Stellenbosch University: Community-Based Risk Assessment training in Polokwane
Santam recently commissioned the Research Alliance for Disaster & Risk Reduction (RADAR), in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, to train disaster management and fire service personnel in the Limpopo region on community risk assessment. The training forms part of their flagship programme known as the Partnership for Risk and Resilience (P4RR) which aims to build societal resilience to disasters, by enhancing the institutional capacity of selected districts and metros across the country.
Many officials lack the skills or experience to engage with members of their communities on the ground, or how to do this in a truly participatory way. The aim of the training course was to bring local officials and practitioners closer to the people they serve, by equipping them with the skills needed to engage with them meaningfully. The short course involved teaching methods of community engagement and working together with at-risk communities to identify the nature of local hazards and existing vulnerabilities, especially those prevalent in low-income communities. Richly nuanced information is collected from community members to inform more sustainable development planning that is appropriate to their particular context.
The recent course, conducted in Polokwane, brought together a group of young volunteers from a local community and emergency personnel to conduct a community-level risk assessment. It was heart-warming to see their enthusiasm and passion for engagement on development issues, recording their insights and suggesting solutions for both short and longer-term planning. The young people quite obviously enjoyed the opportunity to ‘weigh in’, sharing their opinions about local risk and development issues.
Understanding the true nature of risk at the local level, requires the input of residents, who have unique experiential knowledge of their own living environments and often know best how problems can be addressed. During the course participants and volunteers learnt to use a variety of methods and simple tools that have been developed for working in communities of all kinds. Highly visual and easy to use, they can be adapted for any environment, encouraging the participation of all community members.
Since 2004, RADAR has been conducting similar courses in Community-based Risk Assessment for academics, researchers and a range of clients, not only in South Africa, but also elsewhere into Africa, including the World Bank and International NGOs. The novel format combines applied, experiential learning, real-world research and community outreach. In facilitating collective problem-solving to reduce risk, the training is fundamentally aligned with the University’s key principles of social impact and outreach, namely genuine collaboration and reciprocity. This approach has generated a unique body of knowledge of risk environments across the continent, especially in burgeoning urban areas.
“RADAR is committed to ensuring that the research creates opportunities for action. Our methodology brings together local officials and community members to confront and identify strategies to reduce risk. We always ensure that the outcomes of such assessments are shared with relevant decision-makers, and the communities involved, as a first step in ensuring that communities themselves derive tangible benefits from these engagements,” says Patricia Zweig, a lecturer at RADAR.