Creating a Social Capital + Social Infrastructure Measurement Framework to benefit every Australian

Bringing Professor Daniel Aldrich’s expertise to Australia 

Resilient Ready has received funding under the national Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) Round #2 program to bring global disaster resilience expert Professor Daniel Aldrich’s data measurement to Australia.

In collaboration with lead agency SAFECOM, this 12-month project is an extension of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) snapshot project delivered in 2024.

Importantly, the project includes input from all Australian states and territories to create a national definition and measurement criteria about people connections and places where people connect.

It will also pilot Professor Daniel Aldrich’s social capital and social infrastructure heatmapping data sets in South Australia.

Pilot testing will be conducted in:

• Adelaide CBD
• Kangaroo Island
• Whyalla

Discover more about our Social Capital work here.

This is an exciting gamechanger for measuring resilience in Australia – the missing piece of the puzzle!

Renae Hanvin
CEO + Founder Resilient Ready

A new focus on people connections and places that foster them

This project will deliver a National Social Capital + Social Infrastructure Measurement Framework—a first-of-its-kind document that defines these concepts in the context of disaster risk and resilience.

We are filling a critical national gap by defining and measuring the people and place-based connections that matter most—strengthening community resilience before, during, and after disasters through a clearer focus on social capital and social infrastructure.

Collaborating with CARA to deliver ground-breaking solutions

We’re excited to be partnering with the Centre for Australian Research into Access (CARA) to pilot ground-breaking data measurement.

This project will result in a data tool that combines Professor Daniel Aldrich’s social capital heatmapping (bonding, bridging, and linking ties) with innovative social infrastructure mapping across three South Australian communities: Adelaide CBD, Kangaroo Island, and Whyalla.

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If you’re aware of any policies, programs, research, data collections, or measurement tools that should be considered in developing a National Social Capital and Social Infrastructure Measurement Framework to benefit all Australians, we’d love to hear from you.

Here is a link to contribute to our findings.

If you have any questions please contact our team at [email protected] or call 0401 566 602.

Connecting with every Australian state and territory

As part of the Framework’s development, Professor Daniel Aldrich and Resilient Ready will visit every Australian state and territory in May and June.

These visits aim to:

• Share early findings from our work: defining social capital and social infrastructure, along with the structure of the emerging framework, to ensure it is inclusive and relevant across all Australian regions.

• Discuss and refine the social infrastructure categories: to reflect what matters most in diverse communities nationwide.

• Present an early version of the data: emerging from our ground-breaking collaboration with the Centre for Australian Research into Access, highlighting how this work can align with and support initiatives at the regional level.

• Engage senior executives and key stakeholders: from government and non-government sectors to gather valuable feedback that will help refine and strengthen the national framework.

Scheduled visits:

• SA – Adelaide: 12 May – 13 May
• WA – Perth & Fremantle: 14 May – 16 May
• NT – Darwin: 19 May – 20 May
• NSW – Sydney: 26 May – 27 May
• ACT – Canberra: 28 May – 30 May
• QLD – Brisbane: 4 June – 6 June
• TAS – Hobart: 10 June – 11 June
• VIC – Melbourne 16 June – 18 June

With thanks to our funders

This program is funded under the Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) Round 2 Grants program funded by the Australian Government and the South Australian Government.

Views and findings associated with this project are expressed independently and do not necessarily represent the views of State and Commonwealth funding bodies.