Community & NGO Policy Brief

Community resilience is highly contextualised and involves a complex mix of human capabilities, access to resources, and capacity to learn and adapt, which are specific to location and circumstance. Resources required to build resilience come from the civil protection sector (e.g. emergency services) as well as the wider social protection sector (e.g. health and well-being services). Community led-action also provides an important source of support (e.g. Flood Action Groups). However, not all communities have the human/social resources, knowledge and capacities to engage in and develop effective emergency planning processes and tailored approaches; therefore, the onus is on the authorities and statutory agencies to maximise social equity in this regard.

The emBRACE research indicated that a strong sense of community belonging, social cohesion and the presence of a diverse range of social networking structures are crucial in building resilience. Social networks, in particular, can facilitate access to resources inside and outside of the local community and can facilitate mutual learning and collaboration. The resilience of communities often comes down to a few well-connected and motivated champions who have the tenacity to engage and lobby government institutions for change. The challenge is to ensure that any learning that has been acquired can be drawn upon for future disasters and, therefore, government agencies and institutions should recognise that community members have much to share in terms of knowledge and experience of dealing with natural hazards and build this into national policy and local emergency plans. More effort is required to tap into this valuable knowledge source. The recent austerity measures and cuts to services threaten this process and are, therefore, limiting opportunities for innovation.

Go to the full document here

EU Project emBRACE: Policy Brief Series, Policy brief 8.4-5: A focus on understanding Community and Non-Governmental Organisations’ Capabilities in Building Community Disaster Resilience

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9RBeBGSyVgFUnRMajFWa0R3UUU/view?usp=sharing

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