Enhancing University-Enterprise Collaborations: A Framework for Disaster Resilience in Asia

Recent studies and the Sendai Mid-Term review have emphasised that strengthening disaster resilience cannot be accomplished by working in isolation. It necessitates a multi-stakeholder approach at various levels of engagement. However, from the Asian perspective, the University-Enterprise Collaboration (UEC) appears significantly lower than the global context. In Asia, a region that has suffered a lot from natural disasters, especially over the past few years, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities are undertaken by the governmental and private sector, organisations and volunteers, mostly as separate entities. This could lead to inefficiencies, overlapping of efforts, and also to the reinvention of the wheel. Therefore, the Universities as Higher Education Institutions are crucial in bringing the stakeholders above together to develop innovative solutions through research and development. Recognising the importance of such collaborations, a group of academics proposed the SECRA (Strengthening University-Enterprise Collaboration for Resilient Communities in Asia) project to strengthen university-enterprise collaborations (UEC) in Asia. As part of the activities under work package 2, the project aims to create a framework for improving community disaster resilience by strengthening UEC. Therefore, this research conducted a comprehensive literature review and expert workshops to identify the challenges and enablers for UECs in Asia. The review’s peer-reviewed academic papers were chosen for their applicability and relatedness to the Asian context. The outcome of this literature review was used to conduct expert workshops across the member countries in Asia and to identify further and validate the findings. The data was analysed thematically to highlight the importance of UECs for disaster resilience, particularly during the pandemic. Data was also analysed to identify factors influencing UECs, identify existing collaborative frameworks, and emphasise the importance of a relational framework for strengthening UECs. These elements were presented at project workshops in 2021 and refined with the subject matter expert’s help. The study uncovered over thirty different factors influencing the UEC. As thematic areas, the factors are classified as cultural, structural, relational, and material. Furthermore, the literature review discovered several good practices implemented in several countries to support their UECs. These findings will create a more systematic, institutionalised, and monitored framework and policy dialogue for strengthening UEC in Asia’s disaster-prone countries.