Researchers at this institute are engaged in interdisciplinary research and teaching within the international scientific field of security studies. The approach to issues of security is glocal, that is to say that the local, national, transnational and global impact are studied and analysed in conjunction with each other. The nature of this type of research strongly requires collaboratoin and cooperation with other reseachers, research institutes, organizations, a policy makers.

CDR addresses all aspects of Integrated Disaster Risk Management (Natural and Technological hazards) with a particular emphasis on disaster resilience. It combines physical sciences (hazard related studies like hydrology, geology, ...), social sciences (rural and urban planning, vulnerability studies, ...) and technological sciences (geo-information science, Earth observation, ...). It brings together nearly 70 scientists within the faculty ITC, ranging from PhD researchers to full professors, that have an interest in disaster resilience from their specific perspectives. CDR is also member of the 4TU-resilience initiative - a collaboration of the four technical universities in the Netherlands and it is one of the centers of excellence within the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) research program.