Module Intentions

1. Describe aims and principles of community engagement.
2. Describe five community engagement approaches for emergency management.
3. List the five phases of the community engagement process.
4. Describe some community engagement methods across emergency management phases.
5. Know how to undertake a community profile and understand vulnerability factors.
6. Describe evaluation methods and why this is important.

Why do you need to know about Community Resilience and Engagement ?

The importance of community engagement can not be overestimated as a vital process to connect stakeholders with the expertise, knowledge, resources and capabilities of emergency management agencies and organizations.

When will you apply this knowledge?

Application of this knowledge can be used if you are working for an organization so you can be clear about the purpose of the engagement in any phase of an emergency, what the engagement aims to achieve, and the degree of influence a community is able to have in the Preparation, Planning, Response and Recovery phases of an emergency.

Effective engagement is complex and requires a long-term commitment to build and maintain relationships with the community therefore being upfront and clear about the engagement process is essential for establishing and maintaining trust.

Introduction to Community Resilience and Engagement

We all have a part to play in planning, preparing, responding and recovering from emergency events. The National Strategy for Disaster Resilience recognises that disaster resilience is a shared responsibility for individuals, households, businesses and communities, as well as for governments.

Emergency management agencies and local government use a range of strategies to enhance public safety before, during and after an emergency event. Some of the strategies to promote a shared responsibility include community education, community engagement, community development, stakeholder partnership development, behaviour change programs, legislations and advocacy.

As a shared responsibility, the aim is to have Tasmanian’s work towards reducing their disaster risks and help build the capacity of themselves and their communities to be more resilient to increasing disaster events.

Everyone needs to play their part by:

• understanding their natural disaster risks
• reducing disaster risks where possible
• being prepared for disasters and
• knowing what to do and what support is available.

A fundamental goal of community engagement is to build resilience and a sense of shared responsibility through building relationships with the community and empowering them to exercise choice and take responsibility, thereby reducing their reliance upon emergency services.

When commencing engagement in a location or with a particular group, the community should be provided with clarity about the purpose of the engagement in any phase of an emergency, what the engagement aims to achieve, and the degree of influence individuals can have. Being upfront and clear about the engagement process is essential for establishing and maintaining trust.

This Community Resilience and Engagement module will explore:

• The definition of resilience
• Why community engagement is important for resilience
• Principles, models, phases and approaches to community engagement
• Community profiling and understanding vulnerability
• Monitoring, evaluating and learning and
• Helpful emergency management and community engagement resources.

In the context of the emergency management phases, community engagement referred to in this module includes the stakeholder partnerships and communications undertaken during disaster:

• prevention
• preparation
• response and
• recovery

This module aligns with National doctrine, The National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework–Priority 1 Strategy; ‘Improve public awareness of, and engagement on, disaster risks and impacts’.

This module is focused on community engagement and building resilience capacity in Tasmania, aligning with the Tasmanian Disaster Resilience Strategy 2020-2025.

The principal guiding document for this module is the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience Handbook on Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience and companion resources.

Various resources used in this module material have been referenced and permission from the source agencies has been provided for their use.

The video below will give an overview of Community Engagement and Resilience in Tasmania from a range of people from the emergency management sector.

What is Disaster Resilience?

Disaster resilience is the ability of all sectors of society and individuals to survive, adapt and thrive in the face of turbulent change or acute stresses. If a community is resilient then everybody is responsible, accountable and works together using evidence to:

• Reduce disaster risk
• Better withstand, recover from and adapt if disasters do occur.

Source: Tasmanian Disaster Resilience Strategy 2020-2025.

For communities to thrive they need to learn and adjust to be resilient to disasters as summarised in the chart below:In an emergency, disaster resilient individuals are capable of:

• keeping themselves and their families safe from harm,
• adapting to changes in the physical, social and economic environment,
• being self-reliant if external resources are limited or cut off, and
• learning from the experience to be more prepared next time.

Source: Disaster Resilience Education Tasmania

Resilience doesn’t happen by itself, but it can be developed through knowledge, understanding and practice.

Effective community engagement and collaborations for disaster resilience across sectors and with individuals in Tasmania’s communities will encourage and support changes in attitudes and behaviours about risk. As a shared responsibility, the aim is to have Tasmanian’s work towards reducing their disaster risks and help build the capacity of themselves and their communities to be more resilient to increasing disaster events.