Characteristics of a Disaster-resilient community

Forwarded by Robert, who notes;

'This is an inter-agency piece of work which we have co-funded. It is in the process of being field tested. The Federation are doing this on our behalf through the DRR2 programme countries, but I am currently looking at how we might pilot elements of it in any new DRR programmes we take on.

It's value isn't confined to DRR, as it is focused on building community resilience. We still have concerns that it is too academic but the trick will possibly be adapting it to more practical usage in our programme work.'

The website explains that the aim was 'to develop a set of ‘characteristics of a disaster-resilient community’ that can be used by local partner organizations to demonstrate the impact of community DRR projects.

'The project’s main output is ‘Characteristics of a Disaster-resilient Community’: a guidance note for government and civil society organisations working on DRR initiatives at community level. It shows what a disaster-resilient community might consist of, by setting out the many different elements of resilience. It also provides some ideas about how to progress towards resilience. It can be used at different stages of project cycle management, particularly in planning and assessment, and monitoring and evaluation. It can also be linked to other tools used in DRR projects and research (e.g. vulnerability and capacity analysis). The guidance note is designed to support processes of community mobilisation and partnership for DRR but the findings of reviews and assessments carried out using the note may also have some value in advocacy work at local and higher levels.

'The first edition of the guidance note, published in October 2007, is a pilot version, which is now being tested in the field. It will be revised in the light of those experiences. Everyone is welcome to use the note, and feedback is similarly welcome.'

The guidance note is available to download from the Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre website, which also includes other publications stemming from the project.