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The more people who are informed about and involved in the resilience planning process, the more likely it is that the resulting plan will be meaningful and practical for the whole community.  Most important, the community will be more likely to participate in the actions you take to improve resilience.

As soon as possible, begin to talk about the resilience planning process and get support from your community.  Your team might consider the following ways of informing your community about the process:

• a social media site
• posters or notices on local bulletin boards
• a story in the local newspaper or newsletter
• word of mouth
• announcements at community social functions and events, council meetings, or at another organizations’ meetings

It is also a good idea to identify stakeholders, such as:

• formal and informal leaders and Elders
• members of the fire department
• community safety personnel
• business owners
• health care providers
• club and society members
• long-term residents and newcomers who make up your community

Initially, you may only think about those people you want to get information from, or people you want to participate in the planning process. However, later you may expand your list to include those individuals or organizations with whom you want to share the results of your planning. You may also decide to take the information to policy decision-makers and other stakeholders mentioned above.

As your team is preparing a list of community stakeholders, it is important to include a good cross-section of community members so you will learn from them about the range of needs and resources as you develop a Disaster Resilience Plan.

For more information about identifying stakeholders and getting community buy-in, click on the resource link on the top right side of this page.
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Resources

• Working Together: Community Acceptance[/three_fourth_one_fourth_last]