PrevEntraide is a digital platform and social network dedicated to "Preventive Mutual Aid," connecting citizens, local authorities, and businesses to foster a culture of risk and immediate local response.
Map
PrevEntraide
General Information
ISIG
A digital platform and citizen network designed to mobilize local mutual aid and risk awareness through a "Citizen Volunteer" model before, during, and after disasters.
The solution facilitates the identification of local risks and coordinates neighborhood solidarity through the platform's "Aid Zone". It provides structured digital tools for sharing risk maps, educational resources, and real-time alerts for industrial (SEVESO) and natural hazards. By formalizing social links, the tool ensures that isolated individuals receive help from their neighbors during a crisis, bridging the gap between official response and immediate local needs.
Large-scale disasters often reveal a disconnect between professional emergency services and the immediate needs of residents. In France, the complexity of industrial risks and increasing climate-related events (floods, forest fires) led to the creation of PrevEntraide by Association Prévention MAIF. The initiative addresses the need for a coordinated layer of resilience where citizens are active participants in their own safety.
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
It tackles social isolation during disasters that complicates evacuation and alert dissemination. It bridges the information gap between technical risk assesments and the practical understanding of the local population.
The solution provides deep focus on the elderly, people with disabilities, and isolated residents. Citizen volunteers are encouraged to identify and check on these individuals within their immediate "Aid Zone" to ensure they are not overlooked during evacuations or power outages.
The governance implementation model represents a "Hybrid Civic-Institutional Integration." It allows for community-led initiatives (citizen volunteers) to operate in parallel with decentralized local authorities (Mayors) while maintaining a centralized digital standard. This model is most suitable for countries with strong local municipal responsibility for safety.
The system goes beyond basic response by institutionalizing "preventive aid" into the community’s social fabric.
While the solution thrives on developed digital infrastructure (the platform/app), its core logic of neighborhood aid can be implemented with none or basic infrastructure through physical phone trees and printed "reflex sheets" provided by the association.
The purpose is shared responsibility. Preventraide uses a "Local Relays" recruitment strategy where local leaders are trained to become nodes of communication and support within their residential blocks or companies.
Methods include interactive risk mapping on the web platform, community-led "risk walks" to identify vulnerabilities, and the use of the platform to coordinate post-disaster cleanup or support.
Users influence local resilience by self-organizing mutual aid groups. While they do not replace official command structures, their localized data and "local relays" alerts influence the speed and prioritization of the official emergency response.
The solution empowers citizens by giving them access to the same risk knowledge as professionals, moving them from "protected victims" to "active protectors" of their community.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
The "citizen volunteer" role is a social innovation that formalizes spontaneous volunteering into a structured, pre-trained preparedness network.
French
This solution is implemented by Association Preventraide. It is transferable to Local Municipalities, NGOs, or Large Industrial Parks looking to bridge the gap between their technical safety plans and the surrounding community.
Preventraide has significant experience in "Culture of Risk" education and industrial hazard communication in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Accordingly, the implementer must have strong ties to both local government and civil society.
- Lead Organisation: Association Prévention MAIF (the developer and primary implementer).
- Institutional Partners: Ministry of Ecological Transition, local Préfectures, and Municipalities.
- NGO & Civil Society Partners: French Red Cross, AFPCNT (National Association for Natural and Technological Disasters), and "Créateur de forêt."
- Operational Actors: Fire and Rescue Services, local volunteers, and educational institutions (for "Culture of Risk" programs).
1. Territorial risk analysis.
2. Platform localization and risk-map integration.
3. Citizen volunteers recruitment and training workshops.
4. Establishing a formal communication bridge with local emergency services (SAPEURS-POMPIERS).
5. Ongoing community drills and simulations.
Implementation requires a digital platform (web/mobile), a training curriculum for participants, and a community manager to maintain network activity. It relies on a stable local or sustainable mix of public grants and corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding from local industries.
Phase 1 (Pilot): Implementation in high-risk SEVESO zones.
Phase 2 (Growth): Expansion to natural hazards and wider urban areas.
Phase 3 (Sustainability): Integration of AI and real-time sensor data for citizen volunteers.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
Technology alone does not build resilience; it must be backed by a "human network." The platform acts as the "glue," but the local volunteer is the person who actually ensures the elderly neighbor has heard the siren.
A major challenge is maintaining citizen engagement during "quiet" periods without disasters. The strategy is to integrate "daily safety" and social link-building activities into the platform to keep the network active.
Risks include the spread of misinformation during a crisis or spontaneous volunteers putting themselves in danger. Mitigation involves strict participants training protocols and a verified information channel that mirrors official Civil Protection alerts.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
It sustains itself by training local volunteers who then recruit and inform their own neighbors, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of local knowledge.
The model is highly scalable because the digital architecture is hazard-agnostic. While currently focused on France, the "solidarity participants" logic can be applied to seismic zones in Italy or flood plains in Central Europe.
The platform uses interactive mapping, user-generated incident reporting, and integrated alert systems.
Direct costs involve the development of the platform and the initial training materials.
Operational costs include server maintenance and the staff time required for ongoing community outreach and citizen volunteers certification.
To be sustainable, the solution must provide value in non-crisis times (e.g., general safety tips, weather alerts) to ensure the community remains connected to the platform.