What a Community Resilience Group does
The main aim of a Community Resilience Group (CRG) is to strengthen resilience within the local community. Groups do this by developing robust, coordinated arrangements that complement the work of responding agencies.
During an emergency, Dumfries and Galloway Council may contact a CRG to ask for information about conditions in its local area. This helps the council understand the scale and effects impacts of the emergency.
Complete a Community Resilience Plan
Roles and responsibilities
Each CRG should appoint a coordinator to lead the group’s resilience work. Groups are also encouraged to appoint a deputy coordinator who can take over when the coordinator is unavailable.
The coordinator and deputy coordinator should:
- oversee the completion and annual review of the Community Resilience Plan
- act as the main points of contact for the council’s Community Resilience Officer and Ward Officer
- share relevant information about local conditions during an emergency
- ensure important messages are communicated to the local community
Team members and volunteers
A CRG can include both team members and volunteers.
Team members are formal members of the group who attend meetings and contribute actively to the Community Resilience Plan. They may also take turns monitoring a shared mailbox or managing a community social-media page.
Volunteers may not be involved in the group’s regular planning work but can provide practical assistance during an emergency. For example, a volunteer may collect a prescription for someone who is unable to leave their home.
Keeping in contact with us
Community Resilience Groups should provide the council’s Community Resilience Team with up-to-date contact details.
This allows us to share information before an emergency when advance warning is available. Groups will also receive details of training opportunities and other relevant updates throughout the year.
All CRGs are encouraged to create a generic email address that can be accessed by several team members. This reduces the risk of important messages being missed and helps maintain continuity during an emergency.
Activities carried out by a group
Each Community Resilience Group decides which activities it is able and willing to undertake.
Activities may range from phoning neighbours to check that they are safe to carrying out practical tasks such as clearing local paths.
A CRG may also choose to distribute Household Emergency Lifesaving Plans (HELP) to encourage local people to prepare for emergencies.
When deciding which activities to undertake, groups should consider factors such as:
- insurance
- volunteers’ ages
- volunteers’ skills and abilities
- health and safety
- the needs of the local community
Examples of community resilience activities include:
- sharing reliable information online, by text message, through social media or by word of mouth
- contacting neighbours to check on their welfare, particularly during power outages
- shopping for people who are unable to reach the shops
- collecting prescriptions
- clearing local paths following snowfall
Insurance requirements may limit the activities a group can undertake.
In most circumstances, a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check is not required for someone to become a CRG team member or volunteer. However, if a group chooses to undertake an activity that requires PVG checks, the group is responsible for arranging them.
During an emergency
During an emergency, Dumfries and Galloway Council may contact a CRG to ask for information about conditions in its local area. This helps the council understand the scale and effects of the emergency.
CRGs may also receive Situation Reports, known as SitReps, from the council. These reports are confidential and must not be shared outside the CRG team.
We provide SitReps to help groups understand the wider situation across Dumfries and Galloway. Information that can be shared publicly will normally be available through the Dumfries and Galloway Virtual Operations Support Team.
Dumfries and Galloway Council will never instruct a CRG to activate. The decision to activate must always be made by the group itself.
You must never put yourself or anyone else at risk while carrying out a community resilience activity.
Debriefing
After responding to an emergency, groups are encouraged to hold a debrief.
A debrief allows the group to consider:
- what worked well
- what could have worked better
- what lessons were learned
- whether the Community Resilience Plan needs to be updated
A debrief template is included in the Community Resilience Plan and is also available to download from Padlet.
If your group requires support with carrying out a debrief, contact the Community Resilience Officer.