Mission: Resilient Communities
What if every community could mitigate disaster risk?
Our goal by 2025 is to lift Australia’s 50 most vulnerable communities to be on par with Australia’s 50 most resilient communities by helping communities to access the support and resources to mitigate their disaster risk and bounce back stronger.
Our journey started in January 2020 while Australia was still burning. Our team was deployed into towns and regions affected by the bushfires to gain an understanding of what each community needed. Communities visited included Kangaroo Island and Woodside in South Australia; Armidale, Wytaliba, Tenterfield, Torrington, Drake, Moruya, Mogo, Malua Bay and Merimbula in New South Wales; and Mallacoota and Bairnsdale in Victoria.
We met with people who had lost their homes, livestock, infrastructure and businesses and listened to their stories. We are so grateful for all those who shared their stories.
Resilient Communities mission video
As the climate changes, many communities will face more frequent fires and floods, and the effects of these will be even more widespread. Across Australia, the resilience of communities to disaster is highly varied. Around one-third of Australia’s population lives in highly resilient regions while nearly one-half of Australia’s population live in regions that have a low-to-moderate level of disaster resilience.
Communities in highly resilient regions tend to have healthy social fabric, diverse and vibrant economies, and robust built environments. This sets them up with strong coping capacity to prepare for and bounce back from disasters. They also have the institutions and networks to learn and adapt over time.
KNOWLEDGE
Accelerate new models of resilience education, training and accreditation for generational change.
Investment
Accelerate new investment models to help shift the balance of investment from recovery to resilience.
“The ideas in the Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience Blueprint are big and bold. We commend its clear message that science and technology will be our strongest assets against the growing threats of fire and flood in a changing climate, to strengthen community resilience and protect Australia’s unique environment. Science & Technology Australia looks forward to connecting Australia’s science and technology workforce into these big challenges to be backed by strong strategic investment.”
Chief Executive Office, Science & Technology Australia
“Suncorp welcomes the release of Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative. Reducing risk is fundamental to lifting resilience and we look forward to partnering with Minderoo Foundation and local communities, bringing our experience in risk management to this important work.”
Group Executive Officer, Suncorp
“Westpac is pleased to partner with Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative, recognising the importance of supporting communities to raise resilience. We have a strong track record of being there in times of need and now is no exception. Together with the other partners that have been working on this important initiative, we look forward to playing our part to lift national resilience and drive generational change.”
Senior Manager, Sustainability Risk & Climate, Westpac
“Movember is pleased to partner with Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative. The work to lift in-community resilience is crucial in helping people bounce back from crisis, not just physically but also mentally.”
Movember
“BackTrack Works is thrilled to have partnered with Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative, to speed recovery and response to help communities get back on their feet in the aftermath of the last fire season. This work has also helped ensure that our young people and our community are better prepared for future disasters, and we stand ready to continue playing an important role as the resilience work continues.”
BackTrack Works
“Resilient Cities Catalyst applauds the work of Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative in bringing together such an excellent group of collaborators and for rapidly driving change using a resilience approach. This blueprint will help make Australia better able to respond to its next shock and we are confident it will inform other resilience work globally. We look forward to continuing to team together to lift place-based resilience.”
Our missions
Fire Shield
Reducing the impact of fires through better detection, information sharing, prediction and response.
Resilient Communities
Lifting resilience in vulnerable communities through access to support and resources.