Project

Reorganizing civil protection in Liechtenstein

What is the best way to organize civil protection in the Principality of Liechtenstein? What are its main goals? What are the main tasks the civil protection organization is expected to perform? The Liechtenstein Office of Civil Protection commissioned EBP to address these questions.

Liechtenstein has maintained civil protection units since the 1980s. However, in contrast to Switzerland, Liechtenstein provides for no forms of compulsory civil or military service, leaving its various civil protection units staffed entirely by volunteers. In recent years, the number of volunteers has decreased, as it has proven increasingly difficult to recruit young people to fill vacancies.

Added to this is the fact that Liechtenstein’s various municipalities are not obligated to maintain their own civil protection groups, and there is no official service mandate they could use to guide their efforts. As a result, the various civil protection groups one finds in Liechtenstein are very heterogeneous.

Given the need for coordinated civil protection efforts in Liechtenstein, the Office of Civil Protection commissioned EBP to help it develop appropriate solutions. For its part, EBP joined forces with representatives of civil protection groups throughout Liechtenstein to examine how best to structure the civil protection organization to meet current and future challenges and to make an important contribution in the country’s security services network.

The scope of EBP’s assignment included the following tasks:

  • Compiling a background report on the history of civil protection in Liechtenstein
  • Developing guiding principles
  • Compiling a task portfolio
  • Developing a portfolio of various organizational structures
  • Developing a set of criteria to evaluate tasks and organizational structures
  • Moderating workshops

EBP summarized its results in a final report and issued recommendations to the municipalities in Liechtenstein. These recommendations were examined by municipal leaders at the end of June 2018. As the next step, EBP will assist the development of an implementation plan.

Picture Credits: © Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz Liechtenstein

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