ResilienceResilience

Bristol Knowledge CaféSeptember 2009Philippa Bayley

Bristol Knowledge CaféSeptember 2009Philippa Bayley

A disclaimer…

What is resilience?

The ability to dance with whatever life brings- Bob Stilger

Resilient….hmmm

Nimble

Resourceful

Creative

Flexible

Adaptive/adaptable

Positive

Forward-looking

Community/people

Bounce back

What is resilience?

The ability to dance with whatever life brings- Bob Stilger

“…pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again…”

adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats and stress

capacity of a system to undergo change and still retain its basic function and structure

Who is it important for?

Individuals

Families

Communities

Cities, regions, nations…

Species and ecosystems

Can we build resilience?

Personal resilience and community resilience are closely intertwined - Bob Stilger

• Are they the same thing?

• Which comes first?

• How do we do it?

Building individual resilience:

A resilient person:

Thinks well of themselves Trusts others Regulates their emotions Maintains positive expectations Utilizes intellectual and emotional intelligence in problem solving

“…resilience is an ongoing interaction between nature and nurture, encouraged by supportive relationships…” Froma Walsh

Making meaning of adversity Maintaining a positive outlook Finding purpose beyond self, family and trouble through spiritual convictions

Resilience therapy - Angie Hart, University of Brighton

Ability to “bounce up”, not just bounce back

Building community resilience:

• Built from the bottom; built into the fabric of the community• experiential

• Empowerment of individuals• knowledge• skills• personal development

• Open communication • Respect

• “Collective genius”• Involve unlikely partners

• our own resilience is not enough

Building resilient systems

Resilience Alliance“Resilience Thinking”

Managing, rather than building resilience

Resilient social-ecological systems have the potential to sustain development in a manner that does not lead to loss of future options. Resilient systems provide capacity for renewal and innovation in the face of rapid transformation and crisis.

Properties of resilient systems

Diversity Work with natural cycles Modular (vs. over connected) Tight feedbacks Social capital Learning, experimentation, change Local Redundancy Ecosystem Services

A few further thoughts:

We Can Do That Around Here (Annie Hudson)

Common themes: Positive outlook - flexible optimism Communication/community Empowerment - agency, mastery Coherent narrative - shared or individual Flexibility

Context dependent - no one-size fits all