From Vulnerability to Resiliency

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From Vulnerability to Resiliency Taming That
Monster Under The Bed June 10th, 2008 Dr. Dave
Hutton
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From Vulnerability to Resiliency

• Communities (consumers) as part of the supply
  chain.
• Increasing risk and increasing dependency
• Vulnerability to risk and vulnerability to
  consequences
• Mitigate unnecessary consequences through
  resiliency-building
• Access to information and decision-making
• Out-of-box solutions
• New relationships and new collaborations

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State of the World
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The Face of Vulnerability

• Seniors, disabled, women, children.
• Economically and socially marginalized
• Fewer resources to prepare
• Forced to evacuation centers
• Longer periods of
• displacement
• Disproportionate financial
• losses
• High incidence of injuries and
• deaths

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Continuing Un-Preparedness

• Only 7 of Americans have taken the necessary
  steps to prepare for an emergency (know the risk,
  have a plan, have a kit).
• Only 28 of American households have an emergency
  kit.
• 69 living in hurricane-prone states do not have
  a kit 60 do not have an evacuation plan
• 78 I havent gotten around to it
• 52 I dont want to think about it.

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Why Is No One Listening ...Perhaps More Than
Denial

• 48 of Canadians were really
• or seriously stressed weekly.
• 16 felt this way every day.
• 43 felt they lacked control
• over their lives.
• Main causes of stress being
• work (43) and finances (39).

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And What About Climate Change What Do People
Care About?

• 80 believed weather was changing.
• Only 4 cited weather as a personal worry.
• 32 cited personal and family health.
• 28 cited finance.
• Biggest community concern was crime (47).
• Health/social/education services (19).
• Environment cited by only 7.

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It s All About Me
The weather may be changing, yes, but the real
problem is that Winnipeg has changed. If I want
to buy groceries now, I have to catch a bus
downtown, and the buses dont run as often.
Returning at night is also a problem because
crime has increased and one doesnt feel safe
anymore.
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Whatever Shall We Do? More of This?
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Lets Be Realistic and Relevant

• Not everyone will be prepared (Do you have
  emergency supplies at home? I dont just
  lots of food and stuff).
• Not everyone cares.
• Maybe people are IN FACT to busy.
• Perhaps that it okay (?)

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Maybe More of This?

• Almost 70 do not have
• a preparedness plan.
• 63 do not have a
• business continuity plan
• Only 30 coordinate
• with local emergency
• management.

• 77,000 registered Charities in
• Canada.
• 45 of Canadians aged 15
• years and over volunteer.
• 87 of organizations in 2006
• could support or reinforce
• local public health authorities.

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But Lets Be Realistic

• VOLUNTEER CANADA
• National voice for volunteers Canada
• Network capital of over 70,000 organizations
• 196 volunteer centres across Canada
• Staff cut from 28 to 7 in past year due to
  funding

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Lets Think About This WAY Differently

• What if we first talk to people about they care
  about, not what we care about?
• Maybe not all people can be prepared (hmmm, think
  poverty - 1 in 6 Canadians in 2007).
• If some people cant be prepared, maybe we should
  ensure they know how to get help when they need
  it (?).
• Is resiliency all in the way we think about it?

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Resiliency - The 10 Solution

• Resiliency as a capacity to cope and
• adjust to ALL adversity.
• Recognize and build on capacities.
• Collective understanding of risks
• but also capacities.
• Recognition of people as part of
• the solution.
• Sustainable collaborative planning.
• Sharing of practical tools and
• practices across stakeholders.

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Re-Focusing Our Attention

• Disasters occur and are managed at the local
  level.
• Preparedness and response occurs at the local
  level.
• Must be consistent to peoples needs, values and
  beliefs.
• Regard communities as partners rather than
  beneficiaries.
• Promote inclusive and progressive citizen
  engagement.
• Recognize vulnerability and resiliency as
  community-owned conditions.

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Work Through Partners

• Can I trust you?
• You have no idea what I do!
• Do you know how busy I am?
• Will you give me money?
• What do you do anyway?

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Making IT Meaningful Asking NOT Telling

• Where do you see yourself fitting in?
• What do you need to succeed?
• How can we support you?
• When you are ready, what do we need to do to
  assist you?

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Getting Out of the Backroom The Wisdom of Crowds

• Solutions tend to emerge over time, rather than
• being the product of a single collective decision
  
• They are not imposed from above, but emerge
• from the crowd. And, on the whole, they are
• better solutions than any group of Platonic
• guardians could come up with.
• James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds

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• Sustainability
• The world doesnt change one person at a time
• It changes when networks of relationships form
• among people who share a common cause and vision
• of whats possible When separate, local efforts
  
• connect with each other as networks, then
  strengthen
• as communities of practice, suddenly and
  surprisingly
• a new system emerges at a greater level of scale.
  This system of influence possesses qualities and
  capacities unknown in the individuals and
  possesses greater power and influence than is
  possible through planned, incremental change.
• Margaret Wheatley Deborah Frieze, Using
  Emergence to Take Social Innovation to Scale

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Blah Blah Blah
MUNICIPAL
PROVINCIAL/TERRITORIAL
NATIONAL
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Almost everything you do will be insignificant,
but it is important you do it. If you want to
go quickly, go alone if you want to go far, go
together. The fierce urgency of now.
Mahatma Gandhi Martin Luther King Jr.
African Proverb Al Gore
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• Thank You
• dave_hutton_at_phac-aspc.gc.ca
• 613-941-6763