The mission of the Disasters Roundtable is to facilitate and enhance communication and the exchange of ideas among scientists, practitioners, and policy makers in order to identify emerging issues related to natural, technological, and other disasters. The Roundtable is a forum for examining urgent and important issues related to disaster reduction. It emphasizes the exchange of ideas and facilitates personal working relationships between the federal agencies and experts in related fields. In the "roundtable" format, federal officials participate fully as members, thus engaging them more closely in the process. The Roundtable convenes three times a year to provide a forum for discussion on issues related to the understanding and mitigation of disasters. It brings together experts in the scientific and technical fields related to hazards and the relevant social and policy sciences to identify, discuss, and advance issues that require national or regional attention. The Roundtable is a neutral meeting ground for scientists, practitioners, and policy makers to exchange information and ideas. The Roundtable members identify topics, create agendas, recruit expert speakers, and assemble information for discussion for open workshops. Workshop sessions are carefully structured to feature appropriate presentations and discussions relevant to scientific developments and timely policy issues related to disasters. Government officials who serve as ex officio members are incumbents of the sponsoring federal agencies that have program responsibilities in pertinent aspects of the issues before the Roundtable. A steering committee of approximately 13 members (5 appointed members and 8 sponsoring members) set the agenda for the workshops, which are all open and free to the public. The workshops result in summary reports which are posted on the National Academies website.
