Strengthening Community Resilience: Developing Community Based Model for Sustainable Volunteer Engagement in Emergency and Disaster Management in Pakistan

Emergencies and disasters continue to pose persistent threats to communities worldwide, emphasizing the need for community-centered Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies. This study designs and evaluates a Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) model aligned with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015–2030. The model focuses on structured Volunteer Engagement (VE) through Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to enhance resilience and promote integration between community members and local Emergency Management Services (EMS). A qualitative approach was adopted, guided by Creswell’s model development framework (Creswell, 2015). Data were collected through thematic analysis of expert interviews and focus group discussions. Fourteen purposively selected professionals with at least seven years of experience in disaster or emergency response participated, including emergency service personnel, disaster management experts, community representatives, and volunteers. Findings highlight critical gaps in existing CBDM frameworks, particularly their limited capacity to address everyday emergencies and their weak integration of volunteers with EMS. The proposed model addresses these issues by institutionalizing volunteer participation and enhancing coordination mechanisms. The developed CBDM model strengthens community resilience by aligning with SFDRR priorities, promoting inclusive participation, localized governance, and multi-sectoral collaboration. Integration of CERTs in daily emergency response supports sustainable DRR and enables communities to build back better.