Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Co-production is a popular approach to service design and delivery and has been found to exist in all sectors of public services including education, agriculture, health, local governance, and information technology among others (Khine et al., 2021). At its simplest, it involves working with others to design and deliver strategies with the aim of achieving a collective outcome, in our case, to build societal resilience. Some examples of co-production activities include:

Last month’s TMB 47 outlined an initial definition for whole-of-society resilience and noted how societal resilience should be co-produced as a collaboration across resilience partnerships, sector partners and communities. This article explains co-production for resilience and explores how it can support the design and delivery of resilient society. This article builds on TMB 33 when we explored the difficulty of co-production during the response phase of a crisis.

To read this briefing in full, follow the source link below:

Understanding 'whole-of-society' resilience

There is a new term being used in the emergency planning community – ‘whole of society resilience’. This term was integral to government’s Integrated Review (IR)[1] (see TMB 32) and featured heavily in the call for evidence for the National Resilience Strategy (NRS)[2]. This new term points to an ambitious endeavour for societal resilience and forms a call-to-action that is broader than community resilience. But … What does whole-of-society resilience mean? What might be its implications for emergency planning? Below we share some initial thoughts on answers to these questions.

What does whole-of-society resilience mean?

Building a collective understanding on the meaning of ‘whole-of-society’ resilience is a critical first step to ensure that ambitious endeavour is aligned. To aid this process, we share an early definition which could inform debates and future definitions. Whole-of-society resilience is the:

capability created by local systems that help people and places to adapt and advance in a changing
environment[3]

In this definition,

What are the implications of whole-of-society resilience for emergency planning?

The use of the term whole-of-society resilience has ignited change in the resilience narrative across the UK. It suggests that whole-of-society resilience embeds the need to depart from historically government centred approaches to building resilience, towards an integrated approach with whole-of-society. This is characterised by a combination of top-down and bottom-up collaboration, and the co-production of local resilience capabilities with whole-of-society resilience actors.

Whole-of-society resilience reinforces that the world is interconnected so you cannot be resilient on your own.

Therefore, responding to this call on whole-of-society resilience requires thought on how resilience partnerships and society can work together to understand and reduce risk, pinpoint vulnerabilities, enhance our preparedness and leverage the agency of our communities. Building the resilience of our society should be a strategic endeavour, with national policy being influenced by knowledge and work at the local level and then interpreted and implemented locally, through collaboration between resilience partnerships (government sector), sector partners (voluntary sector and business), and communities (individuals, groups, networks, businesses and organisations). Such a partnership is demonstrated through the newly established National Consortium for Societal Resilience [UK+] (NCSR+)[4].

The NCSR+ recognises that resilience must be rooted inside communities. This includes building on existing community structures and partnerships and establishing new ones, and creating an inclusive, supportive, and enabling environment for the co-production of whole-of-society local resilience capabilities. Over the coming months, the members of NCSR+ aim to tackle this challenge together. An early activity for NCSR+ will be to develop a shared understanding of whole-of-society resilience, identify the principles that should underpin a whole-of-society approach, and gather and promulgate good practice examples of community resilience strategies.

This blogs aims to support the first step of developing a shared understanding of WoS resilience, agreeing on “what it is and how we make it relatable to the person on the street”[5]. To achieve this the members of NCSR+ are already listening to their local communities to gain information on their own local risk and priorities for resilience. However, with the backdrop of communities’ responses to COVID-19 and the whole-of-society resilience that was built, we have to move quickly. COVID-19 has “helped to galvanise every single aspect of society into realising that there is a place for everybody to have some responsibility”[6] when it comes to building resilience and we should try to firmly embed this rather than lose it.

In summary, you cannot be resilient on your own. Shared understanding and joint working is needed, which requires an adjustment of relationships on resilience between whole-of-society and resilience partnerships. The aspiration is to work towards collective resilience of whole-of-society, a collaboration across local resilience partners, sector partners, and whole-of-society. Government is organising itself to respond to this call-for-action and the NCSR+ is positioning its work to support local government to collaborate with whole-of-society on resilience.

References:

[1] HM Government (2021) Global Britain in a Competitive Age: The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. Cabinet Office, March 2021

[2] HM Government (2021) National Resilience Strategy: Call for Evidence. Cabinet Office, July 2021

[3] Shaw and Jordan (2021), Understanding ‘whole-of-society’ resilience. The Manchester Briefing on COVID-19: International lessons for local and national government recovery and renewal. Issue 44, October 29th 2021, p.16-17. The University of Manchester. Available at: https://www.alliancembs.manchester.ac.uk/research/recovery-renewal-resilience-from-covid-19/briefings/

[4] The National Consortium for Societal Resilience [UK+]

[5] Joan McCaffrey, Local Government Civil Contingencies, Northern Ireland, speaking at the launch of the National Consortium for Societal Resilience [UK+]

[6] Kevin Murphy, The Office of the Committee for Home Affairs, States of Guernsey, speaking at the launch of the National Consortium for Societal Resilience [UK+]

The National Lottery Community Fund ‘Community Research Project’ investigated how people’s attitude toward their communities has changed during the pandemic, and identified the priorities for their communities as they emerge from COVID-19. This report demonstrates the opportunity to foster the community resilience realised during COVID as a Local Resilience Capability (LRC). Additionally, the report echoes that although not everyone will want to contribute to building community resilience, there are people who do and they are looking for ways to do so. Consider that:

• “Tackling loneliness and supporting economic growth” are reported as the most important factors for community wellbeing in the next year. Most respondents felt that the crisis brought out the best in people. This was particularly felt by older generations, with a third of respondents reporting that they now feel more connected to (and supported by) their local community
• “Safe and accessible green spaces” are key priorities for communities going forward, with 40% of respondents reporting to have used local green spaces more than they usually would
• 30% of respondents plan to be more involved in their communities, with the most significant benefits being people’s ability to offer support to others in their community, and having people willing to help close by if needed

We demonstrate that in order to establish community resilience as a permanent local resilience capability, we are required to sustain what has already been created by communities, local government, small business, neighbours, individuals, social enterprises, the voluntary sector, and so many more hidden networks.

Read this case study in full by following the source link to TMB Issue 37 (p.13-14).

We call to establish community resilience as a new local and national resilience capability. This is a major opportunity for us to renew our local resilience by continuing the community action built during the pandemic.

To read this briefing in full, follow the source link below to TMB Issue 30 (p.2-6).

The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) has published a 'how to' guide that outlines how to organise a citizen’s assembly, to discuss and understand the impacts of COVID-19. A Citizens’ Assembly is a representative group of citizens who are selected at random from the population to learn about, deliberate upon, and make recommendations in relation to a particular issue or set of issues. The RSA has also launched a 'Future change framework' which can work conjointly with a citizen’s assembly to support community conversations about the impact of COVID-19, recovery and renewal, transition to a post-COVID world, and support communities to heal. The framework includes ways to consider:

• How people have responded to Covid-19 and how that can drive positive change
• What communities and individuals have stopped doing, paused, put in place temporarily, and innovative strategies which could be continued
• How to evaluate the next steps and actions for the future for organisations, local communities, teams, or networks

COVID-19 has impacted every level of an organisation. Engaging with people within your organisation and those closely associated with it, to show appreciation of people's work and resilience helps to boost morale. Consider how to show your appreciation through:

• Public appreciation posts in the form of newsletters, blogs or videos to thank staff and stakeholders, such as this tribute to The University of Manchester community
• Tangible rewards- these don't need to be financial (e.g. a bonus) but may be in the form of extra time holidays, and could be recognised as mental health days to give employees a much-needed break while they juggle responsibilities

Children have been particularly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, so continuing to provide child-friendly events is an important way to safeguard their well-being. Consider how and what advice to provide to the public to make celebrations such as Halloween and Bonfire Night COVID-19 safe. Consider widely publicising the safety concerns of some activities such as trick or treating and firework parties, and provide ideas for low risk alternatives. Consider suggesting:

Halloween

• Virtual trick or treat parties or costume parties
• Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
• Having a scavenger trick-or-treat hunt with your household members in or around your home
• Look for community events focused on safe ways to have fun e.g. children can colour in Halloween posters and display them in a window at home so, on Halloween children can get dressed up and look for posters in their local area and get a treat from their guardian for each poster spotted - ensuring social distancing and 'the rule of six'

Bonfire night

• Instead of putting on fireworks displays, consider lighting up local landmarks at certain times. In Dudley, UK the council intends to honour NHS workers by also lighting up hospitals. The display is also accompanied by music played on local radio stations
• Consider secret firework displays which are planned at undisclosed locations to avoid crowds gathering - providing locations to ensure full area coverage
• Livestream displays on social media
• Heighten awareness of firework safety as COVID-19 restrictions may result in more firework displays at homes. Promote following the firework code and relevant COVID-19 restrictions

In the UK, war veterans attending Remembrance Sunday commemorating the deaths of those in the armed forces across the Commonwealth, will be exempt from new laws restricting gatherings. Many of these people are vulnerable to COVID-19 as a result of age or underlying health conditions which has meant many local councils cancelling parades and church services; urging people to pay their respects in other ways and at home this year. Consider:

• If parades take place in your area how to ensure:
  • Rigorous risk assessments are carried out, including the enforcement of social distancing
  • That the event does not draw much larger crowds, and what contingencies are in place if this happens
  • That people, especially elderly and vulnerable veterans understand the risks posed to them by participating in a parade
  • That PPE is provided for event organisers and participants
• If parades do not take place consider designating a period of a few weeks for people to pay their respects and lay wreaths at memorials, rather all on one day
• Live stream local events that include small select parties of individuals laying wreaths e.g. in Bradford where parades are cancelled, The Lord Mayor will lay a wreath at each memorial site across the district
• Encourage residents to pay their respects at home in different ways:
  • By observing the national two-minute silence
  • Displaying poppies or other symbols (posters, children’s drawings etc.) in home windows
  • Using hashtags on social media such as #Bradfordremembers with pictures of acts of remembrance at home or school

In extraordinary times people turn to their leaders for guidance and reassurance more than ever before. Leading by example helps to unite, connect and guide people in consistently working towards a common goal. Leading by example requires clear, and visible communication of appropriate behaviours. This may include issues such as regular handwashing, adhering to social distancing guidelines, rules on travel, and adhering to isolation and quarantine measures. For example, on facemasks:

• In schools. If headmasters want parents to wear facemasks when they collect children from the playground, then teachers should wear facemasks when they take children into the playground for collection
• In shops. If shops want customers to wear facemasks, then shop workers need to wear facemasks
• In Public. If politicians /police/ local authorities want public to wear facemasks, then they should also do so

Also consider Faith Communities of all faiths who carry so much knowledge of their community and the skills to help. These organisations are embedded in the community and can help facilitate recovery through support and shared information.

Reference: County Council, UK

These groups (including the Facebook groups) rapidly led the humanitarian aid to vulnerable people when (they may perceive) no-one else was present. They may now be feeling pushed out by 'officials' who now are taking a leading role in their communities which can mean their reason for existing is being taken over by authorities.