Developing Advanced Methodologies for Damage Assessment and Resource Allocation: Enhancing Resilience of Critical Infrastructure in Post-Conflict Environments
The DAMAR project focuses on developing and standardizing advanced methodologies for assessing damage to critical infrastructure and optimizing resource allocation in post-conflict and post-crisis environments. It addresses a major gap in existing valuation frameworks, such as IVS, EVS, or USPAP, which are not sufficiently adapted to the conditions of war zones, disrupted governance, and resource scarcity, especially in situations involving CBRN threats (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear).
The project is implemented over 24 months through four interlinked work packages and is structured to progressively build a robust and practically applicable methodology, from knowledge sharing and analytical work, through validation via exercises, to field testing and dissemination of results.
The project results are intended for NATO member and partner countries, crisis managers, first responders, government institutions, and international organizations involved in the recovery of post-conflict areas.
Project at a Glance
Grant id.: G8599
Programme: NATO Science for Peace and Security, Multi-Year Project
Duration: 16 March 2026 to 15 March 2028 (24 months)
Lead institution: Institute of Forensic Engineering, Brno University of Technology
Contact: usi@vut.cz
Project Objectives
The main objective of the DAMAR project is to develop, validate, and standardize methodologies for assessing damage to critical infrastructure that are fully functional under post-conflict conditions. Specific objectives include:
Developing a comprehensive methodology integrating physical, socioeconomic, and resilience aspects of damage assessment.
Validating the methodology through realistic scenarios, including CBRN simulations and tabletop exercises (TTX).
Preparing training programs and training at least 50 crisis managers and infrastructure recovery experts.
Formulating recommendations for integrating the results into national and international resilience and crisis-management strategies.
Disseminating outputs through an international conference, expert publications, and policy briefs intended for NATO and partner countries.
Outputs
The project delivers concrete and practically usable outputs for both the expert and institutional communities:
A standardized damage-assessment methodology verified in post-conflict conditions, including CBRN scenarios, reaching TRL 6.
Resource-allocation models enabling effective prioritization of critical infrastructure recovery.
Training materials and programs prepared for immediate deployment in crisis-response practice.
Technical guidelines and policy briefs intended for governments, professional organizations, and international institutions.
At least three peer-reviewed scientific articles published in international journals.
A final international conference presenting results to representatives of NATO and partner countries.
Project Team
The project brings together experts from three institutions with complementary competencies in forensic engineering, crisis management, and CBRN protection.
Institute of Forensic Engineering, Brno University of Technology (IFE BUT), Czech Republic serves as the project's lead institution and ensures overall coordination, development of the damage-assessment and valuation methodology, and leadership of expert workshops. The team combines expertise in forensic analysis, property valuation, risk analysis, and transport-technical expertise.
Lviv State University of Life Safety (LSULS), Ukraine contributes direct field experience from an active conflict environment. The LSULS team is responsible for developing training scenarios, CBRN validation, and coordinating workshops and exercises.
The project is supported by an end-user, the Association of Forensic Experts of the Czech Republic, which provides practitioner feedback on the applicability of the methodology and participates in the selection of validation scenarios.
News
This section will be continuously updated with key milestones, workshop outcomes, reports from field exercises, and published project outputs.
September 2026 — Training programme announced. The first of three training sessions will take place on 22 to 26 February 2027 in Žilina, Slovakia, combining a tabletop exercise, training and evaluation. The sessions are designed for middle and senior management responsible for critical infrastructure and are conducted in English. Two further sessions will follow in 2027 and early 2028. Information for prospective participants will be published here and distributed through the partner institutions.
September 2026 — Draft assessment methodology completed. Under the first work package, the consortium developed a modular Damage–Loss–Needs assessment methodology, which separates direct damage, consequential losses and recovery needs and adds a strategic index layer supporting the prioritisation of recovery. The framework is accompanied by a calculation workbook, a standardized field data collection template and a concept for a decision-support tool. The methodology was tested on six historical incidents of different types and scales and was confirmed by the consortium at the coordination meeting of 1 September 2026. In parallel, work has started on transferring the calculation workbook into an application that will make the assessment available in a more user-friendly form.
April 2026 — Kick-off meeting held in Žilina. The project was formally launched at a three-day kick-off meeting hosted by ISEMI on 30 March to 1 April 2026, with the Ukrainian partners joining online. The consortium agreed the joint work programme, defined the three methodological perspectives to be integrated, namely CBRN threat assessment, infrastructure valuation and socio-economic impact assessment, selected the core critical infrastructure sectors for the further work, and agreed the concept of the training programme.
February 2026 — Project approved. The DAMAR project was approved under the NATO Science for Peace and Security programme. The consortium team has begun preparations for the kick-off meeting in Žilina and the first work package focused on knowledge sharing and methodology development.
Data and Information
The project works exclusively with unclassified data. Scenarios involving nuclear power plants and the defence sector are excluded from its scope.
