At a glance
The frequency and severity of public health emergencies continue to intensify, as evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, recent outbreaks, and continuous activation of CDC’s Incident Management Structure (IMS) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for more than a decade. To improve the nation’s readiness to address public health threats within the U.S. and around the world, and elevate readiness and response science, CDC stood up the Division of Readiness and Response Science (DRRS) in 2023.
Our mission
The Division of Readiness and Response Science applies and advances scientific principles and evidence-based methods to detect, be ready for, and respond to public health threats.
Priorities
Elevate Science: Elevate readiness and response science by working with inter- and intramural partners to advance relevant research, evaluation, dissemination, and implementation.
Protect Communities: Support congregate settings and rural, frontier, and tribal populations, to be ready for, and respond to, public health threats.
Promote Evidence-based Practices: Identify, evaluate, and disseminate evidence- based practices and practice-based evidence before, during, and after a public health emergency.
Evaluate Efforts: Improve CDC and funded partners' ability to respond effectively to public health emergencies, through rigorous evaluation and strategic insights while advancing evaluation science by developing innovative training, refining methods, and contributing to theory and practice.
Enable Real-Time Awareness: Improve readiness and accelerate response decisions by delivering real-time situational awareness, early warning, and event-based surveillance. Our integrated communication and information-sharing platforms provide a shared common operating picture.
DRRS Focus Areas
- We develop, advance, and support translation and dissemination of effective community mitigation strategies for congregate settings.
- We strengthen readiness and response evaluation by evaluating public health strategies and interventions during a response, using data to describe the impact of ORR investments, providing training, and contributing to evaluation science, theory, and practice supporting readiness and response.
- We advance situational awareness and response data science efforts to provide reliable, comprehensive, timely, high-quality information on public health threats and emergencies as they are identified, evolve, and require CDC’s response.