Preventing the devastating impact of extreme weather and climate-related events also requires a rapid and coordinated civil protection response. This means turning civil protection plans into dynamic digital tools that can be updated over time, connected to data collected in the field and easily accessed by both citizens and emergency response teams.
This is the approach developed by Digital Plan, a project funded by the Interreg Italy–Croatia Programme, which concluded on 31 August 2026 after 30 months of activity.
The project brought together four Italian and four Croatian partners. Its pilot areas included the municipalities of Busso and Montagano in Molise, Maiella National Park in Abruzzo, the municipality of Fermo in the Marche region, Zadar County, the City of Dubrovnik and Split-Dalmatia County.
The main outcome is a digital platform where users can access maps, documents, risk information and monitoring data transmitted in real time by Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. Authorised personnel can also update civil protection plans, manage map layers, configure alert thresholds and receive notifications.
From static documents to digital maps
The digitalisation process converts information on risk areas, strategic buildings, infrastructure, access routes and emergency assembly areas into searchable, accessible and updateable map layers.
For the Italian pilot areas, Digital Plan followed the operational guidelines approved by Decree No. 265 of the Head of the Italian Civil Protection Department on 29 January 2024. These guidelines define standards for the digitalisation and interoperability of civil protection planning data.
The Italian framework also served as a reference for the work carried out with Croatian municipalities. This allowed the project to test a shared methodology across the two shores of the Adriatic while adapting it to different administrative settings.
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice coordinated the digitalisation of the civil protection plans and contributed to defining common data structures and procedures. Together with the University of Split, it also designed the IoT platform and decision-support system.
“Digital Plan allowed us to demonstrate in real-world settings how a civil protection plan can become a dynamic tool, continuously informed by up-to-date data and useful both for emergency preparedness and during an actual crisis,” explains Giovanni Antonio Salvatore, Professor of Electronics at Ca’ Foscari’s Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems and co-leader of the LION group. “The result is a replicable model. Public administrations can build on their existing plans, organise information according to shared standards and gradually expand the system by adding new data and sensors.”
Pilot activities in Molise, Abruzzo and the Marche region
In the Molise municipalities of Busso and Montagano, two environmental monitoring stations were installed. They transmit data to the platform and enable the testing of thresholds and notifications in inland areas exposed to extreme weather events.
In Maiella National Park, pilot activities cover Lama dei Peligni, Caramanico Terme and Pratola Peligna, with a particular focus on risks including wildfires, avalanches and landslides.
In Fermo, the project created a network to monitor flood and hydrogeological risk. It includes weather stations, water-level sensors along rivers and streams, and level sensors in underpasses that are particularly vulnerable to flooding. When predefined thresholds are exceeded, the platform generates notifications and, at selected locations, can activate warning lights to support road safety.
A network that complements existing monitoring systems
The low-cost sensors installed through Digital Plan complement existing environmental and meteorological stations. By increasing the density of observations, they make it possible to monitor highly localised phenomena more effectively.
The data become even more valuable when integrated with risk maps and the other information contained in civil protection plans, making them useful to both the public and emergency response teams.
Building lasting local expertise
Digital Plan also trained local staff to use the platform, update plans and maps, interpret data, set monitoring thresholds and integrate additional sensors.
The participating public administrations will therefore be able to continue updating and expanding the system after the end of the project. The platform is also ready to host additional civil protection plans and new monitoring stations.
About the project
Digital Plan — Civil Protection Plan Digitalization through Internet of Things Decision Support System based Platform — is funded by the Interreg Italy–Croatia Programme 2021–2027. The project ran for 30 months, from 1 March 2024 to 31 August 2026, with a total budget of €2,665,725.35.
The project was coordinated by GAL Molise verso il 2000. The partners were the Agency for Rural Development of Zadar County (AGRRA), Maiella National Park, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the City of Dubrovnik, RERA SD – Public Institution for Coordination and Development of Split-Dalmatia County, the University of Split and the Municipality of Fermo.
The public platform is available at digitalplan.cloud/plans-showcase.