ReGroup: Disaster recovery groups

We are looking at how we can help make the job of community recovery committees (and other community groups) after disasters easier.

Background

Community Recovery Committees (CRCs) are usually thought of as community-led groups that do a range of things after disasters. This can include collecting information, identifying community priorities, advocating for community needs and organising or supporting activities. 

CRCs all look different (and should!). There is no ‘one size fits all’. Some CRCs are formal, others less so. Some are adaptations of pre-existing groups, others are new. 

While there is existing research that establishes why CRCs are important, there is only limited information that exists to guide CRCs in their formation, planning and how they engage with other organisations, such as government bodies. There is also only limited research about how representative CRCs are. Who joins them? Who doesn’t? Are the groups representative of their communities? How do they connect to the broader community?

About the Project


This study follows on from some research we undertook in 2021. 

There are three parts to this study:

  • Part 1: We will develop a broad description of CRCs based on insights from CRC members and recovery agencies
  • Part 2: We will test and validate a self-assessment tool built for CRCs. This tool aims to help CRCs figure out how their group is going to be structured, what their scope is and what help they might need.
  • Part 3: We will investigate the representativeness of CRCs by looking at their social networks within the community. We will be trying to identify how the CRC is positioned in terms of:
    • Connection to the community
    • Information networks
    • Trust


    This will help CRCs identify gaps in their current networks and help them figure out who they may not be reaching in their community.

Partners

Natural Hazards Research Australia, Emergency Management Victoria and Bushfire Recovery Victoria

Funders

Natural Hazards Research Australia and Emergency Management Victoria

More information


For more information about this project, you can check out this video or contact a member of our research team:

Hannah Morrice: hannah.morrice@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Kate Brady: kate.brady@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Colin Gallagher: colin.gallagher@unimelb.edu.au
Professor Lisa Gibbs: lgibbs@unimelb.edu.au