First round of Small Network Grants benefit 29 NFPs

FRRR has awarded $737,774 in Small Network Grants to 29 not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) working in remote, rural and regional Australia for projects that will strengthen the capacity and capability of their communities to prepare for, and be resilient to, the impacts of future droughts.

The Small Network Grants program is supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund through the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

Funded projects are diverse, including a Mental Health forum in Junee, NSW; a series of community connection and education events in Alice Springs, NT; a portable toilet to support small-scale community infrastructure projects in Boonah, QLD; a demonstration day for the new digital weather station and soil probe network in Kingscote, SA; Accidental Counsellor training for the Tasmanian community of Triabunna; a Field Day for local secondary students in Birchip, VIC; and a series of natural resources management and drought education sessions in the Great Southern WA region of Kendenup.

Nina O’Brien, FRRR’s Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lead, said strong interest in the program indicates that organisations and local leaders are actively seeking ways to inspire their communities to connect, communicate and strengthen social capital, so they can better withstand the impacts of future drought.

“Most of the applications we saw in this round of the Small Network Grants program were for projects designed to improve communication, social connection and collaboration within and between communities, as a way of strengthening and preparing for drought.

“Far North West Joint Organisation’s Drought Resilience Community Action Group is a great example of this type of initiative. With a $50,000 grant, the Action Group will help the communities of Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett and Cobar to increase knowledge and resource sharing and promote collaboration, so that the NSW Far West region can be better prepared.

“More than half of the applications we received have never been funded by FRRR. This means we are reaching grassroots organisations and responding to the increased priority around drought preparedness in many remote, rural and regional communities, many of which are still recovering from other climate-related disasters like cyclone and flooding.

“We look forward to seeing how these projects help community groups be better connected, informed and resourced in the next drought,” Ms O’Brien said.

Applications for Round 2 of Small Network Grants are open now and close 26 March 2024, with recipients announced in June 2024.

Potential applicants are encouraged to watch this recorded webinar to learn more about the program and the eligibility requirements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DHpeNQqPeI.

For more information, including the list of eligible LGAs, and to apply, visit: https://frrr.org.au/small-networks-grants.

The full list of grant recipients and their projects are below.

The work of the Wardell Community Organised Resilience Effort (CORE) is an example of how a small town can rally in the face of a natural disaster and be ready for disasters to come. Most days, Wardell is an idyllic spot to live. Lush, green and quiet on the banks of the Richmond River in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. But in 2022, floods devastated the town and others nearby. Wardell had never flooded before, and no one was prepared.

Wardell CORE was set up as a resource centre for emergency donations. Bedding, blankets, clothes, food, medical supplies, water, torches, batteries and tents were all gratefully received. The need was immense. Two years on, Wardell CORE’s primary purpose is still helping affected people. Some are still homeless and many struggle with mental health issues, including PTSD. Their other main aim is to make sure the community is never impacted in the same way again.

Planning for the way forward

During the 2022 floods, mobile and internet telecommunications were impacted, meaning Wardell and the surrounding communities had limited or no communication in many areas until power could be restored or services fixed. Having no communications during a disaster created all kinds of problems – the emergency services people couldn’t share vital information, residents were cut off from family and friends, and there were any number of complexities around ongoing recovery.

After the flood receded, Wardell CORE immediately started planning for the next one, and detailed planning identified a need for a way for the community to stay informed, given the power outage lasted for two weeks or more. CB radio was the solution. They received a $10,000 grant from FRRR through Telstra’s Connected Communities program that funded the purchase of 10 hand-held devices and two base stations, as well as funds left over to support the community with the appropriate training. Through additional fundraising, they were able to install a relay station that helps to extend the signal as far as possible to provide radio reception throughout town and with the nearby communities of Woodburn and Coraki up-river, and Ballina down-river.

Where to next?

The organisation plans to distribute more radios throughout the region to anticipate flood events as widely and comprehensively as possible. Another resilience move they made was installing a Starlink service that uses a network of satellites to provide internet coverage, and installing onsite battery storage so that they will have internet in the event of future power outages.

The team behind Wardell CORE recognises that locals in the region experience high levels of anxiety about weather events, but the low level of digital literacy in the community is a real barrier to disaster preparedness. To resolve this, they’re looking at establishing a program that teaches people how to access and interpret weather apps and other related platforms.

A spokesperson for Wardell CORE explained the impact of the grant they received.

“Without the FRRR grant from Telstra’s Connected Communities program, we would never have been able to put our disaster preparation plans into action. The lessons learned from the 2022 floods meant we knew what technology we needed and where it should be located. But our reliance on small donations meant we could never have afforded it. Now we have the communications we need to feel confident about our ability to protect our people, physically and mentally, from any flood events in the future.”

Funding to strengthen infrastructure, resilience and communication networks

More than $1.5 million in grants has today been announced for 110 community groups across remote, rural and regional Australia through FRRR’s flagship Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program.

Awarded via three streams of funding – small and vital projects, COVID recovery and disaster preparedness or recovery – the grants will go toward initiatives that address a variety of diverse needs and local priorities, including infrastructure upgrades, strengthening resilience, addressing service gaps and growing networks.

The projects range from a winter-care program that will see support packs delivered to elderly residents of St Arnaud, VIC and a series of emergency bushfire preparedness workshops for the community of Batlow in NSW, to helping install silo art in Lameroo, SA as a way to reinvigorate tourism and enhance local sense of identity following the pandemic.

Jill Karena, FRRR’s Place Portfolio Lead, says that the diversity of requests once again highlights the importance of having a small grants program like SRC.

“The needs of remote, rural and regional communities differ, so it’s critical to be able to offer flexible funding like we do through this small grants program. It means that local groups can respond to local priorities in their communities.

“This round, projects ranged from domestic violence support and mentoring programs, to food security and tourism initiatives to help rebuild the local economy. There was really strong demand for support to enhance community infrastructure, particularly maintaining meeting places so people can come together and strengthen local connections, but we also saw a significant number of requests relating to increasing the reach and emergency communications capability of groups like community radio stations.

“We also saw a focus on infrastructure in the COVID recovery grants, with groups aiming to enhance community resilience in the face of disruptions, whether they be environmental or health related. Interestingly, we’re also supporting quite a few projects that help to rebuild connections within communities post COVID – especially in places that lots of people moved to during the pandemic. Alongside this, it’s wonderful to see more projects that are engaging Indigenous Australians.

“From a disaster perspective, it’s pleasing to be able to help organisations be proactive about their safety, strengthening communications and adding to the equipment available locally, so they’re not as reliant on SES or Government in the event of a crisis.

“These are the projects that create a sense of place and identity, and the people and organisations that make these inspiring projects happen need our support. To continue to do that, we need funds, so we invite all those who want to see a thriving remote, rural and regional Australia to join us to support local initiatives. They really do make a difference,” Ms Karena said.

The SRC program is collaboratively supported by donors, ranging from private individuals to larger foundations, who are acknowledged on the FRRR website. This round there were a further 50 funding-ready projects, requesting more than $610,000, that FRRR could not support. We are urgently seeking new partners, so that we can fund more projects like these in the future.

FRRR always accepts applications to this program, which awards funds around four times a year. Local not-for-profit organisations and community groups are encouraged to review the program guidelines and apply. More information about the SRC program is available at www.frrr.org.au/src.

The full list of grant recipients and their projects are below.

$20,000 and $50,000 grants to strengthen networks and capabilities

FRRR is encouraging community organisations in agriculture-dependent parts of Australia to apply for the latest round of Small Network Grants for initiatives that build community preparedness and resilience to future drought.

The Small Network Grants program is supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund through the Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative.

Grants are available through two Streams of funding for simple, one-off, or seed-type initiatives designed to strengthen local networks and capabilities of remote, rural or regional communities. Stream 1 offers grants up to $20,000 to all agriculture-dependent remote, rural or regional areas (except Stream 2 locations). Stream 1 has an indicative funding pool of $1,175,900[i]. Stream 2 grants of up to $50,000 are available for groups in the NSW Far West, NT Tablelands, NT Arid Lands, Northern Queensland Dry Tropics and WA Great Southern. An indicative funding pool of $1,296,350 is available for Stream 2[ii].

Nina O’Brien, FRRR’s Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lead, said preparing for the inevitable dry times ahead is critical, particularly for Australia’s agriculture-dependent regions.

“Our Small Network Grants program empowers local organisations to strengthen the social fabric of their town or locality by identifying and acting on their region’s drought preparedness priorities, at a grassroots level, in ways that best suit their communities.

“We look forward to seeing projects that will help community groups be better connected, informed, and resourced in the next drought,” Ms O’Brien said.

The Small Network Grants program can fund projects that fit into one of these five categories:

• Networks: Initiatives to strengthen the capacity, capability, and coordination of professional, social or community networks
• Community Events: Field days, conferences, forums, summits, and seminars that facilitate professional, social and community connection to build understanding of drought and climate change associated risks.
• Training:  Initiatives to improve skills and capacity in community risk management, planning and project delivery in relation to drought.
• Community Infrastructure: Small scale community infrastructure projects to improve connectedness, wellbeing, and facilities.
• Development and Learning: Initiatives to facilitate professional, personal and leadership related development and learning to support drought preparation.

Applications are open now and close 26 March 2024, with recipients announced in June 2024.

Potential applicants are invited to watch this recorded webinar to learn more about the program and the eligibility requirements:

For more information, including the list of priority LGAs, and to apply, visit: https://frrr.org.au/small-networks-grants.

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[i] Stream 1 – All LGA’s in an agriculture-dependent regional, rural or remote location (except Stream 2 locations). Priority will be given to locations where previous Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative activity has not been undertaken. An indicative funding pool of $1,175,954 is available for Stream 1. Applications up to $20,000 will be accepted.

[ii] Stream 2 – All LGAs from NSW Far West, NT Tablelands, NT Arid Lands, Northern QLD Dry Tropics and WA Great Southern regions only. An indicative funding pool of $1,296,352 is available for Stream 2. Applications up to $50,000 will be accepted.

Continued demand for small grants to support local initiatives

More than 150 not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) in rural regions across Australia are sharing $1,579,380 in grants for projects that will strengthen their communities.

Awarded through FRRR’s flagship Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program, the grants will fund projects that address a range of diverse needs, including fostering community connectedness and wellbeing, as well as supporting ongoing COVID and disaster recovery and preparedness.

The 151 grants range from $750 for a lawn mower to help local volunteers prepare the community for future bushfires, to $25,000 for a “Get Started Emergency Preparedness” program to empower people with disabilities through tailored disaster readiness education and planning.

Jill Karena, FRRR’s Place Portfolio Lead, said that the Strengthening Rural Communities program has been a consistent support for local NFPs in rural places, helping to fill funding gaps needed to get projects off the ground or sometimes bring them to conclusion.

“FRRR’s small grants have supported rural Australia for the past 23 years. Within our Strengthening Rural Communities program alone, we have awarded nearly $18 million in small grants since 2019 and the program’s flexibility is one of the key reasons why it continues to be so popular.

“Flexible funding means that we can support projects that meet a wide range of needs, reflecting what the community sees as a priority. For some, this may be a new roof for the town hall, for others it may be an event to bring people together, and for others it could be mental health first aid training.

“Virtually every part of Australia is recovering from one or more disasters, from the pandemic to floods, bushfires or drought – and many have experienced successive or even overlapping events. The cumulative effect means that even within the same region, there are people working to respond and support recovery, while others are putting planning and training in place to build their resilience and prepare for the next, inevitable, event.

For example, in Shepparton, local groups are working to address different community needs and, collectively, help their community to recover, grow and thrive.

“Shepparton Foodshare is one of the NFPs supporting their community’s recovery. The organisation will use a $25,000 grant to purchase a refrigerated delivery truck, which will boost organisational capacity so that they can provide food relief to those impacted by the flooding that the region experienced in September 2022. Meanwhile, the Goulburn Valley Woodworkers will use their $10,000 grant to strengthen social connections that have been challenged by COVID lockdowns. The NFP wants to build the capacity of its volunteers by providing a safe gathering space with concrete flooring that has been sealed and finished. North Shepparton Community & Learning Centre is also helping to strengthen connections for diverse communities by using their $10,000 grant to deliver creative workshops and an exhibition.

“Grassroots organisations, which are often led by volunteers, play an important role in the vitality of rural Australia, because they drive the projects that maintain and sustain their communities. But to do this, they need funds. We’re honoured to play a small part in helping rural Australia thrive and we encourage others to join with us to support local initiatives that really do make a difference,” Ms Karena said.

Some of the projects funded in this round of SRC grants include:

The SRC program is collaboratively supported by donors, ranging from private individuals to larger foundations, who are acknowledged on the SRC webpage. This round there were a further 50 funding-ready projects, requesting more than $610,000, that FRRR could not support. We are urgently seeking new partners, so that we can fund more projects like these in the future.

FRRR always accepts applications to this program, which awards funds four times a year. Local NFPs and community groups are encouraged to review the program guidelines and apply. More information about the SRC program is available at www.frrr.org.au/src.

To support grants like this through FRRR, make a tax-deductible donation at frrr.org.au/giving/.

The full list of grant recipients and their projects are below.

By Nina O’Brien, Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lead

The call to action at this year’s Australian Disaster Resilience Conference is deeply apparent and has been reflected in most of the presentations, including my own – we must expand our understanding, balance investment, and elevate the voice of community, particularly First Nations people, to reduce the risks and impacts of a changing climate, and build collective resilience towards the increasing severity and frequency of disasters.

At FRRR, we are addressing this call to action by working deeply with local groups that are on the ground, working to enhance the preparedness and resilience of their remote, rural and regional communities. Programs like Disaster Resilient: Future Ready, as well as the thousands of grassroots, community-based projects we support through small grants like SRC Prepare and Recover , and others such as Rebuilding Futures, allow us to learn from local leaders about the needs and priorities of their communities, and how we can best support them to build local resilience and disaster recovery.

My presentation spoke of the importance of balanced investment in people and processes, not just products and ‘things’ across the entire disaster cycle, with a specific focus on preparedness. Social, cultural, political, and human capital are equally as vital as built, financial and natural capital in bolstering resilience. This approach takes a holistic view that acknowledges the interconnectedness of all these facets of community life.

This is why I advocate that we must shift our focus from (often) the disproportionate investing in products and things (hard infrastructure, as we often refer to it) to prioritising people and processes (or the soft infrastructure).

Ultimately, it is the people and processes that really make communities tick and make a difference in effective disaster response, recovery, and preparedness.

This is reinforced by the findings of ongoing research that FRRR has commissioned alongside our learning partner, University of Sydney.

“Working in a community led way to build local resilience means that local community members act as equal decision makers with a range of other stakeholders (local government, emergency services, service providers, business) to address issues which are priorities for that community. Rather than a top-down approach, where decisions are made outside a community or are made by government or other formal authorities, community led resilience building starts and continues with listening and collaborating on the priorities of community members. Genuine ownership by the local community requires their active involvement in all aspects of resilience building, not merely consultation.”

_{Howard, A., Rawsthorne, M. and Joseph, P. (2022) Critical Dimensions in Community Disaster Resilience [FactSheet], University of Sydney for the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal}

The formal study has reinforced our anecdotal observations that when communities take the lead in driving resilience-building efforts, remarkable things happen. Whether tackling natural disasters like cyclones, bushfires, floods, or adapting to community shocks such as the loss of major services or industries, community-led initiatives tend to persist longer and have ongoing positive impacts. They foster local strengths that can adapt to a wide range of challenges over time.

This work provides an important formal evidence base for supporting grassroots not-for-profit organisations that are critical to nurturing the vitality of regional communities.

It also validates FRRR’s preferred approach of working alongside communities, mapping their assets and systems of interconnectivity, understanding their particular strengths and nuances, and viewing community life through resilience dimensions that help to identify and craft locally driven resilience initiatives.

Through diverse funding mechanisms that prioritise people and processes, we’ve seen tangible dividends in increased resilience. These include support for locally conceived projects and initiatives; building volunteer capacity and strengthening networks; resilience coaching, mentoring and support; strengthening internal organisational capacity; and fostering long-term project delivery capability through sustainable local partnerships.

And as a side note from ADRC23; the feedback from communities is clear. They want flexible funding criteria, longer timelines, negotiated measures of success, simpler forms and reporting – and patience from funders. As a mechanism to deliver support to approximately 1000 small projects per year; with around half of those related to disaster impacts; FRRR is working hard to meet these requests with flexible guidelines, negotiated timelines where possible, agile timing, and a streamlined approach to applying and reporting.

Without deliberate, balanced investment in social, cultural, political and human capital, alongside traditional capital, the impacts and harm from disasters will continue to escalate in our communities. We need a systems-based lens that prioritises people and processes to meet future community needs and challenges effectively.

The long-term benefits of this shift are significant; capable local individuals, agile community-based networks, strong not-for-profit organisations and ultimately resilient remote, rural and regional communities become the norm. This paves the way for a future where communities can thrive, adapt and face the uncertainties of a changing climate, with resilience and hope.

Funding helps local preparedness projects get off the ground

Local groups in Korumburra, Myrtleford and Whittlesea township and surrounds, are taking an active approach to preparing their regions for future disaster, thanks to a partnership with FRRR’s Disaster Resilient: Future Ready (DR:FR) Victorian program.

As part of the place-based DR:FR program, the three regional communities are sharing a total of $120,839 in grants. These funds are already being put to use, with communities leading local initiatives designed to improve wellbeing, increase preparedness and strengthen resilience so that each place has greater capacity to endure, adapt and evolve positively when faced with the impacts of climate, disasters and other disruptions.

Nina O’Brien, FRRR’s Disaster Resilience and Recovery Lead, said that FRRR is the DR:FR initiative is an active partnership between FRRR and the communities.

The premise of the DR:FR program is to partner with local groups and community members, and provide them with the tools and resources to identify what their community needs to prepare for the impacts of climate change, natural disasters and broader disruptions.

“The priority projects have been under development since March, so it’s a major milestone to see the local groups getting these important ideas off the ground.  We are inspired by the passion and persistence shown by each group and their eagerness to make a difference when the next emergency arrives. “We look forward to continuing to partner with these communities to better prepare their regions to withstand the impacts of future disasters,” Ms O’Brien said.

Community updates

Korumburra

Korumburra is setting up a Helping Hub, to be run from the local Community House.

The Helping Hub will match community volunteers with those in need of assistance via a website, social media and six-monthly volunteer expos.

The Hub will build community networks and provide connection to residents who need support, improving resilience generally and in emergencies such as storms or heatwaves.

Myrtleford

Mytrleford is fortunate to have a range of community groups and resources that can be mobilised to support the community during a disaster.

FRRR funding has been used to engage a person in a Community Connector Role for the Myrtleford neighbourhood to understand each group’s facilities and resources.

They will continue to work with the groups to plan how they can collectively support residents in the first 72 hours of an emergency event such as flooding or bushfire, and develop a Contacts Directory and Community Assets Map to make communication and co-ordination of resources easier in an emergency.

Whittlesea Township and Surrounds

Whittlesea Township and Surrounds’ Community Resilience Committee (CRC) is using their grant to employ a project officer to support a range of initiatives.

The CRC is keen to ensure that grassroots community action in future events is recognised in the formal Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP) and, therefore, by the formal disaster response agencies. They have received support from the MEMP Committee and are currently rewriting a previous Community Emergency Management Plan, to be endorsed later in 2023.

A key project for this group is to set up a Community Emergency Response Network (CERN) of local residents and community organisations. For future large fires and storms, the CERN would be recognised as part of the formal emergency response and would coordinate the local community-level relief efforts.

The DR:FR initiative is collaboratively supported by many generous donors, who are acknowledged on the FRRR website.

For more information about this program, visit https://frrr.org.au/drfr-victoria/.

“The NRCF Board and staff certainly value the long-term relationship with FRRR, which is so important to us as a rural and regional Foundation. The support for NRCF’s community impact and grants team has been essential to achieve impact in the community.” Sam Henderson, CEO, NRCF

Northern Rivers Community Foundation (NRCF) was established in 2004 to connect people who care with local causes that matter, to improve community wellbeing for the Northern Rivers region of NSW. They have one of the largest footprints of any community foundation in Australia, covering from Tweed to Grafton, from the ocean all the way up past Kyogle, Woodenbong and Casino. NRCF is dedicated to improving the lives of those less fortunate in their community, either from economic circumstances, mental illness, disability, learning difficulties or drug / alcohol addiction. More recently their focus has been to support their community to navigate their disaster recovery journey following bushfires and then widespread flooding events across the region in early 2022.

NRCF has held a Fundraising Account partnership with FRRR since 2017 to attract tax-deductible donations, enabling them to help community organisations meet increasing demands on their services and work together to build resilience across the community.

Initially they raised funds through a general Community Fund, and in 2020 established the Resilience & Regeneration Fund to raise funds specifically to support disaster recovery and preparedness in their region. The Fund responds to the increasingly frequent natural disasters affecting the region and the global pandemic. Recognising that these are not isolated events, and that resilience and regeneration are integral to a sustainable and prosperous region, they wanted to attract as much money as possible.

As at 30 June 2023, NRCF has raised $1,171,600  via these two Funds. In 2022, they announced a record distribution of $327,177 to 49 recipients across the seven LGA’s of the Northern Rivers. This was supported by distributions totalling more than $162,000 from their FRRR Fundraising Account in FY22. Projects span across disadvantage, housing and homelessness, recovery and resilience, and the environment.

NRCF will also be looking to use the funds raised through the Resilience & Regeneration Fund to respond in a meaningful and impactful way to the devastation brought about by the two 2022 flooding events that occurred in quick succession through their Annual Community Grants program. Informing their response is their ongoing research project to understand the issues and conditions impacting community recovery with a view to better support local not-for-profits and their activities into the future. In May 2023 they released their second flood impact report ‘Research, Respond, Recover: A year on from disaster’ which offers valuable insights across a range of indicators about how the community is recovering. It highlights gaps in funding for medium to longer term recovery, and ongoing key issues of concern around health and wellbeing, housing and homelessness. 

With this increase in support comes a need for increased resourcing. Fortunately, NRCF has also received donations via their Fundraising Account specifically to support their operational and staffing costs through their General Fund. As a result, the role of Grants and Community Impact Manager has been introduced, which will boost their capacity, enabling them to expand their community grant programs and supporting them to broaden their reach.

Sam Henderson, NRCF’s CEO, said ‘The NRCF Board and staff certainly value the long-term relationship with FRRR, which is so important to them as a rural and regional Foundation. The support for NRCF’s community impact and grants team has been essential to achieve impact in the community.’ The need to respond to disasters has now increased so much that they’ve also recruited a part-time Grants Administration Officer to support the Community Impact Manager.

By Caroline Larcher, Disaster Resilient: Future Ready Program Manager

I‘m now three months into the role of Disaster Resilient: Future Ready Program Manager with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal – an organisation I’ve long admired. I’ve watched the work they’ve been doing to support recovery and resilience building over recent years. So, when the chance came to join them, I jumped at it.

Sadly, natural disasters are impacting rural, regional and remote communities more frequently, with significant consequences, including mental health and wellbeing issues, financial impacts and increased disadvantage.

Through our Disaster Resilient: Future Ready (DR:FR) program, FRRR and our partners have been working with communities to explore, learn and build on their existing strengths and capacities with a specific focus on increasing resilience to natural disasters.

Communities that are engaged, connected, empowered and have high social capital tend to respond and recover better from natural disasters than those with less capacity in these areas. They are also best placed to determine the most effective approaches to building their capacity and capabilities for their particular context.

Discussions at community and regional levels have highlighted that smaller, more isolated rural communities are often not specifically captured in formal emergency response management plans. These communities can be particularly vulnerable to disaster impacts, lacking local emergency services and waiting considerable time for response efforts, including periods of time when they may be physically cut off from outside support.

From early DR:FR projects, FRRR has developed a deeper understanding of effective ways to work with communities to build their capacity and help mitigate these issues. I’m delighted to be continuing this work in Victoria and in Queensland, working alongside local leaders to explore different ways for communities to get engaged and solve these issues.

One thing that’s increasingly apparent and comes up time and again in local conversations is the need for clarity in community-led disaster resilience work, especially around the role of community and where it intersects with the responsibilities of formal emergency response agencies. As the evaluation FRRR commissioned University of Sydney to do on the first DR:FR program showed, the time between disasters is an ideal opportunity for dialogue with communities about disaster information, communication and planning. This increases community ownership, engagement and action. And in the current communities, that’s exactly what we are doing.

Ideally, community-led approaches to resilience building should become more embedded in emergency planning, with communities recognised as equal collaborators in disaster resilience. This can require a change in thinking within the formal planning and response agencies, to adopt more agile and flexible approaches.

We know these things both from formal research but I’ve also seen it first-hand, supporting communities in their preparedness and recovery activities. Community-led disaster resilience thrives on local relationships. Supporting practical links between local community organisations and networks of people enables different stakeholders to mobilise and complement others.

FRRR’s latest DR:FR program is being delivered throughout the Burnett Inland in regional Queensland, in partnership with locally-based Red Earth Community Foundation, and with the support of the Australian Government and Minderoo Foundation. The aim is to build and retain capacity and knowledge in the region. This local focus is further embedded through the establishment of a regional program steering group, comprising local and state government, service providers, FRRR and Red Earth.

I had the opportunity to visit the community for the first time in April and meet DRFR Internal Advisory Group. It includes representation from North & South Burnett Regional Councils, Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, Qld Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and local service agencies, bringing a rich variety of local perspectives to the program. This meeting opened up opportunities for further discussions with Council officers and business groups, as well as travel to different communities to get a first-hand view of their location and environment. It is expected that future trips will allow for other communities to be visited, to build a richer picture of the diversity of the region and the environmental challenges faced in different locations.

This kind of place-based, long-term work on the ground in communities is required for change and impact. This work is not without its challenges. The effort that communities invest into resilience and disaster preparedness takes time and this needs to be recognised and valued. Community capacity, exhaustion and volunteer fatigue will mean that additional resources working alongside and supporting communities will be important to initiate and maintain momentum.

Our hope is that through developing greater resilience and preparedness for emergencies, communities can help mitigate and alleviate the trauma that eventuates from a disaster. I look forward to walking alongside the Burnett and Victorian communities as they continue their work.

It has been over 20 years since the rural town of Marama has had an active committee. In past generations of the committee, Marama Community Incorporated has been extremely social, connected and dedicated to keeping the town together. The main purpose of the committee was to bring people and community together with sport, dances, weddings, social events and church services. All of these events were usually held at the community-owned hall.

Now with a newly elected committee, the current generation was keen to foster a sense of belonging by renewing and improving the hall and providing a central place for activities to be held once again, however the space had fallen into disrepair after years of no use.

During the time the new committee was being elected, the district was also experiencing severe drought. A lot of the local farming community were feeling the effects on their mental health from prolonged drought. This added another layer of importance to the renewal of the hall; the community needed somewhere to come together and support one another.

With a $150,000 grant from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund’s Networks to Build Drought Resilience the committee was able to fund the underpinning, roof replacement, ceiling replacement, stone work, paint the interior, electrical work (including air-conditioning), and new toilet facilities.

The project relied on a big commitment from the community to get involved through volunteer work, local contractors and working bees to get the job done. But there was never any doubt they wouldn’t pull through!

Since completing the renovations on the hall the community has seen a dramatic shift in the attitudes of residents. Not only did the project give them a reason to meet throughout construction, but they now have a shared space to use that they can be proud of.

“Overall, the finished project is something we as a community are very proud of, and it has helped bring us together to work as a team to achieve a better, more user-friendly outcome.”

The hall has been host to a number of important community events since its completion and is booked in to host future events held by key industry groups that will benefit the community by improving abilities to adapt, reorganise or transform in response to a changing climate, increasing variability and scarcity of rainfall and changed seasonality of rainfall.