Empowering Whole of Society Resilience Through Engagement and Communication Event

On Wednesday 18 June 2025, the Centre for Whole of Society Resilience (CWSR) hosted a hybrid event on the important topic of engaging and communicating whole of whole of society resilience. The event was chaired by Caroline Field, Head of Resilience at PA Consulting and Co-Founder of CWSR, and hosted by Nadine Sulkowski, CWSR Steering Committee Member, and Senior Lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire.

The panel featured speakers from various parts of society, involved in communicating resilience:

·       Lorna Riddle, Head of Risk Communications at the Cabinet Office

·       Joanne Campbell, Resilience Practitioner at PA Consulting

·       Jon Vangorph, Head of Partnerships at Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership

·       Jim Bentley, CWSR Chair and CEO of WILD Learning

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, the need for resilience is more pressing than ever. Yet, effectively engaging people in conversations about resilience—how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disruption—remains a significant challenge.

Historically, communication regarding risks and the need for resilience has taken a top-down approach, where information about potential threats and any recommended remedial actions are dispensed as and when required, from a central or local government body. Lorna outlined the government’s strategy on resilience and the upcoming publication of the new resilience strategy. A central theme is the need to adopt a whole-of-society approach – engaging individuals, businesses, and civil society – alongside a focus on communication and preparedness, as shown in the Government’s prepare website, which can be found here. She highlighted the difficulty in changing household behaviours, citing factors such as risk perception, social dynamics, and trust in the messenger, with a clear need for more evidence-based strategies to guide effective communication.

Joanne shared her experience in the military, emphasising the importance of communication in building trust and resilience. She noted that communication is never a neutral act: every word can either reinforce or undermine trust. In crisis situations, this is even more critical.

Jon advocated for a bottom-up approach to communicating resilience. He emphasised the importance of tailoring communication to the specific needs and contexts of different communities, noting that effective communication should focus on opportunities and aspirations, not just risks and threats. He called for the use of plain language to ensure messages and the creation of collaborative spaces where diverse groups can share knowledge and experiences.

Jim shared lessons from Hunter Water’s "Love Water" campaign, which achieved significant reductions in water usage through community engagement and behaviour change. The campaign focused on learning with customers and engaging them around a shared valuing of water to promote water conservation. He shared that by relating to customers and understanding what they care about, the water utility was able to significantly reduce water usage and gain community support for long-term water management solutions.

Caroline closed the webinar with 3 key takeaways. First was the need to bridge top-down and bottom-up approaches; effective resilience communication requires alignment between government-led strategies and grassroots engagement. Second, we need to empower leadership at all levels; local leaders play a vital role in making resilience relevant and meaningful to people’s lives. Third, we must prioritise the most vulnerable; a resilient society must understand and support its most vulnerable members as systemic resilience relies on it.

If you missed the event, or would like to rewatch it, please find the recording below!