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Center for Innovation in Risk, Catastrophes, and Decisions (CIRCAD)

Center Overview

The Center for Innovation in Risk, Catastrophes, and Decisions (CIRCAD) is an interdisciplinary, solution-oriented research center dedicated to addressing the escalating financial and societal consequences of natural hazards, extreme events, and systemic disruptions. As disaster-related losses accelerate, insurers face increasing challenges in maintaining coverage availability and affordability, while households, communities, and capital markets confront growing exposure and uncertainty.

CIRCAD offers a novel response: a structured partnership that brings together academic researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and community stakeholders to co-produce tools, models, and strategies essential for navigating a complex and evolving risk landscape. Through this convening role, CIRCAD aligns cutting-edge research with the real-world priorities of insurers and risk managers, advancing data-driven decision frameworks, next-generation insurance products, and innovative risk-transfer mechanisms.

In parallel, CIRCAD serves as a hub for professional training and workforce development, engaging students, postdoctoral researchers, and practitioners in interdisciplinary, applied research. These efforts strengthen the sector’s technical capacity while positioning insurance, reinsurance, and financial services as central actors in advancing national resilience.

Universities

University of Georgia
Duke University

View Center Website

Center Personnel

Mark Borsuk
Center Director
+1 603 667 7454
mark.borsuk@duke.edu

Research Focus

Innovative insurance mechanisms

Community-based catastrophe insurance (CBCI)
Parametric products for underinsured perils
Multi-hazard and system-level risk transfer strategies

Improved risk modeling and Transparency

Decision-theoretic evaluation of climate and catastrophe models
Model integration of nature-based solutions and mitigation measures
Tools to assess, compare, and contextualize hazard forecasts

Accessible climate and exposure data

FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data application programming interfaces (APIs) and platforms
Customized risk indices and parametric triggers
Interactive dashboards for resilience planning and risk disclosure

Systemic risk and decision analysis

Simulation of financial interdependencies and cascading impacts
Frameworks to support investment planning and resilience financing
Evaluation of rating systems, risk communication, and regulatory frameworks

Awards

2517578

IUCRC Phase I Duke University: Center for Innovation in Risk, Catastrophes, and Decisions (CIRCAD)

The Center for Innovation in Risk, Catastrophes, and Decisions (CIRCAD) is an Industry–University Collaborative Research Center (IUCRC) that addresses the financial and societal impacts of natural hazards, extreme events, and systemic disruptions. Insurers are confronting challenges in maintaining coverage availability and affordability, leaving households, communities, and markets exposed. CIRCAD responds by producing data-driven tools, decision frameworks, and risk transfer strategies that strengthen industry’s ability to evaluate and manage emerging risks. By linking fundamental academic research and state-of-the-art methods with industry priorities, CIRCAD supports the development of next-generation insurance solutions, enhances investment planning, and informs decision-making. These efforts can help safeguard economic stability, support effective risk mitigation, and reduce the burden on public resources. The Center also serves as a hub for professional training and workforce development, engaging students and practitioners to build the technical and analytical capacity required for risk-management focused sectors. In doing so, CIRCAD positions these sectors as critical partners in confronting the nation’s most pressing hazard and infrastructure challenges. CIRCAD’s research portfolio addresses key challenges at the intersection of hazard science, insurance analytics, and financial decision-making. Its projects focus on developing and evaluating innovative insurance mechanisms, improving the transparency and applicability of risk models, advancing the use and accessibility of hazard and exposure data, and analyzing the broader consequences of risk management decisions across systems and sectors. CIRCAD also investigates the role of infrastructure and land use investments in reducing losses and informing insurance and investment strategies. The Center’s methods span simulation modeling, geospatial analysis, data integration, behavioral research, and stakeholder collaboration. By combining academic rigor with industry relevance, CIRCAD ensures that its research products are directly applicable to the evolving needs of insurers, regulators, and public agencies navigating the complexities of catastrophe risk. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. Read More >

2517556

IUCRC Phase I University of Georgia: Center for Innovation in Risk, Catastrophes, and Decisions (CIRCAD)

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the Center author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation.