A successful recovery journey means communities identify their own needs, make decisions about their recovery priorities and influence community planning. This ensures that the recovery process is matched to local community needs.
Depending on your community’s unique context and preferences, these steps may not be completed in order, and some steps may not be undertaken at all. They are provided as a guide only, to be tailored to meet your community’s needs.
The remainder of this toolkit is structured around these steps, with guidance, templates and tools suggested for each step. Regular communication with communities should form part of every step.
Steps to recovery
Step 1: Form community recovery group
If the effects of an emergency are widespread or serious, communities may choose to establish a community recovery group (CRG) to lead the recovery planning process for the community. This may be an existing community group or network, or a brand new group.
With the support of local government and potentially Emergency Recovery Victoria (ERV) this group would undertake the remaining steps.
Step 2: Set community recovery priorities
When a community is ready, they should engage with local community members and relevant interest groups to consider the impacts of the disaster, the broader context of challenges, and opportunities for the community in helping to identify their recovery priorities.
It is useful for the community to develop a shared vision for the future of the community to help guide priorities. These could be expressed as a community recovery plan.
Engagement approaches and activities should be tailored to community characteristics and preferences and appropriate to the nature and impact of an emergency. It is important to ensure all community values, cultures and perspectives are considered through this process.
Step 3: Identify delivery needs
After identifying recovery priorities, communities may wish to identify the actions and resources needed to deliver on the priorities. This may include community resources, access to grants, volunteers or philanthropic donations.
Step 4: Deliver recovery activities
It’s important that communities own the delivery of their own recovery activities. This means that they should have a key role in coordinating, managing and driving implementation of their community recovery plan.
Step 5: Check in on progress
Regularly checking in on progress towards achieving recovery priorities will be important. This will make sure activities are on track, and risks are identified early and communicated back to the community.
Step 6: Plan and prepare
Any lessons learned from the emergency, or recovery process, should be captured to help improve any existing emergency plans for the community. Documenting these lessons and reviewing existing plans will make sure communities are more resilient and prepared for future disasters.
Developing a community recovery plan
Start with developing a vision for your community. Map out your context and the unique history, values and dynamics of your community. There is no right or wrong way to write a community plan, however, the plan should capture your community’s short, medium, and longer-term recovery goals and priorities.
It will be helpful for community recovery plans to build on existing community plans, with a focus on any goals or priorities that have changed or emerged following the recent disaster.
Depending on your community and the nature, scale and impact of the disaster, your community recovery plan can cover recovery priorities across Emergency Management Victoria's (ERV) 5 lines of recovery and align with ERV’s recovery principles.
A community recovery plan is your community’s plan. There is no requirement from the Victorian Government for communities to produce a plan, or for these plans to follow a particular format or contain specific content.
The purpose of a community recovery plan
A community recovery plan can capture the recovery goals and priorities of the community. This may include actions or activities that require community resources, access to grants or volunteers, and initiatives that could be supported by philanthropic organisations or donors.
You can include as much or as little information as is relevant to your community, and be as ambitious or pragmatic as your community wishes to be.
Emergency Recovery Victoria’s lines of recovery
Emergencies can upturn all aspects of everyday life – from the trees and wildlife that surround us, to utilities, homes, agricultural and public buildings, to social enjoyment and economic activity. To ensure a holistic approach to recovery, 5 lines of recovery have been identified to help prioritise and plan:
- People and wellbeing
- Aboriginal culture and healing
- Environment and biodiversity
- Business and economy
- Buildings and infrastructure.
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