The Churchill Fellows Association of NSW Churchill Fellowship to learn new approaches for mobilising communities during disasters

This project aims to explore how best to engage and mobilise community members as spontaneous volunteers in response to significant disasters. Following recent disasters in Australia, spontaneous volunteers have increased the capacity of response and recovery agencies. Other parts of the world have experienced community-led responses to significant earthquakes, floods and other disasters and have developed plans to integrate spontaneous volunteers into their formal emergency management planning. As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of natural hazard disaster events, Australia needs to prepare for utilising community members as part of the response and recovery to major disasters.