The report states that making ordinary citizens the central pillar of emergency plans would dramatically improve Britain’s readiness for shocks (including terrorism-related incidents and the recent snowstorms).
Entitled ‘Resilient Nation’, the report argues that people and communities are the first line of defence against threats like flooding, terrorist attacks or pandemics because they can often respond faster and co-ordinate more effectively than the emergency services, thereby saving lives and protecting property.
A combination of complex lifestyles, fragile national infrastructure and the increasing frequency of extreme weather caused by climate change has made Britain vulnerable to emergencies that are too difficult for the emergency services to counter alone.
Britain is a brittle society
The author of ‘Resilient Nation’, Charlie Edwards, told SMT Online: “Britain is a brittle society. We face all kinds of risks, from floods and heat waves to snowstorms. The emergency services are vital, but they cannot be everywhere all the time. Having a prepared population is essential to making Britain resilient, but resilience is about much more than sirens and sandbags. It’s about Government and the emergency services giving people the tools to respond, and then trusting them to act.”
Edwards is a senior researcher, head of the Security Programme at Demos and author of the acclaimed 2007 pamphlet ‘National Security for the 21st Century’.
He writes, lectures and consults on national security, resilience, defence and intelligence matters, working closely with international institutions, Government departments, companies and NGOs. Edwards is also a regular commentator in the national and international media.
‘Four Es’ of community resilience
The four ingredients behind Edwards’ theory are the ‘four Es’ of community resilience: engaging citizens by recognising their role, educating them on how to respond, empowering them by building them into plans and encouraging them to do more.
Using Case Studies and interviews in the UK and abroad, the research cites examples like the village of Walcott in Norfolk where a slow response from the authorities in 2007 meant that property was damaged and the evacuation was made harder by floodwater.
It was down to members of the village’s volunteer flood wardens group to alert residents of an imminent flood, and then co-ordinate the emergency response when the Environment Agency and local police service failed to sound the alarm.
In addition to the traditional methods used in Walcott, researchers found that communities in ‘at risk’ areas are turning to online social networking sites to co-ordinate in an emergency and educate the public. For example:
- the Los Angeles Fire Department uses sites like Blogger and Twitter to communicate between firefighters and people on the ground
- London Borough of Haringey councillor Alan Stanton has established a Flickr site to educate his constituents about the dangers of flooding
- most recently, Facebook played a significant role in The Red Cross’ efforts in the wake of the Italian earthquake
Centralised Protection Force ‘unnecessary’
‘Resilient Nation’ also argues that plans for a centralised Civil Protection Force – as advocated by all three main political parties – are unnecessary and a potential waste of money. Instead, Edwards makes a range of recommendations for putting people at the heart of the Government’s National Security Strategy (due to be published this coming summer).
“We already have a civilian force,” explained Edwards. “Hundreds of thousands of citizens who are active volunteers, and can be called upon in the face of disaster. Bureaucratic, centralised structures will never be a substitute for a prepared population.”
Other publications by Edwards include The Case for a National Security Strategy (2007), The Business of Resilience: Corporate Security for the 21st Century (2006), Closing the Gap: Creating a Shared Vision of Security Sector Reform (2006) and A Force for Change: Policing 2020 (2006).
List of key recommendations
The recommendations from ‘Resilient Nation’ are as follows:
- local councils, emergency planning officers and the emergency services should use social media like Twitter as part of their engagement strategies
- community resilience should become part of the PHSE curriculum
- individual resilience should be encouraged by creating goals such as a resilience badge for Girl Guides and Scouts
- Government should establish an annual Preparedness Week where local communities can learn to develop their emergency response strategy
- local authorities and the emergency services should develop live exercises and training for the public
Research funded by Arup
‘Resilient Nation’ is the result of ten months’ work and over 50 interviews in ten different locations across the UK. Case Studies covered include the 1987 fire at King’s Cross, the 2004 Asian tsunami, the UK’s Foot and Mouth crisis, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the 2008 Hurricane Gustav.
The project was funded by Arup, whose global leader of security and risk consulting, John Haddon, commented: “This research, which is long overdue, outlines the crucial role that communities can play in disaster management. Only by empowering citizens and embracing modern communication channels can the UK mitigate its vulnerability to increased threats.”
Arup has been practising security consultancy since 1978. Haddon’s Arup Security Consulting operation is an award-winning specialist team providing a risk-led service using a combination of threat and risk assessment analysis, resilience review (including blast engineering and chemical/biological attack mitigation) and security planning.
Members of Haddon’s team all have backgrounds in the police, military and client organisations, multidisciplinary building design teams and the security industry. That being the case, Arup has a unique insight into security and the needs of the rest of the design team.
Arup’s specialists work in areas such as blast engineering, electronic security systems, control and data centre design, systems integration, information security and corporate resilience. They work closely with clients to ensure that the tolerable level of risk is understood by all sides, advising and engineering solutions to achieve that precise level of risk.
Panel discussion to mark the launch
The launch of ‘Resilient Nation’ will be marked by a panel discussion involving:
- Sir Richard Mottram: former Permanent Secretary (Security, Intelligence and Resilience) at the Cabinet Office and chairman of Amey
- Martin Tolman: emergency planning manager, Birmingham City Council
- Moya Wood-Heath: emergency planning and civil protection advisor, British Red Cross
- John Haddon: global leader, security and risk consulting, Arup
- Charlie Edwards: head of the Security Programme, Demos
- Phil Collins: chairman, Demos (chairman of the event)
The event takes place on Tuesday 21 April 2009 at 12.30 pm at the Institution of Civil Engineers, One Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA.
If you would like to attend the event, please e-mail events@demos.co.uk or telephone 020 7367 6333.