Community resilience is when communities are able to spontaneously help one another in times of need. It is most successful when done in partnership with local responders, and with planning and preparation.
Content on this page
- Why is community resilience important?
- What are we trying to achieve?
- What practical things can you do?
- How can we measure our impact?
Why is community resilience important?
Community resilience is important as it would enable the community to grow capacity to bounce back from unforeseen disruptions or crises. The ability of a community to absorb disturbance while still being able to function benefits all residents and community groups.
What are we trying to achieve?
The specific social value "ask" for community resilience is the provision of equipment and tools (including digital) that would assist communities to develop resilience.
We envisage that with the proper tools and resources, Surrey residents and communities are able to enhance the resilience-building foundations of their localities – the systems, the people and their adaptability.
What practical things can you do?
There are several things that you can do now whether as a volunteer, an employer, a business, an organisation, a community group or a community leader. These include:
- Checking if a local group already has an emergency or resilience plan – parish councils and residents associations often do.
- Considering starting your own with willing volunteers. It is worth considering linking with groups that already exist such as church groups, neighbourhood watch, youth groups. Surrey Prepared have a developed a range of resources to help with this which are free and available for you to use. Please email community.resilience@surreycc.gov.uk
- Considering if a resilience plan may be useful for you. The Surrey County Council Resilience Plan Consideration Checklist is a great starting point.
How can we measure our impact?
Measuring the impact of community resilience tools include the following approaches:
- Looking at the resilience of a community following a crisis or hazard event through the community's ability to meet the physical, economic, health/well-being and sense of belonging needs of its residents.
- Assessing the recovery times a community is able to restore its infrastructure, systems, local services and amenities.
Please email community.resilience@surreycc.gov.uk for more information.