Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

COVID-19 saw a voluntary response on a scale and diversity previously unimagined – volunteers who have proved to be an invaluable national and local resilience capability. Despite contextual and narrative differences for Recovery and Renewal, the opportunity to utilise the wave of volunteerism and solidarity emerged as a common theme globally. Individual volunteers, mutual aid groups and community action groups formed the backbone of community resilience resources during COVID-19. A large part of this volunteer community arose spontaneously, individuals and groups unaffiliated with organised voluntary organisations or official response agencies that can bolster capacity and capabilities during emergencies.

Despite the many benefits of Spontaneous Volunteers (SVs), challenges around safety, training, communications, and coordination had (before COVID-19) created a reluctance to engage with SVs during emergencies. Our case study research showed how COVID-19 changed that as community resilience initiatives implemented new activities that ensured the safety of volunteers and beneficiaries (e.g. risk assessments/personal protective equipment). Resilience partnerships and other agencies pivoted to using online systems and social media to rapidly attract, recruit, and train new volunteers by engaging with mutual aid groups and SVs. These online systems provided continuous dialogue and co-ordination with all partners, including volunteers, statutory services and local business partners.

We also found that maintaining the flow of local intelligence and maintaining the motivation of volunteers worked effectively through ‘informal situational trust’. In these community resilience initiatives, informal situational trust was characterised by the use of soft management skills, demonstrating sensitive awareness to the valuable contributions of volunteers, and treating them as equals. For example:

Innovation and agility in volunteer management during COVID-19 has resulted in:

Multiple organisations increasing their use of online means such as social media to recruit, maintain engagement and increase retention of volunteers.

This lesson is part of a collection of team reflections from the Recovery, Renewal, Resilience team, shared in the final Manchester Briefing under their ESRC-funded project. The collection of 10 reflections can be found in Issue 51 of The Manchester Briefing, accessible via the link below:

This week (1-7th June 2021) marks Volunteers Week in the UK, an opportunity to celebrate and thank volunteers and recognise their significant contributions to communities. Volunteers make an immense difference to their communities and have played a key role throughout the pandemic. There are many ways to celebrate and show appreciation for the work of volunteers, consider:

• Say thank you by recognising their impact in local communities, by:
  • A thank you email or through social media (you can use the hashtag #VolunteersWeek to join the online community celebrating volunteers this week)
  • Community funded gift baskets which could include vouchers or discounts from local businesses
• Collect stories from volunteers and those that they supported during the pandemic and share them through local newspapers, local radio, social media etc.
• Setting up virtual online gathering of local volunteers and:
  • Distribute awards to volunteers to recognise their efforts
  • Create a space for volunteers to share their experiences of volunteering during the pandemic. This type of event can also introduce local volunteers to each other and create an greater sense of being part of a local volunteer communit
• Create public displays of recognition (e.g. a park bench dedicated to local volunteers)
• Encourage community involvement e.g. “The Big Lunch” which is being held on Sunday 6th June
• Allocate a day to celebrate volunteers annually e.g. "Power of Youth Day" which celebrates the contributions of young people to communities

A recent study found that the Canadian disaster news media framed young people in five different ways: “1. the vulnerable status of youth; 2. youth as passive bystanders; 3. children as a burden on adults; 4. youth as active agents; and 5. youth as a ‘legitimizing criteria’ in disaster response” (where certain response and recovery resources/actions are prioritized to enable young people to “bounce back” following crisis). The findings of this research highlight a need to shift the narrative and change how young people are framed in emergencies, to recognise their assets and potential roles in disaster risk reduction, emergency response and recovery efforts. Consider:

• Meaningful, inclusive, collaborative and creative strategies to engage young people in all stages of disaster risk and risk management, e.g. Colombia: The school of our dreams where young people create music videos to teach others about the value of protective and protected schools:
  • Enable “Self-driven participation” (youth-owned and led engagement) where young people take ownership and identify risks, and manage the process and outcomes, supported by adults when necessary
  • Establish “Collaborative participation” (adult-owned and youth-led engagement) where adults establish collaboration and invite young people to support the identification of issues. Partnerships are established between adults and young people in a form of “inter-generational collaboration”, a partnership which allows young people to increase their levels of self-directed action over time
• In the Philippines, children are participating in “school-watching programmes” where they gather information about risks that can be addressed by local school authorities. The children create hazard maps which can be shared to educate other students on risk and safety information
• Recognise the role of young people in creating resilience in communities, e.g. Injuv (The National Youth Institute in Chile) who focus on ways in which young people can be involved, activated and mobilised in emergency response during crisis. They have been working to establish and ecosystem of permanent local youth volunteers, and connect young volunteers directly with voluntary organisations through an online volunteer platform (Transform Country Network)
• Utilize the media to amplify the voices and efforts of young people as catalysts for change in their communities, to create a platform through which young people can share their ideas, opinions and concerns

Our Recovery, Renewal, Resilience project has recently been recognised by UNDRR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction), joining the global Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments initiative for disaster risk reduction. This initiative was developed in response to the General Assembly resolution 68/211 (2013) to support the development of partnerships at all levels to implement the Sendai framework. The Sendai Framework VC initiative provides specific encouragement to academic, scientific, and research entities in regards to their contribution to disaster risk reduction. The Voluntary Commitment highlights our projects 'Sendai Priorities for Action' including:

• "Understanding disaster risk;
• Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk;
• Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience;
• Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to 'Build Back Better'"

The Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitment platform showcases a wide range of work from different organisations and groups across the world, all working to build resilience. The platform serves as a "mechanism to mobilize, monitor and take stock of commitments from multi-stakeholders for the implementation of the Sendai Framework until 2030". You can explore the various projects from across the world or register your own project on the platform here.

Retention and continued engagement of those who have offered their time, knowledge and skills to support response efforts will be crucial to ensure the valuable resources and capabilities are available for recovery and renewal activities. Recognising the enormous efforts of volunteers over the last year is integral to their retention. Consider:

• Recognise and thank volunteers for their efforts through personal letters or less personal approaches such as via social media
• Develop accredited certification programmes to officially recognise volunteer skills and knowledge
• Establish a service awards programme for volunteers based on length of service
• Introduce a tax credit programme for volunteers. E.g. The Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credit (SRVTC) represents "federal recognition" of the important role played by search and rescue volunteers in Canada. There are conditions and criteria that are required to be met in order for volunteers to qualify for tax credit (e.g. volunteers who perform in excess of 200 "eligible hours" in a year). Appropriate recruiting, screening and management of volunteers helps to ensure people are not joining for the wrong reasons

Community members are often the first individuals to respond to a disaster, and are often present to support recovery long after the immediate risks end. Throughout COVID-19, communities have demonstrated how they are part of a local resilience capability. We have seen them respond on an unprecedented scale, and in a diversity of ways. This presents an opportunity to increase preparedness for, and resilience to, future crises by recovering and renewing community capabilities. Consider:

• Encourage dedicated community resilience programmes and volunteer groups (or formally recognise current groups that are already working to build community resilience):
  • Identify if additional funding is required for these groups to continue their work
  • Support online groups (e.g. Facebook groups) as community resilience initiatives
  • Appoint a liaison to support communities and volunteers
  • Help increase the volunteer capacity and resources available where asked
  • Initiate activities to retain the volunteers from the pandemic, develop targeted recruitment of new volunteers, and convert 'spontaneous volunteers' into organised volunteer roles (seeISO 22319 'Guidelines for planning the involvement of spontaneous volunteers')
• Establish modular training programmes to ensure that communities are equipped with the knowledge, skills, abilities, resources and tools that enable them to respond to emergencies and optimise the delivery and achievement of long-term recovery and renewal goals following crises (e.g. CERT, USA):
  • Identify the range of skills that may be required, and when, covering a broad range of potential crisis events
  • Tailor training programmes, by supplementing core community response training with targeted training that reflects geographical factors and the likelihood of certain events (e.g. floods)
  • Ensure training incorporates a variety of learning styles, such as classroom based learning, hands on skills demonstrations (e.g. using a fire extinguisher/first aid), and simulation exercises that replicate disasters
  • Offer classroom based training online, and at times that take family/work commitments into account, to maximise potential engagement
• Develop a training package for emergency responders that educates them on how to manage the potential that volunteers offer during a crisis
• Familiarise emergency responders and volunteers with each other through collaborative training/simulation exercises

Across the world there are ambitious targets to vaccinate staff and residents in care homes. However, this will take time and, meanwhile, the pressure on care homes may build as staff become sick and residents need additional support. At critical points, volunteers may be expected to provide additional capacity inside care homes, but this requires preparation and planning e.g. training volunteers in core skills and knowledge to work in such settings. Consider the need to:

• Work with care home professionals to identify appropriate tasks that volunteers may be able to perform with adequate training and supervision
• Design appropriate volunteer training programmes that are proportionate to the risk, including e-learning packages on, for example:
  • Infection prevention and PPE
  • Medication awareness
  • Vaccine administration
  • Assisting care home residents e.g. moving and handling, legislation, risk awareness, first aid
  • Communication with residents
  • Confidentiality, dignity, and respecting individuals
  • Equality and diversity, and person-centred care
  • Health, safety, food hygiene, risk assessments
  • Safe equipment moving and handling
• Train sufficient volunteers so they can be safely deployed inside care homes to relieve staff shortages
• Ensure appropriate supervision is provided to volunteers inside care homes, and appropriate debriefing is offered on completion of shifts
• Vaccinate trained volunteers before they are deployed to care homes
• Capture learning from volunteers for continual improvement
• Consider the Cabinet Office guidance on involving spontaneous volunteers
• Encourage and support suitable volunteers who wish to transition into the paid workforce in the medium term

Volunteer staff and students at Imperial College London are providing free weekly drop-in sessions offering tech support and advice for elderly residents in the local areas. Volunteers are:

• Teaching people how to send a text and send picture messages, creating videos, and fixing printers
• Helping isolated older residents by matching them with a phone buddy for tech and befriending support
• Providing some in-person sessions
• Managing referrals to the 'What the Tech' programme by local organisations
• Liaising with the local community team to help signpost vulnerable residents to local support services such as food shopping and medicine collection
• Using connections through the service to check in fortnightly on people's wellbeing

Consider:

• Training webinars to develop volunteer managers to develop capacity of 'professionalised' volunteers
• Developing specific training courses that include guidance documents and a set number of hours for course completion
• Developing a virtual library of resources to support other voluntary organisations, consider how these will be managed and vetted
• Build resources that complement existing government guidance

This lesson was contributed by a Volunteer coordinator of State in the USA during project data collecion.

In Colombia, the Red Flags movement (vulnerable people hung red flags from their homes to signify a need for assistance e.g. food, finances) led to a rise in ad hoc voluntary contributions. Local government used this opportunity to develop an integrated system of relief. They:

• Created a single point of donation for all resources (human, in kind and financial), combining private and civil society donations to create a substantial, long-term resource
• Used big data including population age, location, data on links to existing social support to capture voluntary work undertaken, needs of individuals, and areas served
• Linked data and the centralised donation system to an economic committee comprised of local government, businesses, voluntary sector and charity sector to jointly decide allocation of finances to support voluntary organisations
• Developed a campaign for local businesses to 'adopt' a university student from one of the five city-owned universities - whereby the sector donated 2-3 semesters of student fees. The aim of the campaign was to support students' access to education to mitigate the long-term economic impacts of a lost generation of university graduates

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in Colombia during project data collection.

Despite contextual and narrative differences for recovery and renewal globally, common opportunities and challenges have emerged.

Opportunities to consider:

Volunteers

• Utilise and nurture the wave of volunteerism, solidarity, altruism and philanthropy that has arisen
• Implement mechanisms to effectively manage these contributions to provide core services when the system is overwhelmed

Challenges to consider:

Emotional health and wellbeing

• There have been wide-ranging effects on populations' mental health and well-being. Impacts are greater on certain populations and those pre-existing conditions
• The long-term consequences of COVID-19 on mental health are expected to reach an unprecedented scale
• Mental health services suffer from underfunding and limited resources - significant attention is needed to meet long-term demand and scale of need

Continuity of support for vulnerable people

• Continuity of support in both health and social care is vital to mitigate compounding vulnerabilities. This should account for those in the system pre-COVID-19 and those who may have become newly vulnerable as a result of poor physical or mental health, financial difficulties or social vulnerabilities

TMB Issue 10 brings together the reflections of our learning from the first 10 weeks of gathering lessons on recovery and renewal from COVID-19. Follow the source link below to read all of the reflections from our team (p.9-15)

In the USA, The Emergency Services research team at NBC Universal developed a Disaster Response Team "Train-At-Home" game. The game is based on Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, though you don't need to be CERT-trained to play. The game is designed to be fun, and for everyone. The game board and cards can be downloaded and printed at home. The aim is to provide tips and reminders to people about disaster response. The cards also hold references to sites where more information can be found.

Disaster management games for younger audiences can also be found here:

https://www.ready.gov/kids/games/data/dm-english/index.html

This lesson was contributed by a Disaster Program Specialist in the USA during project data collection.

Micro-volunteering opportunities have been developed in Salford, UK. 'Heroes from Home' support the wider COVID-19 response by sharing important messages to help to keep communities safe during the pandemic. Volunteers are encouraged to use their own social media accounts to share or post information about Salford's response - helping to ensure it is highly visible and readily available to those who need it.

This includes converting spontaneous volunteers (SVs) into long-term volunteers by signing them up to established volunteer organisations so they can contribute on an ongoing basis. Key areas to consider include:

• Identify contribution of SVs to C19 so far - assess the nature and scale of SV volunteering effort and the gap left if SVs stop
• Share good news stories - to help SVs know that they are making a difference
• Needs assessment - identity ongoing tasks needed by service beneficiaries that may be suitable for volunteers
• Motivate SVs - create compelling case studies of the need. These will outline who are the service beneficiaries of those tasks and how volunteers have helped them. Communicate that SV opportunities will stop
• Identify sorts of volunteers needed - identify the skills and commitment needed from the volunteer so they can self-select tasks they want to perform
• Identify volunteer organisations - partner with a handful of volunteer organisations that volunteers can work through to fulfil each task. This can give volunteers a manageable list of organisations to select between. Short descriptions of the organisations can outline their different shapes so volunteers can identify the right organisation for them
• Remove SV opportunities - close down SV effort and convert willing SVs to ongoing volunteers
• Follow up volunteers - local government/voluntary organisations conduct welfare calls with volunteers to ensure that they are ok after their volunteering and to see if they have/want to convert. Facilitate conversion if needed
• Follow up voluntary organisations - local government complete the loop to see how many SVs have converted

Reference: UK County Councils

In the UK, the NHS Volunteer Responder scheme had 750,000 registrations but many have not received any task. Untasked volunteers could become disillusioned, lowering motivation and encouraging them to opt out of the scheme. It may undermine their wellbeing as they question their contribution to the crisis response. It may lead to reputational challenges for the tasking organisation, and stop volunteers from registering for future initiatives. If there is spare capacity of volunteers, careful thought is needed to:

1. Communicate with, and address the motivation of, volunteers who have not been tasked
2. Identify a wider range of tasks that volunteers may be able to support
3. Identify a wider range of beneficiaries who need support (e.g. public services)

Reference: Prof Duncan Shaw, University of Manchester, UK

Including those who advise on/support financial issues, relationships, bereavement and mental health. Helplines in Iceland have seen a tripling in the number of callers and report that calls are becoming longer and more difficult.

Managing the quick and safe connection of volunteers to local communities and local services is a key issues in supporting response and recovery. In Sheffield, UK the development of targeted volunteer recruitment maps1 which flag up community hubs, describe roles and responsibilities in community hubs in the city and the local authority have proven to be central in building credible connections2.

The results of these efforts can be developed into a community action plan that encourages a city-wide approach to sharing resources, connecting communities and successfully utilising the voluntary sector.

This highlights the importance of the voluntary sector and the role volunteerism has played in response and the role it can play in recovery. This provides opportunities to bring the volunteering agenda into the fore for future emergencies to support resilience.

1 The Sheffield COVID Support map is made by Martin Fox - Sheffield Data for Good in collaboration with Voluntary Action Sheffield and in conversation with Louis Koseda - Foodhall.

2 https://www.vas.org.uk/what-we-do/covid19/

For example, instead of doing the usual Easter egg hunt - encourage people to do something more community centric like creating bags for children in need.

Reference: Chief Resilience Officer, USA

In the UK, there has been a surge in volunteerism with 750,000 people signing up to the NHS volunteer scheme using a phone app, and an estimated 250,000 extra people signing up at the country’s volunteer centres1. It is important to consider how such volunteers could be utilised during recovery and how they can move beyond the delivery of support to vulnerable people2.

Volunteers could for example be deployed to relieve first responders, make the environment safer for responders and support healthy living.

Possible regulated and unregulated tasks include:

• Dog walking and pet care
• Reducing risk of infection to critical workers and freeing critical workers to deliver tasks with higher risk
• Support at food banks (sorting, filling boxes, loaders, delivery drivers, cleaners, washing up)
• Cleaning teams (hospitals, ambulance stations, care homes at 1am, laundry)
• Reducing loneliness of vulnerable people (supporting library swaps, free puzzles, driving to appointments)
• Social wellbeing programmes (knit keepsakes, gardening in care homes/households, singing outside care homes)
• Disinfecting (cash machines, petrol stations, play parks, trolleys)
• Community support (maintaining queues, filling petrol, maintaining community areas)
• Support for the food chain (picking fruit, tending small farm animals)

There is a wide range of support that volunteers could provide that go beyond the important task of supporting vulnerable people, and beyond the immediate needs of response and into long-term recovery. Consideration can be given to maintain the surge in volunteerism and community spirit to foster a culture of care.

1https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/13/a-million-volunteer-to-help-nhs-and-others-during-covid-19-lockdown

2 https://page.bsigroup.com/COVID-19-Community-Resilience-and-Volunteers

Consider how this service can be sustained, how expectations are managed and the welfare of volunteers is considered.

Reference: UK County Council

Local government should capitalise on new volunteer-to-volunteer relationships, to help provide multi-sectoral delivery of services and to build connections with vulnerable groups that they may have previously struggled to engagement with. For example, foodbanks could partner with organisations to combat wider issues of discrimination.

Reference: Team Rubicon, USA

Local government should capitalise on the digital revolution in volunteering by developing apps, utilising online campaigns, digital marketing and webinars for training sessions. This can help to support recovery and ongoing resilience activities as the public become more connected and engaged with local government and their communities.

Reference: American Red Cross, USA

Local government should provide early implementation of psychosocial support to build mental health provisions that can meet demands later on in recovery. Psychosocial support can be delivered on a self-selection basis, volunteers can be used to process this information.

Reference: State Volunteer Coordinator, USA

Local governments should test volunteers to see if they are infected with COVID-19, and the potential for track and trace, to the risk of resurgence or infection, especially in the vulnerable populations they support. Collecting this information can help to model the transmission of the virus.

Reference: American Red Cross , USA

Local government should capitalise on new volunteer-to-volunteer relationships, to help provide multi-sectoral delivery of services and to build connections with vulnerable groups that they may have previously struggled to engagement with. For example, foodbanks could partner with organisations to combat wider issues of discrimination.

Reference: State Volunteer Coordinator, USA