARMNet) was conceived as a trans-disciplinary hub to encourage and facilitate greater exchange among American, Russian, and Canadian academics and practitioners engaged in the research, management and mitigation of risks, emergencies and disasters in the Arctic regions. A Historical Ecology theory drives the trans-disciplinary methods and participatory action research to develop and implement ARMNet among Arctic communities, organizations, corporations, scientists, and emergency managers. The introductory paper considers the following: 1. As a North Slope Borough Risk Management initiative, the collaborative aspects of a network are reviewed with a focus on cooperation and inter-operability across regional and local jurisdictions. 2. The content and results of the feasibility study among American, Russian and Canadian Emergency Managers in 2015 are summarized which was funded from the US Embassy in Ottawa and Moscow. The funding allowed presentations at conferences, a community based case study of a comparative disaster event, and a survey about a. a needs assessment and b. the feasible activities among Arctic researchers and practitioners as a network. 3. The acknowledgement that a research to practice gap exists due to public policy and fiscal constraints. and 4. Facilitation teams of researchers, who work with practitioners, is proposed to bridge the gap. 5. An applied Research Coordinator Network (RCN) is progressing which will develop the features of ARMNet. Interested Arctic or disaster researchers are needed for the RCN!