Prof. N. Vinod Chandra Menon: Domain Expert in Disaster Risk Reduction and Public Policy Analysis
Prof. N. Vinod Chandra Menon, an alumnus of Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is a distinguished professional in the field of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and public policy analysis. He has over 37 years of working experience, two and a half decades of which have been dedicated to disaster management.
His journey in disaster management includes serving as a Professor of Disaster Management at Yeshwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA) in Pune, the apex training institute for senior administrators under the Government of Maharashtra, and leading emergency preparedness and response efforts at the UNICEF India Country Office in New Delhi. He was also nominated as a member of the High-Powered Committee on Disaster Management, established by the Government of India.Prof. Menon was appointed by the Prime Minister of India as a Founder Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, with the stature of a Union Minister of State. During his tenure from September 2005 to September 2010, he played an instrumental role in shaping India’s disaster management landscape. He contributed to the formulation of India’s National Disaster Management Policy 2009. Prof. Menon is a member of governing and advisory boards of various institutions. He is one of the co-founders of Sphere India established in 2003 and now supporting inter agency groups of civil society organizations working in humanitarian assistance in more than 22 states of India.
Internationally recognized for his expertise, Prof. Menon serves as a Senior Advisor & Mentor at the International Institute of Information Technology (ISquareIT), Pune and as a consultant to UNDP, UNICEF, UN ESCAP, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and other international bodies. Prof. Menon’s expertise has been instrumental in the development of the global disaster risk reduction agenda and prioritising climate change adaptation initiatives in national and provincial policies.
Currently he is Adjunct Professor and Advisor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Advisor Amrita School of Sustainable Development; Regional Director Asia for The International Emergency Management Society TIEMS (tiems.info; tiems.org), headquartered at Oslo, Norway; Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Quantectum AG, Switzerland headquartered at Ljubljana, Slovenia (quantectum.com); Member of the Peer Committee on “Technological Preparedness for Dealing with National Disruptions” established by the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE); President of RedR India (redr.org.in); Senior Advisor and Mentor of the International Institute of Information Technology ISquareIT, Pune (isquareit.edu.in); Member of the Governing Board of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (www.swayamshikshanprayog.org/); Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre of Excellence in Disaster Management (CoEDM) at the Development Management Institute (DMI), Patna; Senior Advisor and Data Evangelist of India Excellence Foundation; and Mentor of engineering students participating in the eYantra Innovation Challenge (eYIC) of IIT Bombay. Prof. Menon has been honoured with the SKOCH Challenger Award in 2010 for his contributions in the field of disaster management.