© SYRR Group
Systemic Risk and Resilience (SYRR) aims to assess and support the management of systemic anthropogenic and environmental risks.
The SYRR research group analyses the increasingly systemic socio-ecological risks associated with global and local change, and with policy, practice and civil society co-generates options for building resilience.
Global change through rising physical and social interdependencies is leading to increasingly systemic and existential risks that lead to cascading impacts and potentially intolerable burdens on communities and societies across the world.
SYRR develops and applies agile systems science to address social-ecological risks that are embedded in complex systems and characterised by potentially cascading, irreversible and existential consequences. We identify risk drivers, model network interactions, assess probabilistic outcomes and co-develop stakeholder-driven options with policy, practice and civil society that are applicable across scales.
Our approach for addressing existential and systemic risk combines advanced quantitative modeling and qualitative research with empirical assessment and soft systems analysis.
SYRR research is conducted along the following thematic research lines:
1. Systemic Risk Assessment and Management
Advance and apply quantitative estimation methods to assess emerging systemic risks and disaster resilience.
2. Socio-Ecological Resilience
Develop and apply ecological network principles to the resilience in socio-ecological systems.
3. Co-production, Engagement and Experiential learning
Effectively apply and develop participatory methods with policy and practice to create impact.
4. Risk and Resilience Policy and Practice
Further develop and apply methods to inform risk management and climate adaptation decision-making in planning, coordination, and policy formation, with attention to complex multi-stakeholder and multi-criteria contexts.
We focus, inter alia, on risk and resilience associated with climate change, disasters, food webs, finance and pandemics. SYRR work builds on activities and experience gained from the previous IIASA programs on Risk and Resilience (RISK) as well as Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) and Evolution and Ecology (EEP).
In order to address complex resilience problems, SYRR implements Resilience Labs. These labs bring together research, policy and practice in transdisciplinary co-generative exercises using quantitative and qualitative research methods for creating enhanced insight and impact.
Join us for sessions featuring inspiring speakers tackling contested issues in the risk and resilience space. The hub proceeds mostly online, with a few events hosted personally at IIASA. A chance to learn, and be part of critical conversations.
Models, tools, datasets
Flood Resilience Measurement for Communities (FRMC)
Catastrophe Simulation (CATSIM)
Projects
Smart Policy Support for Integrated Climate Risk Management (SMARTSUPPORT)
Loss and Damage
Staff
Reinhard Mechler
Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar (SYRR)
Bruno Meirelles De Oliveira
Guest Research Scholar (SYRR)
Romain Clercq-Roques
Research Scholar (SYRR)
Raquel Guimaraes
Guest Research Scholar (MIG); Research Scholar (SYRR)
News
17 March 2025
SPARCCLE Researcher Marina Andrijevic Leads the Organization of the ‘Adaptation Pathways and Scenarios for Climate Change Research’ Workshop
Adaptation to climate change is becoming increasingly urgent, yet global assessments still struggle to answer pressing questions: Where will adaptation be most needed? Which actors must adapt, and what barriers stand in the way? These challenges were at the heart of the ‘Adaptation Pathways and Scenarios for Climate Change Research’ workshop, held from 17th to 21st February at the Lorentz Center in Leiden, Netherlands.
20 January 2025
SPARCCLE Workshop Gathers EU Policymakers for Policy Feedback and Insights
From 3rd to 4th December 2024, the SPARCCLE consortium hosted a workshop in Brussels, bringing together external stakeholders and EU policymakers, including representatives from CINEA, DG ENER, and DG HERA. This collaborative event provided a platform for feedback on EU adaptation and mitigation policy analysis. It also marked the beginning of SPARCCLE’s stress test co-development process, allowing participants to contribute valuable input toward the design of the SPARCCLE climate stress test scenarios.
05 November 2024
SPARCCLE Consortium Marks One-Year Milestone with In-Person Meeting and Workshops
The SPARCCLE consortium gathered at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) from 8th to 10th October for an in-person meeting and workshops, celebrating a year of progress and planning for the next phases. The three-day event brought together consortium members from across nine countries, as well as the project’s esteemed Stakeholder Advisory Board members.
Events
IIASA, Gvishiani Room
IIASA workshop on Finance for Climate Loss and Damage
Focus
13 November 2024
COP29: Loss and Damage funding has to be at core of new climate finance regime
The focus of the ongoing COP is to decide on a new finance regime. Major polluters will be asked to massively increase their financial contributions to developing nations. Researchers from IIASA and CMCC show that Loss and Damage needs of vulnerable countries range between roughly 130 and 940 billion Dollars in 2025 alone. On top of money for mitigation and adaptation.
17 October 2024
Navigating multi-hazard risks: building resilience in a systemic risk landscape
IIASA researchers Robert Sakic Trogrlic and Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler explore the growing complexity of natural hazards and their interconnected impacts on communities. Their research offers insights into the challenges faced by communities worldwide and underscores the importance of building more resilient systems in an interconnected, increasingly hazard-prone world.
Publications
Peichel, C.L., Bolnick, D.I., Brännström, Å., Dieckmann, U. , & Safran, R.J. (2025). Speciation. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology a041735. 10.1101/cshperspect.a041735. Zisopoulos, F.K., Fath, B. , Meirelles De Oliveira, B., Toboso-Chavero, S., D'Assenza-David, H., de Souza, V.M., Huang, H., Scrieciu, Ş., Clark, O.G., Noll, D., Singh, S., Stefanakis, A., Boyd, G., Schraven, D., & de Jong, M. (2025). Towards an ecological metaphor for regenerative circular economies. Ecological Economics 231 e108545. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108545. Jóhannsdóttir, L., Sigurjonsson, T.O., Wendt, S., Latapí, M., & Kharrazi, A. (2025). Current and future research in environmental sustainability: Synthesise of the role, responsibilities, and opportunities for the business sector. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability e100282. 10.1016/j.crsust.2025.100282. (In Press) Zisopoulos, F.K., Fath, B. , Tong, X., & de Jong, M. (2025). Network properties of the global waste trade. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators 25 e100550. 10.1016/j.indic.2024.100550. Bera, B.K., Tzuk, O., Bennett, J.J.R., Dieckmann, U. , & Meron, E. (2025). Can spatial self-organization inhibit evolutionary adaptation? Journal of The Royal Society Interface 22 (222) e20240454. 10.1098/rsif.2024.0454.