Community-Centred Innovation: Co-designing for Disaster Preparedness

BACKGROUND Australian Red Cross predicts the frequency and intensity of natural disasters to increase. Post-disaster recovery costs will quadruple from $6.3b to approx. $23b by 2050. Dramatic reduction to this cost can be achieved by effective preventative and preparedness approaches. Funded by the Bushfire CRC, Akama's research (Akama & Ivanka 2010; Akama et al, 2012) partnered with emergency management (EM) sector and regional communities to help develop ways to be prepared. It explores a co-design approach to help stakeholders find solutions for themselves (Morelli 2007), by amplifying people's creativity and to see people as experts of their own experiences and contexts (Sanders 2007). CONTRIBUTION The research innovation is methodological to enable EM practices develop a community-centred process for collective action, shifting from their top-down management practices. Since 2012 the Australian Emergency Management Institute has used Akama's methodology nationally as a training tool for staff across all relevant sectors. Research of this training and application in Ku-ring-Gai (NSW) and Cherbourg (QLD) demonstrates its adaptability for localised and multi-hazard contexts across Australia (Akama 2014). SIGNIFICANCE Awarded two 2014 Good Design Awards - 1) Best in Category: Education Service Design and 2) Patron's Prize for Australian Design (from 150 finalists). Akama's work was seen to have "... the potential to shape the future economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of our planet". The Good Design Award is Australia's longest and most prestigious design awards. This recognition led to inclusion in Sydney Design Week 2014 Feral Experimental exhibition and a symposium with leading international and national practitioners and researchers who create new possibilities for design. Its broad exposure is reflected in media and reviews, eg Arts section of Broadsheet (Azdis 2014); The Conversation (Leimbach 2014); and 2SER radio interview (Scully 2014).### 研究背景 澳大利亚红十字会预测，自然灾害的发生频率与强度将持续攀升。至2050年，灾后恢复成本将从63亿澳元增至约230亿澳元。通过高效的预防与备灾举措，可大幅削减此类成本。 本研究受丛林火灾合作研究中心（Bushfire CRC）资助，Akama团队的相关研究（Akama与Ivanka，2010；Akama等，2012）与应急管理（Emergency Management, EM）部门及区域社区展开合作，致力于开发备灾方案。该研究探索了协同设计路径：参考Morelli（2007）的研究成果，通过激发公众创造力、将民众视为自身经历与场景的权威专家（Sanders，2007），助力利益相关方自主解决问题。 ### 研究贡献 本研究的创新核心在于方法论层面，可帮助应急管理实践构建以社区为中心的集体行动流程，摆脱此前自上而下的管理模式。自2012年起，澳大利亚应急管理学院已在全国范围内将Akama团队的方法论作为培训工具，面向各相关部门员工开展教学。针对该培训在新南威尔士州库林盖（Ku-ring-Gai）与昆士兰州彻本（Cherbourg）的应用研究表明，该方法可适配澳大利亚境内的本地化场景与多灾害场景（Akama，2014）。 ### 研究意义 该研究曾斩获两项2014年优秀设计奖（Good Design Awards）：其一为「教育服务设计类最佳作品（Best in Category: Education Service Design）」，其二为「澳大利亚设计评审团奖（Patron's Prize for Australian Design）」（从150名入围者中选出）。Akama团队的研究被评价为具备“塑造地球未来经济、社会、文化与环境格局的潜力”。优秀设计奖是澳大利亚历史最悠久、最具权威性的设计奖项。此次获奖使其入选2014年悉尼设计周「野性实验（Feral Experimental）」展览，并受邀与全球及本国顶尖设计师、研究者共同参与研讨会，共创设计新可能。该成果的广泛传播可见于各类媒体与评论，例如《Broadsheet》艺术板块（Azdis，2014）、《The Conversation》（Leimbach，2014）以及2SER电台访谈节目（Scully，2014）。