Centre for Whole of Society Resilience (CWSR)
Empowering Whole of Society Resilience
Building a Resilient Future, Together
Whole of Society Resilience means that everyone, at every level of the system works together to build a thriving, adaptive and sustainable society.
In an unpredictable, fast moving and volatile world, it is more important than ever to have whole society resilience which includes personal and professional resilience at individual, community and organisational levels. This enhances and sustains a resilient infrastructure and the development of resilient political, economic, social, cyber and environmental systems, as well as our capacity to respond to and recover from shocks and crises.
To achieve Whole of Society Resilience we need to work across silos, to connect and empower government, public and private corporate organisations, academia and education, the voluntary sector and communities to rise to this ‘futures’ challenge.
We are a transdisciplinary network of consultants, business leaders, academics and practitioners who have come together to advance research-informed resilience policy and practice.
A MINDSET SHIFT
Whole Society Resilience requires a radical shift in mindset from a reactive to a proactive stance – a collaborative approach that breaks down silos and empowers community-led resilience initiatives. It includes, but goes way beyond, the more traditional understanding of resilience as preparedness for adversity and responding to shock events. It involves empowering people to respond effectively and collaboratively to complex challenges. To make sense of the deluge of data and information in a way that is purposeful and leads towards greater human, societal and planetary wellbeing.
A WHOLE SYSTEM APPROACH
A whole system approach will be needed to deliver this, underpinned by (complex) systems thinking. To do this we need to bring together research and practice that connects the complex human, personal and social world with the technical, political, and environmental ‘wicked’ challenges that threaten the wellbeing and stability of societies and of our planet. The unique contribution of the Centre for Whole of Society Resilience (CWSR) is to deliberately bring together such capabilities – including the measurement models and data that inform them. This will support and enhance the work that emerges from this ‘silo-busting’ approach. We do this through innovative, industry-led projects and leadership and learning programmes which explore, model and advance a whole of society approach to resilience at multiple levels. We are developing a digital infrastructure to capture, model and analyse data so it can be used effectively for leadership decision-making for whole of society and place-based resilience policies.
A SHARED UNDERSTANDING
We promote a shared understanding of our purpose, shocks, stresses, opportunities and interdependencies. The centre provides an independent Hub that holds the creative tension between the differing and often competing values and lifecycles of research, policy, practice, commerce, and digital innovation. We procure and promote projects and programmes that contribute new knowledge and know-how to the whole of society, including the most disadvantaged.
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If you would like to sign up please review our charter and create an account below.
As a Member of the Centre for Whole Society Resilience (CWSR) I agree to abide by the CWSR Membership Charter:
I agree to work collaboratively and inclusively with other members to forward the purpose of the Centre in delivering Whole Society Resilience, specifically I will endeavour to:
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participate in dialogue that promotes and enhances the centre on social media and at industry events;
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be willing to host a CWSR meeting if you have appropriate facilities;
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contribute to discussion forums, papers, articles or projects with other members.
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