Strengthening disaster preparedness in human service organisations

Prepare for the worst. That was the key objective of a project led by Charles Sturt researchers Dr Heather Boetto and Associate Professor Karen Bell in partnership with a group of human service organisations in the Wagga Wagga region in 2022. Through a series of workshops and tailored activities, the researchers engaged with human service organisations to develop individual Disaster Resilience Plans. These documents involved risk assessments and business continuity plans that would minimise service disruption.

The project’s results demonstrated how the human service organisations had increased their knowledge and action about disaster preparedness, developed greater clarity about their roles and responsibilities within the local community, and enhanced their independence in managing disrupted services.

The project also provided several tangible outcomes including an ULTRIS model of disaster preparedness; development of a free, online, openly accessible short course hosted by Charles Sturt using the OpenLearning platform; organisational and service user preparedness kits; and a range of resources.