An action research approach to developing, implementing and evaluating methods for risk and vulnerability assessment

Development of methods for Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) is typically carried out more or less isolated from the practical context in which the method is intended to be used. This means that practical limitations, constraints and challenges are missed, potentially leading to the proposed method is not suited for its intended end-users and giving poor results. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to suggest a framework for development, implementation and evaluation of methods for RVA with an explicit focus on the challenges faced in practice. The framework draws inspiration from three theoretical domains; Design science, Action research, and Evaluation theory. The proposed framework has been tested in the development, implementation and evaluation of a method for Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) in the municipality of Malmö in Southern Sweden. The paper presents preliminary findings from this method development and implementation process.