Community engagement and awareness raising

Preparing for climate change and tackling related issues like fuel poverty needs to involve local communities to be fully effective and avoid reinforcing inequality^¹^{, ².}

Derbyshire Community Climate Change conference © Climate UK

On this page:

Introduction
Building effective communities
Flooding
Heat

Introduction

Active participation of the local community in decisions that affect them is essential for democratic and service accountability and provides other benefits such as enhancing social cohesion, ensuring the local relevance of national policy and developing a sense of ownership over results^³. In addition, to be effective, building community resilience requires approaches that build on local knowledge to reflect the characteristics of local communities, their different risk environments, and local priorities^⁴.

Building effective communities

Responding to the challenges associated with building more resilient communities can be achieved by working with existing community organisations and developing new groups. Evidence suggests that while community ties which involve professionals tend to improve resilience, those relying on narrow social networks of friends and family or very insular communities can reinforce views and practices which may erode resilience^⁵^{, ⁶}.

It is important to understand why some people may be reluctant to participate in efforts to build community resilience and find ways to encourage engagement. Those on low incomes, who spend less time in education and who work in manual or intermediate occupations are least likely to participate in political action and civil society associations^⁷. Some people may not feel able to participate due to a lack of time or money, a lack of appropriate skills, knowledge and experience, a lack of available transport or due to existing responsibilities^⁸. See NCVO research about participation. Beliefs, preferences and perceptions of self-worth can also limit how much people feel able participate in a way that seems meaningful to them⁹. Links to resources on participation are available from these references^{^10, ^11, ¹²}.

The need for climate adaptation is often not perceived as urgent, leading to scepticism about whether local action is necessary, especially where direct experience of events (e.g. flooding or heat-waves) is lacking. Climate change and its impacts, although generating concern, are also generally believed to be removed in space (‘not here’) and time (‘not yet’)^¹³. Defensiveness in the face of an uncertain threat, or broader ideological positions, may lead people to deny the problem, negating the need for action^¹⁴^{, ¹⁵, ¹⁶}. People who do not believe it is necessary are highly unlikely to retain or act on information about climate risks^¹⁷. Providing flood warnings is thus not straightforward. “In improving responses to flooding it is clear that the risk communication context is as important as having an accurate warning. If people do not trust the source of the message they will not take any notice of the message”^¹⁸.

Even where people are aware of the impacts of a changing climate this is often not translated into action. Unless people find meaningful ways to act in response to information received about climate change, many will resist engaging as they feel powerless to act effectively^¹⁹^{, ²⁰, ²¹}. Even when people know and trust the information they receive, they may not know how to respond^²²^{, ²³}. Also, people considered ‘vulnerable’ (e.g. older people or those on low incomes) may not see themselves as such and may not take any action nor pay attention to risk warnings^²⁴^{, ²⁵,}^²⁶^{, ²⁷}. If a person’s perception of the threat is high but confidence in their ability to respond is low, then fatalism, denial and wishful thinking may set in, effectively demotivating people from taking precautionary action^²⁸^{, ²⁹}.

To be effective, community resilience^³⁰ requires a wider national ‘conducive environment’ and links between individual, household and local action. For example, actions to improve green infrastructure or sustainable drainage, or those associated with building social networks are likely to require area based action. What occurs at the household level also affects the community; this is in turn influenced by the large-scale forces (e.g., economic downturn) that shape the ability of individuals to adapt^³¹. The complexity and diverse nature of climate adaptation situations can make it hard to identify who has responsibility for taking action, making it more likely that responses will not occur or will be inadequate^³². For community resilience to be effective, individuals must have the right incentives, knowledge, resources and skills. The government’s role is to provide a supportive environment, including the right legal, regulatory and socio-economic incentives^³³.

The following section explains some of the problems associated with raising awareness and empowering communities in relation to different climate impacts, for example flooding and heat-waves.

Flooding

Communities may not be aware of the likelihood of flooding in their neighbourhood. Not surprisingly, communities living in areas where climate impacts are more tangible or who have been recently affected by a weather-related event, are likely to have greater awareness than others^³⁴. However, flood risk awareness is not uniform across social groups. Lower income groups and tenants tend to have lower flood risk awareness and are often less prepared. Thus in some neighbourhoods there is both high exposure to flooding and low awareness^³⁵. People who have recently moved into an area tend to have lower flood awareness^³⁶. Neighbours are an important source of information about flood risk, so ensuring communities can access accurate information through social networks can be an important means of reaching new arrivals and other people who may not engage with more formal channels^³⁷^,³⁸.

The difference between flood awareness and exposure to flooding varies by socio-economic class and region^³⁹. In some regions there is a marked gap between who is likely to be affected and their awareness of this risk. For example, in the North East region, flood awareness is much greater in people classified as ‘middle class’ compared to ‘working class’ although the ‘working class’ group has higher exposure to flooding. This is reversed in the Southern region where people classified as ‘middle class’ have greater exposure. This is important given that ability to adapt is linked to access to resources.

Figure 1: Class inequalities in flood exposure and flood awareness in England and Wales (WC – working class; MC – middle class).

Even when people are aware of their flood risk they may not believe that a flood will occur. A survey of 1,000 homeowners living in areas exposed to flooding in England and Wales found a high proportion (82%) were aware of the issue (and 18% had been directly affected). However, 78% of all those surveyed felt that the chance of flooding happening again was ‘low’ or ‘very low’^⁴⁰. The use of probability to express flood likelihood e.g. a ‘1 in 100 year event’ is often misunderstood, as people think that once it has happened it will not occur again for a century. People often fail to link experience of extreme weather events to climate-related future occurrences^⁴¹ resulting in little learning should it reoccur. In addition, the biased assimilation of knowledge means that only information that fits with how people already understand the situation will be remembered^⁴².

Many people see the responsibility for flood protection as resting fully with local authorities, the Environment Agency or other public agencies (see Government webpage on who is responsible for managing flood risks). Flood defences can lead to a false sense of security and failure to take adequate precautions^⁴³. For example, the flood defences put in place along the River Irwell in Salford, led most residents to conclude that no further actions were required and that it was not necessary to pay attention to flood warnings^⁴⁴. It was necessary to use a range of information brokers to change attitudes, including using local registered social landlords to encourage their tenants to sign up to flood warning schemes due to low risk perceptions and failure to sign up to flood warning initiatives^⁴⁵^,⁴⁶^. (See a detailed community engagement and awareness raising case study described in this report to Salford City Council: Climate Action Project Lower Kersal and Spike Island)

Raising awareness needs to be matched with opportunities for people to respond that seem realistic to them^⁴⁷ but often people are not aware of existing solutions that would help protect their home from flooding. In a survey of homeowners living in flood risk areas, 29% of respondents said that nothing could be done to protect their home from flooding^⁴⁸. Despite a large number of different flood resistance and resilience technologies being available, 19% of those surveyed considered sandbags to be the only available measure.

Even when they are aware of measures and are able to afford them, residents can still be unwilling to invest in individual property level flood protection measures. Over a third of respondents in a survey of homeowners in flood risk areas said that they were not prepared to pay anything for flood-protection measures. Of those who would be prepared to pay something, the median sum was only between £100 and £500. As might be expected, people on lower incomes, for whom affordability might be more of an issue, were prepared to pay less for flood resilience measures than those on higher incomes^⁴⁹. A grant scheme (piloted and launched between 2006 and 2009 by Defra and the Environment Agency) which targeted households that had been flooded many times to provide free property-level flood protection led to a significant increase in uptake (only 39% of flooded households usually take up such measures^⁵⁰ but 83% in the pilot areas did so). However, participation in the scheme reinforced householders’ perception that it was the duty of the state to protect them and, by allowing others to select and pay for the measures, they did not have to feel responsible if the measures proved ineffective or poor value for money. Many participants also saw the measures as a stop-gap pending a structural solution^⁵¹.

Community level responses may also be needed but low income communities may find these hard to develop. There is some support for those on low incomes and schemes like the Government’s partnership funding framework takes some account of levels of deprivation. However, people from deprived communities are less likely to look for opportunities and financial support, than others^⁵². Evidence from communities exposed to coastal flooding and erosion found that older people and those with lower educational attainment were among the least likely to seek out such support. Communities with smaller populations may be unable to raise the finance required to install and maintain protection measures.

See Sections 3 and 4 and the Further Resources in Section 6 above for information about individual and community responses. See also Adapting buildings and Neighbourhoods without much greenspace.

Heat

Evidence suggests that sensitive individuals, such as those in ill-health and older populations, do not necessarily see high temperatures as a threat to their well-being^⁵³. People tend to be much more self-reliant in the case of heat than in the event of flooding, but evidence suggests that older people carry out very little pre-emptive preparation and instead only rely on responding to hot weather when it occurs^⁵⁴. There is also a tendency for older people to feel that they should ‘put up with’ the heat and ‘get on with things’ because ‘little can be done about the weather’^⁵⁵. Similarly a survey of 450 households of older people with a range of additional vulnerabilities and health problems for Islington Borough Council’s Climate Resilience Islington South Project (CRISP), found that people generally underplayed the importance of changing their behaviour during hot weather. A small but significant proportion (10-15%) had little knowledge of what actions to take, were isolated from the local community and lacked other support networks, making them particularly vulnerable^⁵⁶.

An individual’s lack of awareness of the dangers of high temperatures becomes most important when they are isolated from help or where the help and advice they receive is inappropriate. Stronger social networks tend to improve the resilience of older people to heat-waves but only where those networks provide the right information, especially during a heat-wave event^⁵⁷^{, ⁵⁸}. Social networks can sometimes reinforce people’s sense that they are not at risk^⁵⁹. A study in the USA found that as well as social isolation, people’s ability to adapt to heat was also limited by other factors including: the location of property and bedrooms (for example, in flats on the top floor of a large building), ill health, immobility, the environment around the property and perceptions of the incidence of crime and vandalism^⁶⁰.

It should also be recognised that raising awareness needs to be matched with opportunities for people to respond to that improved awareness.

See Sections 3 and 4 and the Further resources section above for information about individual and community responses. See also Adapting Buildings and Neighbourhoods without much green space.

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References

Twigger-Ross, C. & Colbourne. L (2009) Improving Institutional and Social Responses to Flooding
Science Report: SC060019 - Work Package 5
Preston, I. et al (2014) Climate Change and Social Justice: A Evidence Review, JRF
Burns, D., Heywood, F., Taylor, M., Wilde, P., & Wilson, M. (2004) Making community participation meaningful. A Handbook for Development and Assessment The Policy Press, Bristol.
Scottish Government (2013) Building Community Resilience, Scottish Guidance on Community Resilience
Wolf, J., Adger, W.N., Lorenzoni, I., Abrahamson, V. and Raine, R. (2010) ‘Social capital, individual responses to heat waves and climate change adaptation: An empirical study of two UK cities’. Global Environmental Change, 20(1), pp. 44–52
Preston, I. et al (2014) Climate Change and Social Justice: A Evidence Review, JRF
Pattie, C., Seyd, P. and Whiteley P. (2004) Citizenship in Britain Cambridge: Cambridge University Press p.86
Pathways through Participation Strengthening participation: learning from participants
Adger W. Neil , Dessai, S. Goulden, M., Hulme, M. Lorenzoni, I., Nelson, D.R., Naess, L.O., Wolf, J. and Wreford, A. (2009) Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Climatic Change 93:335–354
David Wilcox, Guide to Effective Participation
Involve: making participation count
Danny Burns, Frances Heywood, Marilyn Taylor, Pete Wilde and Mandy Wilson Making Community Participation Meaningful
Adger W. Neil , Dessai, S. Goulden, M., Hulme, M. Lorenzoni, I., Nelson, D.R., Naess, L.O., Wolf, J. and Wreford, A. (2009) Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Climatic Change 93:335–354
Heath, Y., & Gifford, R. (2006). Free-market ideology and environmental degradation: The case of belief in global climate change. Environment and Behavior, 38(1), 48-71
Swim, J., Clayton, S., Doherty, T., Gifford, R., Howard, G., Reser, J., Stern, P.& Weber, E. (2009) Psychology and global climate change: Addressing a multi-faceted phenomenon and set of challenges. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Morton, T.A ; Rabinovich, A ; Marshall, T ; Bretschneider, P (2011). The future that may (or may not) come: How framing changes responses to uncertainty in climate change communications. Global Environmental Change 21 (1), 103-109.
Moser, S. C. and L. Dilling (2004). Making climate hot: Communicating the urgency and challenge of global climate change. Environment 46(10): 32-46.
Twigger-Ross, C. & Colbourne. L (2009) Improving Institutional and Social Responses to Flooding (p15) Science Report: SC060019 - Work Package 5
Kalkstein Adam J. & Scott C. Sheridan (2007) The social impacts of the heat–health watch/warning system in Phoenix, Arizona: assessing the perceived risk and response of the public, Int J Biometeorol (2007) 52:43–55
Macnaghten, P., Grove-White, R., Jacobs, M., & Wynne, B. (1995). Public Perceptions and Sustainability in Lancashire. Lancaster: Lancashire County Council, 1995
Ballard, D.I., Reason, P.W., Coleman, G. (2010); Using the AQAL Framework to Accelerate Responses to Climate Change, Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, Vol 5 (1).
Zsamboky, M., Fernandez-Bilbao, A., Smith, D., Knight, J. & Allan, J. (2011) “Impacts of climate change on disadvantaged UK coastal communities”, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York.
Williams Katie , Jennifer L.R. Joynt, Catherine Payne, Diane Hopkins, Ian Smith (2012) The conditions for, and challenges of, adapting England’s suburbs for climate change. Building and Environment 55 (2012) 131e140
Abrahamson, V. , Wolf, J., Lorenzoni, I., Fenn, B., Kovats, S., Wilkinson, P., W. Adger, N, Raine, R. (2009) Perceptions of heatwave risks to health: interview-based study of older people in London and Norwich, UK Journal of Public Health, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 119–126
Wolf, J, Adger, WN and Lorenzoni, I (2010) Heat waves and cold spells: An analysis of policy response and perceptions of vulnerable populations in the UK. Environment and Planning A, 42 (11). pp. 2721-2734
Bichard E and Kazmierczak A (2012) Are homeowners willing to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change? Climatic Change 112: 633-654
Zsamboky, M., Fernandez-Bilbao, A., Smith, D., Knight, J. & Allan, J. (2011) “Impacts of climate change on disadvantaged UK coastal communities”, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York.
Grothmann, T. & Patt, A. (2003) Adaptive Capacity and Human Cognition, Presentation at the Open Meeting of the Global Environmental Change Research Community, Montreal, Canada, 16-18 October, 2003, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research , Department of Global Change and Social Systems
Grothmann, T. and Reusswig, F. (2006) People at Risk of Flooding: Why Some Residents Take Precautionary Action While Others do not, Natural Hazards (2006) 38: 101–120
Community resilience here is taken to imply risk awareness, knowledge of effective responses, access to resources to enable a response and motivation to act
Smit, B. and Wandel, J. (2006) ‘Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability’, Global Environmental Change 16 (3): 282-292.
Eisenack, K & Stecker R. (2012), A Framework for Analyzing Climate Change Adaptations as Actions, Department of Economics, University Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany Manuscript appears in Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Global Change
Fankhauser, S., Smith, J. B. & Tol, R. S. J. (1999) Weathering climate change: some simple rules to guide adaptation decisions Ecological Economics, 30 (1). 67-78.
Zsamboky, M., Fernandez-Bilbao, A., Smith, D., Knight, J. & Allan, J. (2011) Impacts of climate change on disadvantaged UK coastal communities, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York.
Fielding, J.L. 2012. Inequalities in exposure and awareness of flood risk in England. Disasters, 2012, 36 (3): 477 – 494.
Zsamboky, M., Fernandez-Bilbao, A., Smith, D., Knight, J. & Allan, J. (2011) “Impacts of climate change on disadvantaged UK coastal communities”, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York
Werritty, A., Houston, D., Ball, T., Tavendale, A. and Black, A. (2007) Exploring the Social Impacts of Flood Risk and Flooding in Scotland Scottish Executive Social Research, p. 157
Preston, I. et al (2014) Climate Change and Social Justice: A Evidence Review, JRF
Fielding, J.L. (2012) Inequalities in exposure and awareness of flood risk in England. Disasters, 2012, 36 (3): 477 – 494
Bichard E and Kazmierczak A (2012) Are homeowners willing to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change? Climatic Change 112: 633-654
Whitmarsh, L. E. (2009) Behavioural responses to climate change: Asymmetry of intentions and impacts. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29(1), 13-23.
Rachlinski, J. (2000) The Psychology of Global Climate Change, University of Illinois Law Review 299-319
Pielke, R.A. (1999) The nine fallacies of flood. Climatic Change 42: 413–438
Kazmierczak A. and Bichard E. (2010) Investigating homeowners’ interest in property-level flood protection. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment 1(2): 157-172.
Bichard E and Kazmierczak A (2012) Are homeowners willing to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change? Climatic Change 112: 633-654Handmer, J, (2002) We Are All Vulnerable, Australian Jnl of Emergency Management, 18 (3), 55
Ballard, D.I., Reason, P.W., Coleman, G. (2010); Using the AQAL Framework to Accelerate Responses to Climate Change, Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, Vol 5 (1).
Bichard E and Kazmierczak A (2012) Are homeowners willing to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change? Climatic Change 112: 633-654
Bichard E and Kazmierczak A (2012) Are homeowners willing to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change? Climatic Change 112: 633-654
Harries, Tim (2008) Feeling secure or being secure? Why it can seem better not to protect yourself against a natural hazard, Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University, Enfield, UK, Health, Risk & Society, Vol. 10, No. 5, October 2008, 479–490
Harries, Tim (2010) Household Flood Protection Grants - The householder perspective, Paper delivered to the Defra and Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Management Conference 2010 – Telford International Conference Centre, 29th June 2010
Zsamboky, M., Fernandez-Bilbao, A., Smith, D., Knight, J. & Allan, J. (2011) Impacts of climate change on disadvantaged UK coastal communities, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York.
Wolf, J., Adger, W.N., Lorenzoni, I., Abrahamson, V. & Raine, R. (2010) “Social capital, individual responses to heat waves and climate change adaptation: An empirical study of two UK cities”, Global Environmental Change, 20(1), pp. 44–52.
Wolf J., Adger W. N., Lorenzoni I (2010) Heat waves and cold spells: an analysis of policy response and perceptions of vulnerable populations in the UK. Environment and Planning A 42(11) 2721 – 2734
Wolf, J., Adger, W.N., Lorenzoni, I., Abrahamson, V. & Raine, R. (2010) Social capital, individual responses to heat waves and climate change adaptation: An empirical study of two UK cities, Global Environmental Change, 20(1), pp. 44–52.
Kolm Murray et al., 2013 Kolm Murray, J., Smith, A. and Clarke, C. (2013) Individual and community resilience to extreme weather events amongst older people in south Islington: attitudes, barriers and adaptive capacity. London: North London Cares & Preston, I. et al 2014 Climate Change and Social Justice: A Evidence Review, JRF
Adger, W. N., Brooks, N., Kelly, M., Bentham, G., Agnew, M. and Eriksen, S. (2004) New indicators of vulnerability and adaptive capacity: Final project report. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, Norwich.
Pelling, M. and High, C. (2005) ‘Understanding adaptation: What can social capital offer assessments of adaptive capacity?’ Global Environmental Change Part A, 15(4), pp. 308–19. Elsevier
Wolf, J., Adger, W.N., Lorenzoni, I., Abrahamson, V. & Raine, R. (2010) Social capital, individual responses to heat waves and climate change adaptation: An empirical study of two UK cities, Global Environmental Change, 20(1), pp. 44–52.
Hayden, M. H. , Brenkert-Smith, and Wilhelmi, O.G. (2011) Differential Adaptive Capacity to Extreme Heat: A Phoenix, Arizona, Case Study, 2011 American Meteorological Society

Local adaptation plans currently lack sufficient consideration of social justice issues¹.

Environment Agency staff speaking at a public flood and coastal risk management (FCRM) meeting at Irwell Community Hall in 2013. © Environment Agency

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Engaging local communities
Duties and responsibilities

Engaging local communitities

This could be improved by increasing connections with partners and networks where social justice is a core consideration, such as organisations directly working with vulnerable communities².

Despite processes of public consultation, plans and policies associated with climate change often tend to attract comment from other organisations³ and do not engage local communities. Furthermore, public participation rates are falling. The Citizenship Survey 2009-10 showed that the proportion of people engaging in consultation about local services and related activities fell from 21% in 2007-8 to 18% in 2009-10.

Some social groups are disproportionately represented among participants, giving them a stronger influence over what happens both nationally and in their local community. People from vulnerable groups tend not to be represented, despite being the groups that many actions are designed to help.

Participation rates have a strong geographical dimension. Figure 1 shows the number of voluntary organisations per thousand people within local authority areas in England. If this is taken as a proxy for community engagement, the data suggest that some places, such as urban areas, are likely to have low engagement, this also limits the development of social networks which derive from participating in volunteering activities.

Figure 1: Number of voluntary organisations per thousand people in English local authorities⁴

Participation is an important determinant of the legitimacy and effectiveness of actions taken. If the views of people within a target vulnerable group have not been taken into account through a process of active engagement, then the activities aimed at reducing the vulnerability of that group may not be effective once implemented. As a result it has been suggested that inequalities in participation in decision-making about community resources cannot be separated from inequalities in the outcomes of such decisions⁵.

Duties and responsibilities

Local authorities and their partners in health and social care have statutory duties and other responsibilities to engage communities (see the presentation Why Climate Justice matters). For example:

The Health and Social Care Act (2012) stresses the goal of empowering the users of health and social care services through Healthwatch England and associated local Healthwatch bodies. Local Healthwatch organisations aim ‘to give citizens and communities a stronger voice to influence and challenge how health and social care services are provided within their locality’. Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and the associated strategies produced by Health and Wellbeing Boards have a duty to involve people living and working in local communities⁶, to consider how to address the needs of vulnerable groups, including in the context of climate change, as a driver of health and wellbeing, and also in terms of providing accessible information. Guidance recognises that some groups may be hard to engage but stresses that a lack of engagement could indicate unmet needs and encourages the use of local Healthwatch bodies as a means of direct local engagement with groups that are ‘seldom heard’, vulnerable or socially excluded⁷.
The National Planning Policy Framework 2012 (NPPF) requires local planning authorities to take the wishes of local communities into account as part of a proactive approach to both climate adaptation and mitigation.
The Localism Act (2011) introduced a set of new rights and powers for local communities. These include the right to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan and the ‘right to challenge’ and take over public services, for example through the use of voluntary and community groups. The Act also provides additional specific rights for social tenants with respect to the services offered by social landlords.
The Equality Act 2010 allows for positive action in favour of people in groups with protected characteristics⁸, including age and disability.

See the Why climate justice matters presentation for a summary of relevant legislation. Scottish and Welsh versions are also provided reflecting the different legislative context in each case.

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References

Brisley, R., Welstead, J., Hindle, R. and Paavola, J. (2012) Socially just adaptation to climate change. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Preston, I. et al (2014) Climate Change and Social Justice: An Evidence Review, JRF
Preston, I. et al (2014) Climate Change and Social Justice: An Evidence Review, JRF
Participation, trends, facts and figures (2011) National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Bulkeley, H., Edwards, G. and Fuller, S. (2012) ‘Towards Climate Justice in the City? Examining the Politics, Practice and Implications of Urban Climate Responses in Global Cities’, paper given to the Sixth Urban Research and Knowledge Symposium, Barcelona, 8–10 October 2012 cited in Preston, I. et al 2014 Climate Change and Social Justice: An Evidence Review, JRF
Summary table of the duties and powers introduced by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 Department of Health
Statutory Guidance on Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies March 2013 Department of Health
GOV.UK website Discrimination, your rights

Identify the nature of the problem in your area

Community flood workshop © Environment Agency

Consider the vulnerabilities of neighbourhoods in your area using the Climate Just map tool as a starting point for understanding the community needs in your area.

Identify the magnitude and likelihood of hazards associated with the changing climate, including flooding and heat-waves.

Consider how patterns of vulnerable groups and those who are less likely to engage with information about climate change compare with patterns of potential exposure to flooding and heat-waves (see the Map tool and Quick Guide)
Draw on existing risk assessments, adaptation tools such as the UKCP09 projections and its successor UKCP18 which will update the UKCP09 projections over UK land areas and for sea level rise, giving greater regional detail, as well as other local information (for example following the UKCIP Local Climate Impacts Profile (LCLIP) process). See this example of an LCLIP for Greater Manchester.
Examine the impacts of extreme weather events including their location, timing, costs and the effectiveness of responses by using the Severe Weather Impacts Monitoring System (SWIMS) tool to record local experiences and support continuous learning.

Review the Case studies section to see what others have done.

Consider the following actions to help build resilience in vulnerable communities through raising awareness, engagement and empowering community action.

Identify existing organisations, including current service providers, voluntary and community organisations and other active groups who work directly with people who are vulnerable to climate impacts. Seek to engage them in discussions about the nature of the issues and opportunities to develop strategic responses at a local level. These could include environmental action groups, or local flood resilience fora where they exist but also other groups such as neighbourhood forums or residents' associations.

Consider whether sections of the community are not well represented and if they could be brought into discussions, for example, through engagement with faith groups, schools or other routes, and whether any new group could be established to support their engagement.

Develop awareness raising initiatives that reach all members of society. Broad public awareness raising measures are important in building more resilient communities. In addition, specially tailored awareness raising and communication are needed for specific vulnerable groups as blanket targeting of specific geographical areas or people may not be enough. For example:

Older people. More information about why older people are considered socially vulnerable
People on lower incomes and why they are more socially vulnerable
Tenants. More information about why tenants are a socially vulnerable group

Work with existing voluntary and community sector groups in your area to develop broader community engagement to raise awareness and identify potential responses. Existing voluntary groups have wide networks and committed volunteers who understand the benefits of community engagement and are used to communicating with a range of people in the local area. Local Councils for Voluntary Action, which act as an advocacy and support organisation for local voluntary bodies could be targeted as a starting point to find out more about voluntary activity in the local area. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has been working with voluntary and community organisations to support them to consider the implications of climate change for their services and the people they work with.

See the Further Resources in Section 5 above for more information.

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Suggestions for action

Learn from the experience of others about engaging groups that do not normally participate in local initiatives¹.

Go to them. These groups are not necessarily ‘hard to reach’ but they may not choose to come to you.
Find out how community resilience intersects with their interests, concerns and priorities.
Explain your initiative to them at the start and ask for feedback (if relevant) and if they would like to get involved.
Where possible, adapt the language used and tailor engagement activities and goals to their interests and existing activities.
Formally appoint members of the group to the engagement team and offer recompense for their time. Explain why you want community input, methods for dealing with disputes, disagreement and complaints, including for example the ‘right to challenge’ enshrined in the Localism Act (2011).
See the case study on developing community resilience based on work in York through the Good Life initiative.

Work through existing voluntary and community sector groups in your area. Develop contacts in the local voluntary and community sector, including the voluntary sector support organisations to identify organisations that are currently working with vulnerable groups to develop a community engagement strategy.

Build awareness of local climate hazards through locally relevant and appropriately tailored messages about the likelihood and severity of the climate impacts which could occur. Since people are generally more motivated by specific, local climate hazards it means that efforts which focus on accessible information about the potential impacts of events likely to occur locally over the short to medium term are a good place to start. Information will need to be synthesized in an accessible way for the wider public. It may make sense to start by considering to what extreme weather people are already vulnerable. The map tool gives information about flooding in the UK and heat-related hazards in England which may be helpful here.

See the Further Resources (Section 5 above) for information sources. For example information about the relative likelihood of different events from appropriate local summaries, such as those produced by UKCP09. The Environment Agency flood map can be used to raise awareness among the population of the potential for flooding in a local area.
See the case study from the NCVO about working with voluntary organisations to raise their understanding and awareness of climate change.
Consult standards for community engagement, such as through Voice Scotland.

Think about ways in which the impacts of a changing climate can be made relevant to individuals and communities to help them connect and feel at least partially responsible for addressing them rather than relying on one or more organisations to ‘solve’ everything. Evidence suggests that despite a number of different ways to build resilience to flooding, there is still a wide held preference for structural flood defences among the wider public and the media^2,3. The misperception that hard engineering solutions are ‘flood proof’ needs to be tackled and used as a means of encouraging residents to also take steps to reduce the likelihood of flooding affecting them.

Consider reviewing information from LCLIPs to identify past events which help to make real connections for your target audience.
Consult research which has drawn together personal stories⁴ and other messages on socially vulnerable groups on this website.
Work with existing organisations to engage communities where appropriate⁵.
Further Resources (Section 5 above) has a range of examples which you might find helpful.
- A good example of a comprehensive awareness raising and engagement initiative on climate change in a community is in Salford where climate change issues were linked to issues close to local residents, such as sustainable transport, greening the neighbourhood and recycling. See this report to Salford City Council for details.
- Derbyshire County Council has a webpage on personal responsibility for being prepared to flooding.
- Links to resources which communities can use to develop local plans.

Recognise that it may be necessary to consider the wider context of future climate impacts for a particular policy goal; for example, to communicate the need for action to avoid compounding problems for future generations. In these circumstances scenarios need to be explained in a way which is sufficiently detailed and realistic that people can relate to the information provided⁶. Be aware, however, that this approach may re-enforce the ‘not in my lifetime’ mentality which evidence suggests can influence some groups, particularly older people⁷. The nature of the information should be tailored to the audience and the goal in hand and build on local community interests and concerns. See the Community Resilience toolkit developed by the Cabinet Office.

Use a range of approaches to engagement, including written material and social media.

Adapt existing flood risk and response brochure templates like ‘Know Your Flood Risk’ campaign’s The Flood Guide.
There are existing Facebook pages run by public agencies keeping people informed about floods. They can be focused on information about current flood warnings or be directed at people who have been flooded in order to offer advice.
Meetings and discussions might be a better way to reach some communities. Providing an arena where people can share their experiences, learn from and support each other, and talk to representatives of key organisations can be helpful, for example through flood groups (see the case study about the Doncaster Community Flood Warden Scheme) Consider establishing and supporting flood groups and networks of volunteers through the National Flood Forum. See the case studies from Buckingham and Doncaster on the cooperation between the local authorities and local groups. Work with existing groups where appropriate, for example, Transition Town networks.
Consider inviting representatives of local communities from other affected areas - either from the local area or from a similar community elsewhere. People may relate better to others who have been in their position, who may not have seen the value of adaptation previously but now do or who have a useful story to tell. Recognise that some people in your local community may be more prepared to ask questions of and take advice from people not directly associated with formal organisations and agencies. Your wider networks may provide suitable contacts - see the Benefits of working in partnership section for our information about partnership working.

Recognise that false alarms or raising awareness of a potential problem that does not become apparent, at least in the short term, means that communities may not believe authorities in the future. Awareness raising must tackle the issue of uncertainty and explain how taking a precautionary approach will best protect them and their community.

Recognise that awareness raising processes must also help people to identify solutions. A key requirement is that messages are supported with sufficient information and resources to enable people to act on their new knowledge. Without this, improved awareness may simply lead people to worry, deny the issue and withdraw⁸. It is vital that people have both knowledge of the risk and a sense that they can respond to reduce this risk in ways that seem meaningful and that result in real improvements⁹. They also need the resources to act at both an individual and community level.

See the Further Resources section for links to sources of more information, including the following which may be particularly important for flood responses:
- the Environment Agency’s leaflet on preparing property for flooding
- a short film about property level flood protection measures from the National Flood Forum
- a summary of some of the issues and more sources of information about property adaptation and other measures for adapting the built environment.
Defra’s Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder projects are also providing further learning about partnership working and further learning will be emerging as a result. Projects aim to protect a range of properties from flooding and deliver tangible and measurable outcomes. A set of projects on coastal resilience are already completed and all were shown to have improved community resilience to some extent.
See the Further Resources (Section 5. above) for more information about national Pathfinder Projects^11,12.

Support people to implement adaptation measures by considering and addressing the barriers to adaptation. Some groups of people (such as people who are disabled or older people) may be less well placed to install flood resilience and on a practical level may be physically unable to operate certain types of flood defence (unless they are automated). Some property owners are reluctant to use/ install flood resilience for aesthetic reasons, or because it may cause blight or prevent them from obtaining insurance^13,14.

Support the development of voluntary groups where people can support their less able neighbours or where measures specifically adapted to the needs of individuals can be installed. Also see the government’s guidance on how volunteers can help in emergencies.
Listen to the concerns that people have about adopting particular measures and help people to come to an informed judgement about their specific circumstances. Initial perceptions might be changed through discussion.
More information about organisations that can help support volunteering can be found through the links in Section 5 above.

Consider getting people to make a pledge for action, whether this is to help a neighbour during an emergency or fit a specific property protection measure (see this case study of a project in Salford which included flood resistant homes).

See the Further Resources (Section 5 above) for examples of training materials (like this online community training in Green Infrastructure) and Salford case study) which made use of this idea.
Consider using incentives - both financial and non-financial – to increase the acceptance of schemes. Incentives can include subsidised public transport and free access to local college courses. See the report from a pilot project on incentives for flood resilience and energy saving measures in a Greater Manchester neighbourhood.

Identify ways in which communities can be empowered to take forward their own responses which may relate to preparing for extreme weather, responding in emergencies or wider actions to address climate change. For example consider how groups like Transition Towns or other community initiatives could be supported to develop broader community responses and actions on sustainability.

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References

Sze et al. (2009) Sze, J., Gambirazzio, G., Karner, A., Rowan, D., London, J. and Niemeier, D. (2009) ‘Best in show? Climate and environmental justice policy in California’. Environmental Justice, 2(4), pp. 179–84 cited in Preston, I. et al 2014 Climate Change and Social Justice: An Evidence Review, JRF
Werritty, A., Houston, D., Ball, T., Tavendale, A. & Black, A. (2007) “Exploring the social impacts of flood risk and flooding in Scotland”, Scottish Executive Social Research, Edinburgh.
Johnson C, Priest S (2008) Flood risk management in England: A changing landscape of risk responsibility? International Journal of Water Resources Development 24:513–525
Whittle, R. et al. 2010. After the Rain – learning the lessons from flood recovery in Hull, final project report for “Flood, Vulnerability and Urban Resilience: a real-time study of local recovery following the floods of June 2007 in Hull”, Lancaster University, Lancaster UK
Including local Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Sutton, M.R., Douglas, K.M. and Murphy, A.O. (2013) Engaging coastal communities in climate mitigation and adaptation measures. A review of relevant psychological science. School of Psychology, University of Kent.
Zsamboky, M., Fernandez-Bilbao, A., Smith, D., Knight, J. & Allan, J. (2011) “Impacts of climate change on disadvantaged UK coastal communities”, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York.
Harries, Tim (2010) Household Flood Protection Grants - The householder perspective , Paper delivered to the Defra and Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Management Conference 2010 – Telford International Conference Centre, 29th June 2010
Lamond JE, Proverbs DG (2009) Resilience to flooding: lessons from international comparison. Urban Des Plan 162:63–70
Defra Press Release (25/3/2013) about funding for innovative flood defence schemes
Defra (2012) Coastal Change Pathfinder Review Final Report
Defra Press Release (25/3/2013) about funding for innovative flood defence schemes
White, I., O’Hare, P., Lawson, N., Garvin, S. and Connelly, A. (2012) Barriers to flood resilience: Findings from the SMARTEST project. The University of Manchester and BRE, Manchester.
Harries, Tim (2010) Household Flood Protection Grants - The householder perspective, Paper delivered to the Defra and Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Management Conference 2010 – Telford International Conference Centre, 29th June 2010

On this page:

Adaptation and engagement tools and resources
Case studies and stories

Adaptation and community engagement tools and resources

Name	Developer	Type of Resource
Flooding and Coastal Change – Resources for England Portal containing information on sources of information for different groups in Scotland.	Environment Agency and Government Departments	Resources
Flooding - Resources and Research for Scotland Portal containing information on sources of information for different groups in Scotland.	Scottish Government (2018)	Resources
Wales Resilience Risks We Face / Y risgiau. Online document on risks in Wales and sources of information to help communities with various risks, including severe weather and flooding	Wales Resilience Forum and the Local Resilience Forums of North Wales, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Gwent.	Resources
Development Advice Map (DAM) Tool to assist with the identification of areas at risk of flooding for the purposes of land-use planning in Wales. Part of a wider geoportal.	Natural Resources Wales	Map tool
Adaptation Scotland Tools and Resource web pages A set of resources together with a guiding process aimed at a range of audiences including the public sector, businesses and communities to help support adaptation and building resilience. Tools can be searched according to sector, stage and resource type.	Adaptation Scotland	Resource pack/compilation
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) A set of resources for local action with a global reach. It covers case studies, tools and a Don’t Panic guide to getting started on your Adaptation Journey.	EcoAdapt and Island Press	Resource pack/compilation
UKCP18 Projections The UKCP18 project will update the UKCP09 projections over UK land areas and update UKCP09 projections of sea-level rise, giving greater regional detail, further analysis of the risks we face, both nationally and globally, and provide more information on potential extremes and impacts of climate change.	UKCP18	Data and mapping
Local Climate Impacts Profile (LCLIP) This tool supports the assessment of past weather events and their impacts as a basis for understanding the possible impacts of future weather events linked to a changing climate.	UKCIP	Guidance and Spreadsheets
Community Resilience Toolkit Aimed at local communities and the organisations working with them, this set of resources supports the process of understanding local needs and developing emergency plans based on those needs	Cabinet Office (UK)	Communities Reports, checklists and case studies
National Flood Forum Information about property level adaptations and other ways to build flood resilience, including the Blue Pages directory of available services and products. These should be read in conjunction with the Environment Agency’s own guidance	National Flood Forum	Online
Volunteer Scotland National centre for volunteering supported by the Scottish Government for research, support, knowledge and tools	Volunteer Scotland	Resources
Volunteering Wales National centre for volunteering supported by the Welsh Government for research, support, knowledge and tools	Volunteering Wales	Resources
National Centre for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Community resources for the volunteering sector. Around one third of volunteering groups are members. NCVO hosts a range of practical resources	NCVO	Resources
National Standards for Community Engagement A set of good-practice principles for supporting effective community engagement in Scotland. Updated in 2015/6. Supported by the Scottish Government.	Voice Scotland	Standards

Case studies and stories

Name	Developer	Type of Resource
Starting up a flood action group, Flood Action4 Buckingham An example of one of the 160+ flood action groups supported which bring communities together, support people through the preparation process and provide a point of contact for the variety of agencies that help to manage flooding	Climate Just project team with Roger Parkinson	Internal case study Flood action groups
Community flood warden scheme – Doncaster How communities and service providers in Doncaster were able to learn from flooding events in 2007 in order to develop a community flood warden scheme in affected areas.	Climate Just project team with Rosalind McDonagh, Doncaster Borough Council	Internal case study Community Flood Warden Schemes
Climate Action Project (Lower Kersal and Spike Island) Raising awareness of climate change and improving community engagement in an urban neighbourhood	Salford City Council	Council report (online)
Practical action to build resilience: the Good Life initiative in York Provides practical ideas on how to engage communities on climate change to build their resilience	Steve Cinderby	Case Study (internal)
NCVO’s vulnerable people and climate change programme on working with the voluntary and community sector	Kate Lonsdale	Case study (internal)

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