Society and human development
Society and human development determine vulnerability: who is exposed, who can prepare and who recovers depends on income, health, education, gender, age, displacement status and trust in institutions.
- 01In briefThe short answer
- 02Three mandatesThe field, seen three ways
- 03The systemic questionVulnerability as a social outcome
- 04FrameworksMeasurement and rights
- 05CouplingsPeople at the centre of every field
- 06GroundingThe methods behind the field
- 07Key termsTerms used on this page
GCRI · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
Society and human development as a field of risk covers how risks and innovation affect people's health, livelihoods, inequality, social cohesion and capabilities across the life course. In the Nexus Consortium it is studied as science at GCRI by Nexus Campaigns as well as Cities and Built Environment, governed at GRF by Information Integrity and Public Trust, and understood financially at GRA by Institutional Funds Nexus; this gateway links those platforms and the methods they share.
People and services in Pakistan.
Where people live and how far each division sits from a large city's services, shown for Pakistan as an example geography for this subject.
The field, seen three ways.
Science and evidence
Nexus Campaigns, Cities and Built Environment, Society and Human Development, Future of Work and Skills
Vulnerability as a social outcome.
The IPCC defines vulnerability as the propensity to be adversely affected, including sensitivity and lack of capacity to cope. Two households facing the same flood can have very different outcomes. Social science supplies the measurement (multidimensional poverty, social vulnerability indices, displacement tracking) and the causal analysis of what reduces it.
- Multidimensional poverty and its overlap with hazard exposure.
- Displacement, internal and cross-border, as both an outcome and a driver of risk.
- Social cohesion and trust, which shape compliance and collective action.
Measurement and rights.
| Framework or body | What it governs or supplies |
|---|---|
| UNDP Human Development Index and Global Multidimensional Poverty Index | Composite development and deprivation measures |
| INFORM Risk Index | Hazard, vulnerability and coping capacity at country and subnational level |
| UNHCR and IDMC data | Refugee and internal displacement statistics |
| Sphere standards | Minimum standards in humanitarian response |
People at the centre of every field.
- Health: social determinants of health.
- Information: trust and misinformation.
- Cities: informal settlement.
The science sits on Human Development; methods start from social science.
The methods behind the field.
- Social and behavioural science
- Decision analysis under uncertainty
- Structural and earthquake engineering
- Urban and transport engineering
- Geospatial information systems
- Spatial statistics and geostatistics
- Earth and geophysical science
- Sensors, IoT and observation networks
- Energy generation, storage and grid technology
- Water and environmental engineering
- Causal inference and impact evaluation
- Econometrics
- Economics and development economics
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning
- Robotics and automation
- Network science and contagion
- Actuarial mathematics
- Financial economics and macro-finance
- Scenario design and stress testing
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Human development | The process of enlarging people's freedoms and opportunities and improving their wellbeing, in UNDP usage. |
| Capability approach | A view of development focused on what people are effectively able to do and be, associated with Amartya Sen. |
| Human security | Freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom to live in dignity, as set out by the UN General Assembly. |
| Social vulnerability | The characteristics of people and groups that affect their capacity to anticipate, cope with and recover from hazards. |
Where this page's references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Why does GCRI host field gateways?
Around GCRI.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.