Digital Disaster Document System: Digital solution aims to protect vital documents in disasters

As wildfires and floods have threatened and devastated communities across Canada in recent decades, the people fleeing these disasters likely didn’t stop to gather their most essential personal documents. Yet the papers that prove who you are – birth certificates, identification, insurance records – are often exactly what you need most when your life has been turned upside down.

As climate-related disasters increase in frequency and severity across Canada, University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work professor Dr. Julie Drolet, PhD, a professor at the faculty’s Edmonton campus, is tackling one of the most overlooked challenges in emergency recovery: helping people to access these essential personal documents.

Drolet is leading the development of the Digital Disaster Document System (D3S), an innovative approach to safeguarding vital records before disaster strikes.

“About one-in-two Canadians will experience an emergency or disaster in their lifetime,” says Drolet, who is recognized as an international leader in disaster preparation and community recovery. 

“What we often don’t talk about is how stressful recovery can be when people lose not just their homes, but also the documents they need to access financial support, health care, housing and social services.”

Birth certificates, passports, work permits and social insurance numbers are often destroyed during floods, wildfires or evacuations. Replacing them can take months, delaying recovery at a time when individuals and families are already under extreme stress.

Bridging a critical gap in disaster preparedness

Drolet’s D3S initiative is designed to securely digitize and store essential records so households and communities can access them quickly during emergencies. While similar systems exist in other countries, Canada currently lacks a widely used solution, a gap that Drolet says has serious equity implications.

“Disaster recovery disproportionately affects equity-deserving groups, including newcomers, people living in rural and remote areas, and those with precarious housing or employment,” she says. “Protecting vital records helps reduce stress, speeds recovery and strengthens community resilience.”

Drolet’s work aligns with international priorities such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which emphasizes investment in technology, innovation, and inclusive approaches to reducing disaster risk and loss.

From research to real-world impact

Last December, Drolet was named one of only five Parex Innovation Fellows, a UCalgary initiative funded by an endowment from Parex Resources Inc. The fellowship provides $27,000 to support researchers in translating academic work into real-world impact through innovation, commercialization and community collaboration.

“Post-secondary institutions play a critical role in moving ideas from research into practice,” says Drolet. “Innovation isn’t just about new technology, it’s about rethinking how we prepare for and respond to crises in ways that are practical, inclusive and socially just.”

The research project is just one of many that Drolet is pursuing in her multi-path research that includes studying resilience and how communities recover after disasters and helping communities prepare for disasters. Drolet has led the creation of collaborative networks such as the Social Work and Disaster Network, which connects researchers, practitioners and communities across Canada and internationally to share knowledge and strengthen disaster preparedness and recovery.

Training future leaders in resilience

Drolet emphasizes that students are central to this work, supporting and empowering them to make a difference in the face of climate change, which research has shown is one of the biggest mental health concerns for young Canadians. Through experiential learning and community-based research, her students gain hands-on experience tackling complex social challenges while contributing to solutions that matter.

“When students work directly with communities, innovation becomes grounded in lived experience,” she says. “That’s how we prepare the next generation of leaders to respond with both skill and compassion.”

National recognition for innovation

Drolet was also recently recognized as a finalist for the ASTech Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in science, technology and innovation in Alberta. She says the recognition reflects the collective effort behind the project.

“This work doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s built on partnerships with colleagues, students and community organizations," Drolet says. "I’m grateful to share this recognition with everyone who makes this work possible.”

As disasters become an increasingly common reality, Drolet’s research underscores how innovation and post-secondary education can work together to foster resilience, equity and hope, long before the next emergency arrives.