Tracy Hatton
I am a Principal Research Consultant and joint Managing Director with Resilient Organisations Ltd. I have extensive experience leading research and consulting projects focusing on organisational resilience and disaster preparedness and recovery.
Address: Resilient Organisations Ltd
Unit 2/188 Durham Street South
Christchurch Central
Christchurch, New Zealand
Address: Resilient Organisations Ltd
Unit 2/188 Durham Street South
Christchurch Central
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Organisations play a vital role in community recovery following disruptions. Yet, despite their importance in the recovery process, there are significant gaps in our knowledge about how organisations respond and recover following earthquakes. In particular, there are few studies that examine the effectiveness of alternative resilience tactics for organisations, and limited studies that investigate longer term economic recovery following earthquakes. By conducting a ‘Year 5’ Canterbury business recovery survey this project will provide key insights into what shapes long term organisational recovery and will provide an evidence-base and case for investment in earthquake resilience for organisations.
Building on business impact and recovery studies already conducted following the Canterbury earthquakes, we will trace and resurvey organisations to capture their current recovery status, five years on. Longitudinal analysis of these datasets (comparing past and current data collected on each organisation) will allow us, for the first time, to identify the most effective resilience tactics and to quantify the benefits that resilience offers for long-term recovery and performance. Key objectives of this project are to:
• Provide data to demonstrate the value of investments in organisational resilience,
• Map the 5-year recovery trajectory of organisations, and
• To better understand the contextual factors that affect long term recovery.
Disasters create suffering, stress and struggle and it is very common, particularly in media coverage, to focus on these negatives. However, disasters also create opportunities to do new things, to innovate and to develop, but often the focus on the negative means we fail to learn from these positives. This study of 24 organisations recovering from the Christchurch earthquakes found many negatives and still many uncertain outcomes. However, the journeys to recovery of these organisations also illustrate many ‘silver linings’.
This presentation will focus on those silver linings and consider what a focus on positives can teach us both about assisting business to recover from disasters and in succeeding in business as usual. Post-earthquake adaptation has created new business models, new networks and resulted in many positive changes that would be viewed as impossible without the disruptive change. Ideas that seem so obvious with the benefit of hindsight often fail to register without loosening the norms and rules of how we do things. Even for organisations that are not currently trading, there are positives to be found with this study showing a temporary exit to be a logical, adaptive response for some.
“Build Back Better” is a concept often discussed in reference to post-disaster recovery. The concept is most directly focused on the built environment but can also be used with regard to the social and political landscape. Many of the organisations in this study have found new ways of operating that can be considered ‘better’. They are more efficient, doing more with less, space-utilisation is very different and many are more bonded, more connected to others, enhancing their future resilience.
It has long been appreciated that recovery from a major disaster is a process, not an event. Extensive study has shown that the recovery period is long and progress does not necessarily occur in neat linear stages. We know that disasters create winning and losing sectors but little is known about the intricacies of these processes other than an overall balancing out when recovery is considered from a macroeconomic regional unit of analysis.
This presentation examines the intricacies of the recovery process for 24 Christchurch organisations, finding a journey with many twists and turns, some unexpected detours and in many cases, still very uncertain outcomes. Organisations in this study include those who worked with others in collaborative endeavours to recover, those who resumed alone and those who have not yet resumed trading. The very different journeys to recovery will be discussed, along with the many silver linings that have emerged from these businesses’ goal to simply survive. Key points from these journeys that are relevant for those tasked with assisting business recovery will be highlighted including: issue framing, innovation enablement, providing the right space and problem-sharing.
Organisational recovery from disaster is often cited as one of the least researched areas of disaster recovery, yet also acknowledged as fundamental to overall community recovery. The more we understand with regard to the disaster recovery process, the more actions can be taken by individuals, organisations and governments to hasten the process.
This short guide will help you understand what it means to be resilient, reflect on your NGO’s resilience, and take steps to improve it.