A Conceptual Co-Design Co-Create Framework for Citizen Engagement in Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience

Disasters pose severe threats to life, livelihoods, and socioeconomic stability globally, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups. Despite growing recognition of the importance of citizen engagement in disaster risk reduction and resilience (D3R), existing participatory frameworks remain fragmented, predominantly top-down, and unsustainable beyond project funding cycles. There is a recognised need for an integrated conceptual framework that aims to systematically embed co-design and co-create principles into D3R governance while aiming to ensure the inclusion of vulnerable populations. This paper addresses this gap by presenting the Co-Design Co-Create Framework (CCF), a conceptual institutional model for citizen engagement in D3R. The CCF comprises six iterative phases—KNOW, RAISE AWARENESS, CO-DESIGN CO-CREATE, OUTREACH, KEEP ENGAGED, and EVALUATION—organized as a Living Lab ecosystem. Distinctive conceptual innovations include a Disaster Assembly mechanism designed to promote long-term sustainability through polycentric governance, explicit inclusion of vulnerable groups via Social Vulnerability Index assessment, proposed dual production of co-created policies and co-designed tangible solutions, and participatory tools including Policy Delphi and Storytelling. Unlike conventional time-bound initiatives, the CCF is designed to address critical gaps in existing disaster risk reduction (DRR) practices through embedded sustainability mechanisms, citizen empowerment aimed at Arnstein’s highest participation level, systematic knowledge-to-product translation, and bottom-up planning principles. This conceptual framework conceptualises disaster resilience as a continuously evolving, socially legitimate, and just process anchored in durable governance structures. Empirical validation through field implementation constitutes a direction for future research.