Showcasing social capital gains in Victoria

Resilient Ready recently brought together representatives from Emergency Management Victoria and disaster resilience expert Professor Daniel P. Aldrich in a unique collaboration at Mount Macedon in Victoria.

Following an address by Andrew Crisp, Emergency Management Commissioner, the Community Showcase – co-hosted by Amanda Leck, Deputy Commissioner Capability and Risk, and Renae Hanvin, CEO and Founder of Resilient Ready – opened with Professor Aldrich sharing this academic research on social capital and social infrastructure.

This was followed by the sharing of Victorian social capital initiatives driving resilience and recovery outcomes across the state. Professor Aldrich provided reflections throughout the day including his thoughts and findings for each initiative.

Exploring community collaborations

It was a great opportunity to introduce community connection initiatives taking place across Victoria, including joint projects by Resilient Ready and the Country Fire Authority: Disaster Ready Great Ocean Road & Phillip Island.

And the impressive Multicultural Emergency Management Partnership model (MEMP), which is bringing together multicultural leaders and emergency services organisations to establish and strengthen relationships to improve outcomes from emergencies.

Attendees also heard about other projects including: Disaster Resilience Plan for Omeo Region, Resilience for Seniors in the Face of COVID-19; Fire & Flood Resilience initiatives / Resilient Communities; Girls on Fire; Centre for Just Places; and the Jewish Community Crisis Management Centre.

The event gave attendees the opportunity to share experiences, and better understand and recognise the value of social capital and social infrastructure in a way that was of benefit to everyone

Renae Hanvin
CEO + Founder Resilient Ready

At the community level, as we discovered at the Community Showcase, many of the Victorian projects had strong bonding and bridging ties but the linking – the ties between who we know, those people’s networks and those in authority – required some work.

By measuring bonding, bridging and linking ties while also considering the value of places such as community spaces, places of worship, social businesses and parks, we can see our strengths and weaknesses as a community. It was a valuable and insightful day.

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