In 2015, the estimated total cost of natural disasters in Australia exceeded $9 billion and is estimated to reach $33 billion by 2050.

Communities play a critical role in planning for and responding to these events. An evidence base of methods, tools and approaches needs to be developed to support communities as they seek to build their resilience and be future ready.

In 2017, Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) launched their national Disaster Resilient: Future Ready project, a collaborative, applied research project to understand how different types of communities can build their capacity to plan for, respond to and recover from the impacts of natural disasters.

FRRR has extensive experience supporting communities across the country recover from all types of natural disasters. This national initiative has been developed through FRRR’s experience that communities that work collaboratively across sectors, are inclusive and support community leadership development have greater capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation has provided three years of funding for the Victorian component of this national project. This funding will support the documentation of community disaster resilience best practice research and action, engagement with eight Victorian communities with differing strengths and vulnerabilities when it comes to natural hazards, in-depth work with three Victorian pilot communities to collaboratively develop tools, methods and processes to understand and strengthen resilience and adaptation to the impact of natural disasters on social, economic and environmental conditions.

Pilot communities will contribute their experiences to an evidence-based suite of community led preparedness and resilience building initiatives that can be scaled into like communities.

The Foundation sits on the Disaster Resilience: Future Ready National Reference Group that oversees the initiatives' planning and delivery.