ON CAMPUS campusreview . com . au
Be prepared
Learning from postdisaster projects for postpandemic universities .
By Guinevere Gilbert and Ehsan Gharaie
The higher education sector was
significantly hit by the pandemic .
International borders closed down and international student enrolment dropped . Universities ’ revenues fell short of budgets and they went into contraction . COVID restrictions and lockdowns also meant that business as usual was no longer possible . Campuses shut down , courses went online and international collaborations and conferences were halted or disrupted .
Whilst the word ‘ unprecedented ’ has become an acceptable justification of the chaos and crisis , what about the next time a pandemic hits or another unprecedented event disrupts universities ’ operations ? Can we return to the mantra of ‘ it was unprecedented ’ and therefore chaos is expected ?
Although ‘ disaster ’ sounds like an exaggeration in thinking about the COVID pandemic , there are lessons in post-disaster recovery and preparedness that are useful in creating resilient and sustainable universities that are prepared for the next disaster .
The post-disaster lifecycle adopts three phases . First is the response phase that occurs in the immediate aftermath of an event , the purpose of which is to reduce the impact of the event . Next is the recovery phase , which serves the purpose of regeneration of life or ‘ build back better ’. Achieving normality is often regarded as the aim of this phase but care should be taken not to assume what survivors regard as normal . Finally , the preparedness phase is intended to encourage behaviour that reduces the impact of the event if or when it happens in the future .
These components of the lifecycle – response , recovery and preparedness – represent low hanging fruit which may assist universities in increasing their resilience and sustainability . We use examples of response , recovery and preparedness efforts after natural disasters to provide lessons for universities in preparing for the next ‘ unprecedented ’ event .
TIME AND SPACE FOR GRIEF All post-disaster projects are mindful that the progression of grief is personal ; whilst it is a distraction and may reduce productivity , grieving is an essential process . Academics are grieving right now for the tertiary communities , roles and tasks that they had pre-COVID . Individuals are the facilitators of their own grief processes and these can ’ t be hurried along , but there are ways to support people through trauma , such as the provision of psychological first aid ( PFA ), a tool implemented by most emergency response organisations .
Through the connection of people with survivors , offering human contact , PFA promotes recovery and may speed up the grieving process .
COMMUNITY RECOVERY COMMITTEE
Community engagement is the key in effective recovery processes . This engagement through new designated community groups is more efficient for two reasons : i ) engagement with the whole community and every single person in the community is impossible , and ii ) existing organisational and hierarchical communication channels are not designed for the purpose of recovery and therefore are not adequate .
After the devastating bushfires of 2009 , Community Recovery Committees ( CRCs ) were established in affected townships as a way of the community having a voice regarding recovery projects . CRCs included community group representatives who were able to receive and document proposals for community-led recovery projects and to distribute government funding when it became available . CRCs were involved in other recovery roles too , such as representing residents at a local government level .
In the university context , gathering a CRC including representatives from teaching , research and support disciplines would give the core of the university community a voice and allow a broader range of recovery projects to be presented , considered and supported .
PILLOWCASE PROJECT In the preparedness phase , projects tend to focus on education of the population so that in the event of an emergency , people implement their plans for safety and resilience . Preparedness projects can take advantage of the long-term timeframe , can be creative in how behavioural change is deployed and can influence multiple generations at once .
The Pillowcase Project is one example of creative foundations of a preparedness project . Following Hurricane Katrina in the USA , university students were observed filling pillowcases with possessions before evacuating . Subsequently , a global ‘ pillowcase project ’ was developed to trigger conversations between children and their parents to encourage the parents or guardians to develop an emergency plan .
Similarly , in the university context , preparedness cannot remain within the realm of organisational policies and risk management committees . It needs to be discussed and internalised within the staff and the student community to create long-term behavioural change and build resilience for the next unforeseen event .
The Pillowcase Project shows that universities can be creative in finding appropriate triggers for conversations and behavioural change . After all , what matters most is the preparedness not the trigger . ■
Guinevere Gilbert is a senior lecturer in project management at RMIT University .
Ehsan Gharaie is an associate professor of project management and a member of the Academic Board at RMIT University .
24