Transcript Community Action: from top down to bottom up solutions

Community Action:
From top-down to bottom-up solutions
Fuad Ali, Duncan Thomas, Robby Soetanto and Aaron Mullins
What are the interactions between
householders, SMEs and decision-makers
regarding extreme weather events?
How can they inform attempts
to improve community resilience to EWEs?
Outline
Current adaptation scenario
‘Post-LCLIP’ tool
Idealised vs actual situations
Local authority ecology
Time horizons
Social responsibility
Synthesis
Current Adaptation Scenario
• EW Events, Pitt Review, ‘snow tuning’
• Legislative Entanglement
– Civil Contingencies
– Climate Change
– Planning, Flood
• National regime transition
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Localism
Deficit Reduction
National Indicator removal
New local authority responsibilities (pluvial flood, health)
Top-down approach:
No resources, not practical
“Like all other local government departments in the country, my resources are
virtually nil and I am being squeezed even harder at the moment .... but
Climate Change adaptation cannot be implemented in a top down manner
... You need to get buy-in from the bottom.”
Climate change manager
“It’s all doom and gloom here at the moment!”
Flood planning officer
Top-down view:
The ‘adapted citizen’
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Knows where to go for information
Knows about local flooding initiatives
Knows steps for local community to become as resilient as possible
Knows about local council actions, local planning, local MP actions, Central
Govt actions
Knows their local vulnerable people, ready to help them
Knows local risks at street level
Part of an active community network
High preparedness before a flood, insured against flooding
High awareness of potential flooding impacts on own home...
Sound like anyone you know?
‘Post LCLIP’ Tool
• Carries insights from the CREW experience
• To be done by office of Chief Exec (or Deputy)
– Not an intern, a junior or a consultant
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Sensitive to varying local authority ecologies
Flexible, policy-change proof
Foregrounds history, LA’s expertise/capacity
Inclusive and outward
Inter-relations:
Idealised conception
DM
The state can be expected
to protect us from extreme
weather.
Are they going to charge
me for anything?
Why aren’t they clearing
the drains?
Vulnerable
stakeholder
Vital to local
economy.
Citizen-state relations.
Political liability.
Governmentality of
environment, security
and community.
Corporate social responsibility
SME
HH
Community spirit.
Inter-relations:
Actual situation
DM
Seldom hear from council
unless its over rates.
Flood affected would
appreciate solidarity.
LA is viewed as a
trustworthy source.
Difficult to
‘engage’. Need
to drill down to
that level after
big fish.
Engagement costs.
Blue rinse brigade.
Public prefers to talk
about anything else
Contradictory messages.
Inadequate drain clearing.
Support for local
organisations diminishing.
Ambiguity over social
responsibility
Customers understand our situation
SME
HH
Local businesses are part of the community
Local Authority:
Adaptation Ecology
Emergency Planning
Sustainability
Drainage
Adaptation
Planning
Air Quality
Local Authority:
Drivers Civil Contingencies
Duty of care
Local Resilience Fora
Act 2004
Emergency Planning
DRAIN
Flood and Water
Management Act 2010
Nottingham
Declaration
Sustainability
Drainage
EU Flood
Directive
SFRA
Climate Change
Act 2008
NI188
Adaptation
Section 106
Planning
The Environment
Act 1995
Air Quality
NPPF
PPS25
Development
and Flood Risk
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
Local Authority:
Service provision
Emergency Planning
IT
Education
Sustainability
Drainage
Adaptation
Housing
Waste
Planning
Air Quality
Local Authority:
Multiple points of entry
Local business associations
Emergency Planning
Local History
Church-based
Organisation
Housing
Association
Sustainability
Drainage
Adaptation
River society
Residential Social
Landlord
Transition
Town
Planning
Air Quality
Implications of a complex
bureaucratic space
Residents
Association
Decision-makers:
Differing time horizons
Hot issue
Slow burn
Perceived
importance
τ
Employee
Churn
Policy
refresh
Election
Cycle
Time
Planning
Cycle
Inter-relations:
Social Responsibility
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Psychological exploration perceptions of social
responsibility within and between stakeholders
o Qualitative and quantitative methods
o 481 completed questionnaires
o 3 sites in Birmingham (incl control), 1 in SE
London
o 174 cognitive mapping transcripts
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Variables included
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role
age, gender
ethnicity
prior experience
location,
Social Responsibility scores
Conceptual model of perceptions of social
responsibility
Findings:
Social Responsibility
 Underpinning perceptions
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Powerlessness
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Societal Duty
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Each stakeholders self-rated their own social responsibility higher than
each other group
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Gender: no difference
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Age: elder sections reported greater social responsibility
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Ethnicity: differentially reported level of social responsibility brought out
by experience
Conclusions
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Shift to event and locally led adaptation
More inclusive adaptation conversation
Scope for greater LA role after EW events
Better understanding LA self image and
organisational ecology
o LA view of local citizenry and CBO base
o Multiple points of entry
o Leverage borough-wide interconnections
o Structural differences
o Findings carried by ‘post-LCLIP’ tool