EM-DAT Partners

USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA)

From 1999 to the beginning of 2025, the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), part of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), supported the EM-DAT project. BHA, known as the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) until 2020, coordinated and provided humanitarian assistance to people affected by disasters and crises around the world.

Advisory Bodies

Following the end of the USAID funding, the governance of EM-DAT has evolved since 2026 (see the 2026 Roadmap for EM-DAT).

• Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (STAG). From 1999 to 2019, Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meetings were held every two years on average as part of the evaluation of the USAID-BHA/CRED initiative, producing recommendations for the continuous improvement of EM-DAT. In 2023, the meeting was opened to experts from the scientific community and renamed STAG (Brussels, Belgium, 2023; Potchefstroom, South Africa, 2024). The annual STAG meeting has been paused since 2026. Reports and presentations are available on the STAG page.
• Scientific Committee (SciCom). Established in 2023, the SciCom oversees the quality of EM-DAT data and control processes and meets online twice a year. It is being revamped to strengthen the scientific quality and consistency of EM-DAT data, open science practices, and FAIR data principles (see the SciCom page).
• Advisory Board. Established in 2026 with a broader strategic mandate, the Advisory Board supports the search for sustainable funding, helps define and monitor the social and scientific objectives of the EM-DAT project, and strengthens coordination with global, regional, and thematic partners.