Newsletter 3 - Out of Uniform

Newsletter 3, February 2015

Progress update

We’ve been busy since our last newsletter in August last year (so long ago!). The final reports on informal volunteerism and emerging trends have been completed, and a journal manuscript based on the first report submitted, and a pilot case study is nearing completion. Combined, these have given us a better idea about a sampling frame to guide the selection of subsequent case studies. End user input on the sampling frame is being sought now. At the same time, we are also taking steps to identify the possible case studies that are available to us. Meanwhile, our PhD students are blazing ahead with their projects, and we will have a new PhD student starting an exciting project soon: stay tuned for more details in the next newsletter.

Also since our last newsletter, the research team has collectively participated in a number of conferences and end user meetings, including the AFAC/CRC conference in Wellington; and of course we held the first project workshop at RMIT in November.

Our priority now is to finalise our case selection criteria with end users and throw ourselves into doing case studies. We will focus on communicating the results to end users as we go. To this end, we have submitted an abstract to present on case study research at the next AFAC/CRC conference in Adelaide in September. We will also be concentrating firmly on supporting our PhD students with their diverse non-traditional volunteering projects.

End user perspective – Kate Harrap, CFA Manager Volunteerism

It has been a hive of activity since the project group met back in November at RMIT in Melbourne to discuss the progression of the research projects, hear from PhD students, share our ideas and expectations, and also develop stronger networks amongst the cohort present. Led by John Handmer, the research team are making significant progress in their respective areas. Josh Whittaker and Blythe McLennan’s report on the interim findings on informal volunteering and emerging trends was thought provoking.

Four key and inter-related themes were highlighted as areas that will significantly impact emergency service volunteering in the context of how we prepare for, respond to and manage emergencies.  The rise of episodic or spontaneous volunteers, increasing digital technology to connect people too and as part of emergency efforts, growth of corporate volunteering and the blurred lines between the voluntary sector and government will all have an impact on future organisational arrangements. The role we have as end users is to ensure that we understand, anticipate, influence and adapt to the changing nature of communities, industry, government and volunteerism as they become more interactive.

Review reports now available to end users

The reports on our two reviews (on informal volunteerism and emerging trends) have been completed. Please note that versions of both reports are also in the process of being submitted to peer-reviewed academic journals.

Informal volunteerism: The first report examines the role of ‘informal’ volunteers in emergency and disaster management worldwide. Three forms of informal volunteerism are identified – emergent, extending and digital – and the implications for emergency and disaster management are considered. Available to download here.

Emerging trends: The second report identifies four key shifts in the volunteering landscape broadly and considers possible implications for Australian emergency volunteering more particularly. These shifts are associated with the growth of episodic, corporate and digital volunteering, and with a significant change in the role of the voluntary sector vis á vis government. Available to download here.

Pilot case study – Be Ready Warrandyte

Undertaking a pilot case study has enabled us to adjust and adapt our case study methodology and refine our thinking on case study selection criteria. Be Ready Warrandyte is notable for being an award-winning, community-led bushfire preparedness project, and for involving a high degree of collaboration between community volunteers, local government and the Country Fire Authority. (If you haven’t already seen it, check out their award-winning video here).

A focus group with members of the Be Ready Warrandyte project committee took place in March and will wind up the pilot study.

PhD student reports

Billy Haworth- PhD research: exciting times

Now half way through my PhD investigating the potential role of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) for fostering community engagement in bushfire preparation, I am at an interesting point where I have both some interesting results to talk about and also a busy schedule going forward.  On the interesting results to talk about: last year I completed community surveys in Tasmania to assess the potential use of technologies such as social media, smartphones and mapping websites for collecting and sharing local community information on bushfire risk and preparation.  The surveys highlighted high potential for these technologies to be useful, but with important limitations, including technology access, demographics, and issues around data credibility and trust.  I currently have two manuscripts in review for publication related to this; one is a review article of VGI and natural disaster management in Geography Compass and the other is a report on the survey results in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management. I also headed back to Tasmania in early March, his time to interview representatives of various emergency management organisations to gain agency perspectives on the potential of VGI in disaster preparation.

On the busy schedule going forward: with the support of the BNHCRC, in April I am presenting my work at the Association of American Geographer’s conference in Chicago – likely the largest and most diverse geography conference in the world! It’s an extremely exciting opportunity for me and I hope to gain a lot from the trip, particularly in terms of presentation experience, networking opportunities, and exposure to important international research.  I’m also planning another trip to Tasmania later in the year to undertake some mapping exercises with a number of communities to assess the user experience of using VGI and contributing local information for bushfire preparation.

Fiona Jennings - The Launch into PhD Research!

Community volunteering and disaster recovery; a study of community resilience in the 2013 Forcett Bushfire, Tasmania

The first six months has passed really quickly, and I have been fortunate to attend a variety of events in Hobart, Melbourne and Wellington NZ. A valuable opportunity to meet and interact with others in the disaster field, gain and share knowledge and discuss my research project. I have also spent a considerable amount of time reviewing existing literature, connecting with professionals and academics in the field, and working on my research design.

A little background to provide some context to the research title. In the Forcett bushfire, the roads into the fire affected zone were closed for a number of days, effectively causing a ‘gap’ in time between the emergency and the official recovery response. As first responders, the local residents demonstrated their ability to self-organise and carry out roles, and utilise local knowledge and resources in order to protect and care for others and their livelihoods. The focus of the research is the ‘community-led’ aspect.   

A case study approach was chosen based on the nature of the phenomena, the real life context it occurred in, and the desire to explore ‘what took place’. The research is designed to obtain a sense of ‘what was going on’ from the resident’s perspective, to gain an understanding of the background, purpose and functions of ‘community-led’ in community-based disaster.  

Over the next few months my research plan includes Confirmation of Candidature early May, and submitting my application for research with the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee. Upon the success of a milestone and ethics approval, I aim to commence generating and analysing data May/June 2015. I have also submitted an abstract for an oral presentation at the Victorian 12th Biennial Rural and Remote Social Work Conference, in July.

A digital volunteer experiment

DVSROE (the digital volunteer supported recovery operations experiment) is an exciting experiment “designed to explore and develop social media capabilities to support the broader disaster management community in Canada”. Involving a fictitious disaster scenario conducted in November 2014 (a powerful tropical storm), it involved collaboration between a number of research bodies, traditional public safety organisations and digital volunteering organisations in Canada and the USA.

DVSROE was undertaken as part of a larger technology experiment series known as CAUSE 3 under the Canada-US Enhanced Resiliency Experiment. It focused on:

• how agencies monitoring the storm can develop situational awareness products and send timely alerts and warnings to emergency management organizations and the public;
• how virtual volunteers can support recovery efforts through social media tools; and
• how social media can be used to widely distribute recovery information (e.g. locations of shelters, supplies, emergency numbers) and to communicate with the affected population (e.g. provide psychosocial support).

No formal reports are yet available but you can read personal perspectives on the DVSROE experience from a fire chief and one of the digital volunteers.