Following the funding announcement earlier this week, UCRH is excited to be part of major new initiative to strengthen disaster resilience across the Northern Rivers, supported through Round 3 of the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund.
The Enabling Regional Readiness project will maintain and further develop the Northern Rivers Community Resilience Alliance, in which UCRH is an integral partner. The Alliance will use the funding to support 60 grassroots volunteer groups with training, coordination tools, and tailored support.
UCRH researchers are embedded in the project to help track impact and share learnings. Our involvement will build on our previous research around self-organising in disasters and the gendered nature of disaster recovery.
We are proud that the Northern Rivers Community Resilience Alliance grew out of work (the Self-organising systems to minimise future disaster risk project) in which UCRH was integrally involved, along with colleagues from the Sydney Environment Institute (SEI). The Alliance was partly funded through the SEI’s collaborative grant scheme in 2025.
While men are often visible in rescue roles, women lead coordination and volunteer mobilisation. In fact, 87% of local coordinators in the Alliance are women. This project invests in their leadership and aims to make disaster decision-making more inclusive.
We’ll be contributing through ongoing evaluation, a dedicated Research Assistant, and specialist support for ethics and monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning. It’s a chance to build a scalable model of community-led resilience that reflects the strengths of our region.
