Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science

What Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science does

The Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS) is a Swedish national interdisciplinary research platform established in 2010 when the Swedish Government designated natural hazards and disaster science as a strategic research area. CNDS operates as a virtual centre comprising ten departments across three universities — Uppsala University (which hosts the headquarters), the Swedish Defence University, and Karlstad University — covering earth sciences, engineering (including electrical engineering and materials science), and social and political sciences (including peace and conflict research and crisis management).

The centre's core product is the CNDS Research Framework, which structures collaborative interdisciplinary work on the nexus between socio-technical vulnerability and extreme events, alongside supporting programs including the CNDS/EGU Summer School (an annual international training course for PhD students), the CNDS Forum for Natural Hazards and Disasters (a recurring knowledge-exchange platform for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers), the CNDS Fellows Network, the CNDS Publications Database, and a twice-per-term newsletter. CNDS produces no commercial software or hardware products and has no proprietary AI/ML technology stack; its outputs are research publications, research training, and policy-relevant reports such as social vulnerability indices for climate-related hazards developed with MSB.

CNDS has no commercial revenue model and is funded through public research grants channelled via its partner universities. It is governed by a board chaired by Charles Parker, with Steffi Burchardt serving as Director and Malin Göteman as Deputy Director. The entity is not investable in the conventional equity sense; its strategic significance is best understood as a stable, government-anchored knowledge platform rather than a growth-stage venture.

Name

Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science

Legal name

Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science

Website

https://cnds.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS) is a Swedish national research platform, established in 2010, that conducts interdisciplinary research on natural hazards and disaster science across Uppsala University, the Swedish Defence University, and Karlstad University, serving policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disaster Science Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Natural hazards research
• Disaster risk reduction
• Climate adaptation studies
• Interdisciplinary disaster science
• Societal security research

Headquarters

HQ city

Uppsala

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Funding: CNDS operates as a government-funded national research platform established by the Swedish Government in 2010 as a strategic research area. The centre receives funding through its partner universities (Uppsala University, Swedish Defence University, Karlstad University) and government research grants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CNDS is a Swedish national interdisciplinary research platform that conducts research on the nexus between socio-technical vulnerability and extreme events. It brings together researchers from engineering, social sciences, and earth sciences across ten departments of three partner universities (Uppsala University, Swedish Defence University, and Karlstad University) to study natural hazards, disaster risk reduction, crisis management, and societal resilience.

Product overview

The Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS) is not a commercial product company but rather a national interdisciplinary research platform. Its 'offerings' consist of collaborative research programs, researcher networks, and knowledge-sharing resources. The core offering is the CNDS Research Framework, which integrates researchers from engineering, social, and earth sciences across three Swedish universities (Uppsala University, Swedish Defence University, and Karlstad University). Supporting offerings include the CNDS/EGU Summer School for research training, the CNDS Forum for knowledge exchange between researchers and practitioners, the CNDS Fellows Network for collaboration, a Publications Database for disseminating research outputs, a Media Library containing templates and logos, and a Newsletter for communications. These programs collectively advance disaster risk reduction and societal resilience to natural hazards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CNDS Research Framework
• CNDS/EGU Summer School
• CNDS Forum for Natural Hazards and Disasters
• CNDS Fellows Network
• CNDS Publications Database

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 PhD students have successfully completed doctoral studies since 2010
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Uppsala UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Primary host university for CNDS headquarters. CNDS researchers are affiliated with Uppsala University's Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Government, Department of Information Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering, and Department of Peace and Conflict Research.
• Swedish Defence UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Partner university with researchers from the Swedish Defence University's Centre for Societal Security (CTSS), Department of Political Science and Law, Department of Leadership and Command & Control, and Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership.
• Karlstad UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Partner university with researchers from Karlstad University's Centre for Societal Risk Research (CSR), Department of Political, Historical, Religious and Cultural Studies, and Risk and Environmental Studies programmes.
• IRIDeS (International Research Institute of Disaster Science)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration partner for disaster science research
• CLIMESminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate research collaboration initiative
• SNSN (Swedish National Seismic Network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on seismic monitoring and research activities
• Campus TotalförsvarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTotal defence and societal security collaboration
• MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish Civil Contingencies Agency collaborates with CNDS on research reports including social vulnerability indices for climate-related risks in Sweden

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR): UNDRR is the UN system's coordinating body for disaster risk reduction, producing frameworks, assessments, and policy guidance that CNDS researchers engage with as part of international DRR work, making it a relevant institutional counterpart at the global level.
• GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (German Research Centre for Geosciences): GFZ is a large-scale German national research centre for earth sciences that conducts research on natural hazards (earthquakes, floods, volcanic risk), making it a comparable national-platform-style institution in the same hazard-research domain.
• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI): SEI is an independent policy research organisation working on environment and climate adaptation that frequently engages with disaster risk reduction, climate vulnerability, and governance — making it a peer in the climate-and-resilience research space.
• International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA): IIASA is an international research institute applying systems analysis to global risk, climate, and resilience challenges — comparable to CNDS in combining quantitative, engineering, and policy research on socio-technical vulnerabilities and systemic risk.

Regional players

• Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI): SMHI is the Swedish national agency for weather, water, and climate, producing research and operational outputs that overlap with CNDS's hydrology, weather extremes, and climate change research areas. It serves as a likely Swedish counterparty for hazard-related research.
• Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI): FOI is a Swedish government research agency covering defence and security, including societal security and crisis management research — overlapping with CNDS's defence-oriented collaborations (Campus Totalförsvar, Swedish Defence University partners).
• Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI): NGI is a leading Nordic research and consulting centre for geotechnical hazards including landslides, earthquakes, and climate-related ground hazards — comparable to CNDS's earth-sciences and hazards research, focused on a neighbouring Nordic market.

Direct peers

• International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS): IRIDeS at Tohoku University is Japan's leading interdisciplinary disaster science research institute, integrating engineering, social sciences, and medicine to study natural hazards and disaster risk reduction — directly comparable to CNDS's mandate and structure. IRIDeS is also an existing CNDS partner.
• Swedish Defence University's Centre for Societal Security (CTSS): CTSS is a CNDS partner centre within the Swedish Defence University that researches crisis management, societal security, and political science — directly aligned with CNDS's political-science and crisis-management research streams.
• Centre for Societal Risk Research (CSR), Karlstad University: CSR is a CNDS partner institution within Karlstad University focused on societal risk research, risk and environmental studies, and political science — substantially overlapping with CNDS's social-science and disaster-governance research portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cndssweden1376
• Xx.com/cnds_sweden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science