#21: The future of disaster resilience in Australia

Amanda leads a program of work on behalf of the Commonwealth Government through the Department of Home Affairs – Emergency Management Australia to support a disaster resilient Australia. She is a community development and engagement professional with a proven ability to provide leadership and strategic direction in the planning, implementation and delivery of programs in a very complex environment. She has 30+ years’ experience in the emergency management and community sectors, working with CFA Victoria, local government, and AFAC (the National Fire and Emergency Services Council) all prior to her appointment leading AIDR.

Amanda has significant experience in establishing partnerships with all levels of government and the business sectors, and has demonstrated leadership and management experience. Her skills include communication and stakeholder engagement. So, I like to start with where we met.

I first met Amanda a few years back when I began my conversations with the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) given it’s the national body to drive resilience in Australia.

We have crossed paths many times along the way including when I was a committee member of the AIDR 2019 conference and most recently when I was part of the working group for the Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience Handbook.

Amanda and I have a deep passion for resilience, and it is great to have a peer in the sector that appreciates the role and contribution the private sector can make.

Amanda, thanks for joining me.

Renae Hanvin  

Now, let’s start- Can you share for others not from the sector, what is the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, also known as AIDR. The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience was established in 2015 by its partners; AFAC (the National Fire Council), the Australian Red Cross, and the Bushfire & Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre. It is fully funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Department of Home Affairs – Emergency Management Australia, and its overarching mission is to support a disaster resilient Australia. So, I mentioned in the introduction, the AIDR handbook collection, which I often refer to as references, because I think it’s got such great information and knowledge. And I’m going to put links on the website.

1. So, what are the benefits of these handbooks and in particular, what value does the most recent handbook being the Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience (although also there’s an emergency planning one that’s just come out as well) what value do they offer?

Amanda Leck  

I think that the handbooks are a really integral part of the AIDR program. So effectively, the handbooks curate knowledge on a particular topic area via land use planning, community engagement, community recovery, and they are really the only nationally agreed source of knowledge on these important topics. We bring together a whole range of people representing a whole range of sectors and organisations across Australia, to collaborate and to work together to develop the content of these handbooks. So, the handbook workgroups develop nationally agreed principles of disaster resilience related to the given topic area. We find that it’s the process of working collaboratively that these handbooks, or if you like, we have a post produced resource that then the members of that workgroup feel can be adopted and embedded into their own practice across the country. Whether they work for local government, whether they work for health, whether they work for fire and emergency services agencies, or state government organisations, it means that everyone has a consistent national view of what it is that we’re trying to achieve.

Renae Hanvin  

And Amanda, that’s so important. I mean, we often talk and you and I have a multi stakeholder and a stakeholder background. There are so many different stakeholders in disasters and in all stages of the disaster life cycle. And what I have found really valuable from the working groups and the events that I’ve been part of relating to AIDR, is that it is a collaborative approach.

2. So, it really is asking multiple people to come and bring their views and their experience and contribute to something that’s going to be a great outcome and to benefit all.

Amanda Leck  

That’s absolutely correct. It is the process that we go through. That actually is I think the utility of the whole thing. There are so many people from so many different sectors, be they from academia – where they’ve conducted the research that gets utilized through these handbooks. Or, whether they be the practitioners in government or in emergency services agencies, they all contribute to the development. And what that means is that we end up with the very best thinking on these particular topic areas. The most recently completed handbook is that of community engagement for disaster resilience – where some of the leading thinkers from across Australia have collaborated together with the researchers to produce what I believe is an exemplary handbook on how to engage with communities across as you say that lifecycle of disasters both in the preparation phase for the during, and of course, in that recovery phase afterwards, where community engagement is such an important component of what we do.

Renae Hanvin  

Yeah, it definitely is, I mean, community engagement is the epicentre of resilience in so many ways. And I have to say I very often use the AIDR website. Not only for the handbooks, but also for the definitions, for a list of previous disasters. There really is a wealth of information there. And I recommend, again, anyone listening, who’s wanting to understand a bit more about the disaster and disaster resilient space in Australia, AIDR is a really great toolkit to refer to.

Amanda Leck  

So, the disaster mapper itself is our most highly sought-after asset on the knowledge hub. And as you say, it gives information on past disasters going back probably more than 100 years. So, it gives them you know, key data and statistics and points to other resources. So, it is a very well utilised part of the knowledge hub.

Renae Hanvin  

Yeah, it’s definitely a great tool. I’ve been using it for many years. Now, last year, in 2019, AIDR hosted national forums on understanding disaster risk. So, I’m going to move slightly from risk to resilience, although we know it’s kind of interconnected.

3. So, what were the key learnings from these forums?

Amanda Leck  

Okay, back to what we were trying to achieve with the forum if I might Renae, just briefly.  So, we were trying to raise awareness with our partner Emergency Management Australia on the development of the new Disaster Risk Reduction framework and the strategic guidance materials to support its implementation. Those two pieces of work had just recently been released by the resilience task force, which Mark Crosweller led. And then AIDR, of course, houses all those documents on our knowledge hub. And so, the first thing we were trying to do was to raise awareness of how they could be applied within different contexts by the, you know, audience of people who came to participate in those workshops. So, we had a myriad of sectors represented at those workshops from the business community, from the education sector, from the government, from not-for-profit, and so on. So, it was important that they both understood this new policy direction, but they also could understand how these tools could be applied within their context. Now, in terms of how we felt that it went, we very much felt that there was strong progress in terms of the way that people thought about climate and disaster risk and how the forum’s influenced people’s thinking in that area. And it also provided participants with a greater understanding of the role that they could play in proactively reducing climate disasters within their own context. So, it’s very important when you’re working at a national level, as AIDR does, that people are able to apply those concepts and those thoughts at the local level because as we know, resilience occurs at place. So be that at a local neighbourhood or community or local government area, you’ve got to be able to apply that thinking to your work and how you can integrate that into your own work. So, we found that the attendees had a lot of very useful things to say after the forum, but, you know, really starting to understand and unpack this issue around vulnerability. And you know, what makes us vulnerable and in what context so what makes you vulnerable in times of plenty may or may be a problem for you during a disaster. So, things like whether or not you have an adequate power supply, whether or not you have access to telecommunications, all of those things and the systemic nature of disaster risk and how those things come together and interrelate to each other during disasters was also something that, you know, we really unpack during those forums. And I think people got a lot of important sort of opportunities to think about those things and the impact of those things on them and the work that they do.

Renae Hanvin  

Yeah, I thought it was a really robust conversation, actually. And it was a great collective of presenters and the information that was shared. And then it really was presented in a way to enable those in the audience to think about, like, what does that mean for you, and what change you’re going to drive? And what I’m really excited about as to where we’re at now. And obviously 2020 has, you know, shown us that we need to be more considerate of our risks and you know, the vulnerabilities are real. Now, we can start activating those learnings and get people moving from the – ‘Let’s think about it’ to -‘let’s actually do something about it.’

4. Well, what’s the role of AIDR in disaster risk reduction and how is risk linked to resilience?

Amanda Leck  

I think AIDR serves a unique position, if you like, as a catalyst for change within this broader risk reduction and resilience landscape. We have been established by and funded through the Commonwealth Government. So, it gives us if you like an authority within this space to act, and to be able to share our knowledge and learning with a whole broad range of sectors that we work with. But more specifically, I think how AIDR works or how we seek to influence is through four key strategies. The first is that we actively support, grow and sustain a range of networks across sectors and jurisdiction. So, whether they be networks for disaster resilience, education in schools, or perhaps disaster resilience practitioners working across state and local government, and emergency services agencies, and the education sector. Or, whether they be communities of practice, or those working in jurisdictional Emergency Management, AIDR sustains and grows these networks of people so that they can come together and they can collaborate. Another strategy that we have is we try to enable those with a role in disaster risk reduction to come together to learn and develop and innovate together. So, we do that through the delivery of a range of professional development event opportunities. And some of those are delivered nationally, such as the work we’re doing with the Bureau of Meteorology at the moment on that meteorology for disaster management master classes – which we are holding online at the moment. And these master classes have been so popular that they sell out within an hour of putting another one up on a website. So that’s an opportunity for people to learn about how weather systems impact and create the conditions for future disasters. And so, they’ve been a very popular offering for people to learn and develop and grow together. We run other programs on decision making out of crisis working as part of an effective team. In fact, we run a whole range of those sorts of professional development opportunities. We’re also working with the Social Recovery Reference Group for a community of practice for recovery practitioners. So that those people now working in the field with recovering communities can come together and learn and share their practice and be more innovative, through that learning from each other. Another important strategy that AIDR has is to collect, develop, curate and share knowledge around good practice for disaster risk reduction. We do that through the AIDR knowledge hub. And also, through our products that we put out such as the handbook collection you spoke about earlier, and the Australian Journal of Emergency Management. And finally, AIDR provides that central national focus for thought leadership on disaster risk reduction. We are very well connected. We’re a networking organisation and we are very well connected across a whole range of sectors and working with a number of stakeholders, including yourselves Renae with corporate2community. So, we find that because we are able to work so broadly across a whole range of areas, we connect people to each other, those that are working on similar projects or outcomes. And through working collaboratively, we find we get better outcomes. And of course, all of that is underpinned by a very outward focused stakeholder engagement program, which we see as foundational to the work of AIDR.

Renae Hanvin  

It’s interesting to reflect. I’ve really enjoyed listening to you say that because I’ve connected with, and engage with, on an individual level or even just you know, through the website and that with AIDR all the time, but to actually sit back and listen to the strategic approach and priorities. It’s such a necessary part of so much of what happens in Australia. And I think what is great about it too, is that it’s built on knowledge, but it’s built on connections and building connections through knowledge as well, which is so fundamental. It’s the epicentre of what Australia needs to build that risk understanding and resilience. And, again, I’ve obviously, you know, from the conferences you have, and the information books, etc. I think it’s a great epicentre in Australia to have your organisation as kind of the hub of all things’s resilience. Now, talking about stakeholders, and connecting Amanda, we have lots of great conversations, because you know, my passion relates to the private sector.

5. So, can I ask you, what role do you see the private sector playing in activating a culture of risk understanding and resilience?

Amanda Leck  

I think the private sector are critical to disaster risk reduction in Australia. And the reason that they are and this goes across small medium enterprises all the way to the top end of town, you know, the big corporates. Businesses are the employers. So, they employ people who obviously make up a community. So, by having a culture within their organisation or their entity of resilience and disaster risk reduction, it means that those people that work for pouring wisdom will also take that culture, and that thinking back into their own homes and their own community. So, I think that’s very important. I think businesses can also help to set and lead around, having good plans in place. Be they with understanding of risk as it relates to climate change, and the impact of climate change going forward. And the way that that business needs to consider those risks into how it sustains itself. Should there be a disaster that causes a business interruption, and so I think there’s a lot of work that business can do to contribute to this broad culture, as you say, of supporting a disaster resilient Australia. And certainly, when we spoke to and interviewed people for the Understanding Disaster Risk forums, from some small businesses, it has not really been at the top of their mind until, you know, they were faced with that disaster, you know, a massive hailstorm or a bushfire that really significantly impacted their business. And most of those people that were affected, if they had known then what they know now, they would have made different decisions around some of their business planning in order to factor in the potential event of a disaster on their business. And so, I think Renae, what you’re trying to do, which is, you know, very admirable, I was so happy to work in corporate2community, is to not only assist businesses who are recovering from a disaster, but you’re trying to be proactive into getting all businesses to consider whether they have appropriate plans and systems in place, and whether they harness the knowledge of their workforce to be able to cope with future disasters, and to put those plans in place before they even occur.

Renae Hanvin  

Yeah, thanks, Amanda. It is, I feel like we’re a perfect extension of what you’re doing at AIDR, obviously, focusing on the business sector, because we often say that, in many ways, businesses are communities, if we don’t have thriving and resilient businesses, then our communities can’t thrive. And the best thing a business can do for its community, as well as for obviously its owners and shareholders, is to keep trading. So, as much as we can put some new focus into preparing businesses as to what they can do, how they can adapt how they can prepare and plan to be able to keep trading for their employees and for their customers, and for the wider community, it has to be, a best practice and a win-win all around.

6.  So, can I ask, what’s the focus for AIDR in the future in terms of your strategic priorities in the next 12 months? 

Amanda Leck  

So, in the next 12 months, we really focused on those four strategic areas I spoke about earlier. Obviously, AIDR has a program of work going forward, which we deliver on each year. But AIDR just entered into a new contract with the Commonwealth and it is an outcomes focused contract. So, we’ve just put together a theory of change to understand aid of contribution to supporting a disaster resilient Australia and this goes, I suppose, to your previous question, which was how does disaster risk reduction contribute to disaster resilience. And they are intrinsically linked. We can’t have a more resilient Australia, unless we set out now to reduce the risks that we face, not only now but into the future. So, our real focus area for the next 12 months will be to grow and sustain those networks that we spoke about. We have more than 600 people involved in the Disaster Resilience Education Network. So, we certainly see that this disaster resilience network will grow. And obviously, we want to continue to support the community of practice for recovery workers, we say that it’s very critical at this time, as communities right throughout, you know, New South Wales, Australia, and Victoria, move further into their recovery journey. We have a program of professional development events, opportunities underway. AIDR reframed our whole business when COVID hit, and we moved the delivery of all of our professional development programs, to an online environment, including the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference. And we found that not only has that been a successful strategy for us, but it meant that we can be more inclusive, and in fact, more people can join with us in an online setting and use it in a face-to-face activity. So, we see that as a critical capability that we fill going forward. And finally, I think we want to continue to cement our position as a thought leader on disaster risk reduction, and to just continue to work with a range of stakeholders who’ve worked to try to, you know, build this disaster resilient Australia, I think we’re seeing a real momentum now around this. And I think we see, with what happened with the Black Summer fires, and then with the COVID pandemic, we see that more and more people understand the need for us to take action, to be more aware of what can occur during a disaster, and to be, you know, well planned, and have plans in place and to understand what you know, people will do to reduce that risk. And to be able to continue on with their businesses, with their lives effectively, in a whole range of ways.

Renae Hanvin  

So a pretty quiet 12 months ahead for you, Amanda then.

Amanda Leck  

Yes, business as usual for AIDR.

Renae Hanvin  

And again, so many great things come out of AIDR, and we’re really looking forward to activating a lot in the business space with you as well. Now, my final question is always the same. And this can be anything, it doesn’t have to be related to specifically what you do or your work.

Amanda Leck  

That’s a hard one. I think why it’s hard for me is that I am an optimist, and I see so much great work already occurring. So, in terms of what I would like to see done differently, I think I would like to just see more. More action on disaster risk reduction. So, it’s not so much about doing it differently, but encouraging, you know, greater and greater involvement and action on reducing disaster risk, whether that be at the individual level or the household level, the community level, local government, state government. I think, you know, we need to collaborate more to solve these problems. And that’s why I’m pleased that AIDR is partnering with corporate2community because I think the business sector is a critical driver of some of this change. But we do see momentum growing. And I think those of us who are champions of these messages, need to just keep engaging with our stakeholders and encouraging them to take action, whatever that action looks like for them. We have resources we can assist people with. So please get in touch if you think that we can assist you. And if we can’t assist you, we will probably be able to link you in with someone who can.

Renae Hanvin  

Yeah, I mean, it’s just taking little small steps or steps as big as you can. But I think there’s not any business or individual or community who hasn’t been impacted by an element of disasters, particularly in 2020. There’s so much to learn, and there’s so much that you can do that you don’t have to do you know, the big finale of resilience to change, you can just start with those small steps and then progress at your own pace. Amanda, thank you so much. It’s been so lovely to chat with you. So, in this episode, I’ve been talking with Amanda Leck, and she’s the Executive Director of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, also known as AIDR. And we’ve been talking about the future of disaster resilience in Australia.  Amanda, thanks again.

Amanda Leck  

Thank you, Renae. It’s been my pleasure.