THE Whittlesea township played a major part in developing the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) report that confirmed the value of community-led approaches to disaster preparedness and resilience.
The program, which ran from 2022 to 2025, saw FRRR partner with the communities in Whittlesea township and surrounds to strengthen their capacity to respond to disasters and disruptions.
The program involved a series of collaborative workshops with community groups, with ongoing support and guidance from FRRR staff and, initially, external coaches, with grants awarded to support the activation of community-driven, resilience-building ideas.
As part of the program, researchers from the University of Sydney also regularly engaged with the community groups to investigate, understand and measure activities, processes and structures that enable or hinder individuals and communities in disaster resilience building.
In addition to structured interviews and community conversations, as well as participating in community meetings and workshops, researchers mapped the seven dimensions of community led resilience building at multiple points throughout the project.
The report captures the lessons learnt following the conclusion of the Disaster Resilient: Future Ready (DR:FR) Victoria program.
Nina O’Brien, FRRR’s Disaster Resilience & Recovery Lead, said that through experience as a national funder of community-based efforts in medium to long term disaster recovery, FRRR observed that communities with stronger social capital, higher levels of inclusion, diverse leadership and broad engagement across community and emergency management system, recovered more effectively after a disaster.
“This research has confirmed the power of community-led approaches to disaster resilience and highlighted some key enabling factors,” Ms O’Brien said.
“Perhaps most important of all the factors is having a group of people who are willing to step up and play a key role working closely with authorities and agencies to strengthen their community for the future. It is the members of these groups that are the key enablers. Their strong commitment to their communities, inspired us throughout this program.”