TOWARDS A PARTICIPATORY ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNITY FLOOD RESILIENCE

Existing Community Flood Resilience (CFR) frameworks often integrate a range of dimensions to measure flood resilience, but social indicators are often overlooked or neglected due to the challenges involved in gathering information and quantifying these aspects. This research presents a novel methodology towards the development of a more comprehensive CFR framework. The methodology presented combines quantitative and qualitative insights through a participatory mixed-methods approach. Initially, the Delphi process is used to co-develop resilience indicators with professional experts drawn from key stakeholders including the Environment Agency, Local Authorities and National Flood Forum, as well as a range of community representatives. This new methodology argues for initiating earlier stakeholder input and sustaining this to enhance relevance and applicability of the framework. Grounding the framework in multiple stakeholder perspectives creates an opportunity to capture local and culturally relevant resilience indicators which thus far have received scant treatment in earlier frameworks. The intention is to apply the new methodology in vulnerable UK communities, using GIS mapping and regression analysis to visualise and quantify resilience levels. This new approach can bridge the gap in traditional flood resilience measurement by providing a flexible tool for policymakers to identify specific resilience needs. It contributes to the growing field of CFR assessment, provides practical solutions for adaptive flood management and supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal 16 by enabling local stakeholder engagement in resilience planning.