The Future of Civil Protection Annual Conference,

Luke Martin

The Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies - Founded in 1938, the Institute of Civil Defence & Disaster Studies was the United Kingdom’s oldest learned society wholly dedicated to international disaster studies & research, & had worldwide membership.

Since then, as the international environment changed, so has civil protection, progressing through the principles of ‘Integrated Emergency Management’ to the current use of a multi-disciplinary ‘capabilities’ or ‘resilience’ approach, planning to mitigate threats & consequences from any cause including natural events, terrorism, socio-technological catastrophe & system failure.

The Institute of Emergency Management was incorporated in 1996 by professional emergency planners and managers who recognised the need to research and improve the response to major incidents and their immediate and long-term co-ordinated management. In so doing it was also aware of the necessity of promoting the education and training of key members of the emergency services and others, including the public, in the essential skills to deal with civil emergencies.

Since its formation the IEM was actively involved in achieving these targets and had constantly pressed for high standards of professional practice at national and local levels as well as exchanging ideas and publication of information at international levels. As an Institute it has frequently been consulted for its professional views, comments and advice by the media, commercial, government and other bodies. The work continued in these respects and its members actively participated in Conferences and seminars at international level on a wide range of subjects relevant to the management of major incidents.

Recognising that there was considerable synergy and overlap between the two, the Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies (ICDDS) and the Institute of Emergency Management (IEM) merged on 1 January 2009, to form the Institute of Civil  Protection & Emergency Management which is a registered UK Charity that seeks to further excellence across the world.