Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Methods
This course is a part of
This course will enhance your skills in disaster risk reduction planning along with decision analysis and planning for uncertainty.
We focus on the entire vulnerability and risk assessment process, from using different methods to analyse risk to evaluating their results.
The concept of vulnerability is vital in this context, as it allows us to understand why some individuals or systems are more at risk than others, thus widening our scope of possibilities for risk reduction. IFRC’s Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) tool is applied for a case study during the field trip.
The field trip to a South-Asian country (India, Nepal or Sri Lanka) include 1 week of training and lectures; 1 week of fieldwork; and a week of visits to different organisations working in the field of disaster risk reduction. After the field trip, you will have 1 week for a written assignment, which takes place online.
Course content
The course is focused on the basics of vulnerability and capacity assessment (VCA) including definitions of risk, methods for risk analysis, decision analysis, management of uncertainty, and analysis of chronic vulnerabilities as well as those related to extreme events and hazards.
The course is based on IFRC’s Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) Methodology. A central part of the course is the case study and fieldtrip, which involves performing a vulnerability and capacity assessment for an area/city/village/community. The students will work with the case throughout the course.
For more details about the course, please refer to the course curriculum.
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Course directors on »Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Methods«
Emmanuel Raju
Associate Professor and Head of Studies
Anne Bach Nielsen
Assistant Professor
Course details for »Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Methods«
Dates and examination
Course dates
2–27 February 2026
The course will take place in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal or Sri Lanka).
Examination
Please find the exam dates in the exam plan.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the course, you will be able to:
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understand the influence of risk perception on risk evaluation, and differentiate between Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) and conventional risk assessment methods, including the strengths and applications of each
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critically analyze vulnerabilities and capacities of individuals and societies, develop recommendations for vulnerability and risk reduction based on case studies, and work with international and local agencies to conduct VCA in a field setting
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identify and evaluate tools and techniques used in VCA, examining their characteristics, applications, and limitations, and critically assess an actual VCA plan from a real-life case.
Admission criteria
You must meet the following criteria to be admitted to this course:
- Hold a relevant bachelor degree or equivalent.
- Have a minimum 2 years of relevant job experience.
- Be proficient in English.
Find detailed information in the admission criteria on Master of Disaster Management.
Priority is given to enrolled students
This course is offered as an elective course in the Master of Disaster Management programme. Priority is given to students already enrolled. Once the enrolled students have been admitted to the course, the remaining seats are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tuition fees
EU/EEA citizens
Master student: 13,500 DKK + expenses for field trip
Single course student: 21,000 DKK + expenses for field trip
Non-EU/EEA citizens
Master student: 19,250 DKK + expenses for field trip
Single course student: 25,000 DKK + expenses for field trip
Expenses for the field trip include flights, travel insurance, accommodation, subsistence, and vaccinations.
More information
All course information is available in the course curriculum:Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Department of Public Health
Øster Farimagsgade 5
DK-1353 Copenhagen
Emmanuel Raju
Associate Professor and Head of Studies
Emmanuel is the Head of Studies for Master of Disaster Management and the Director of the Copenhagen Centre for Disaster Research.
He is a researcher in understanding how complex phenomenon such as disasters intersect with (un)sustainable development processes in different contexts with varying impacts.
He is an Editor of the Disaster Prevention and Management journal and a fellow at the International Science Council.
His work contributes with critical nuances to the Sustainable Development Goals.
He is one of the founders of the North European Disaster Studies Conference which has become a global annual event that has become a prominent event in the disaster research community.
He teaches on various aspects of disasters- including global policy, theoretical approaches to understanding disasters, vulnerability and risk creation, disaster recovery and livelihoods.
Anne Bach Nielsen
Assistant Professor
Anne’s research addresses how we create sustainable, resilient, and healthy cities.
She is particularly interested in how local actors contribute to reducing climate risks and adapting to climate change and reducing disaster impacts. This includes how local political initiatives and cross-sector collaborations emerge to address the climate crisis and how these are implemented on the ground.
Anne’s research also highlights how cities engage in transnational networks as an active part of their work on addressing climate change, and whether collaboration and knowledge exchange at the city level offer new policy instruments and approaches to managing the climate crisis.
More recently, her research has focused on the relationship between technology, disaster management, and resilience in the EU, and how municipalities and emergency organisations use social media to communicate with and gather information from citizens.