Recovery Toolkit

The Recovery Toolkit aims to help CDEM Groups and local authorities prepare and support their communities to recover after an emergency, meet their legislative duties and elevate recovery preparedness across New Zealand. This is a living toolkit and will evolve and be built on over time.

Making it easier for you to get on with recovery

This Recovery Toolkit contains tactical resources for recovery, including templates, examples and links to guidance and more information. The resources can be scaled up for use at a Group level across districts.

The templates have prompts based on lessons from previous recoveries. They provide suggestions only - they are not guidance. The templates are plain documents in Word or Excel that you can easily modify for your own needs, for example to include your logo.

We’ve also included examples that territorial authorities have found useful – ‘shared’ practice, rather than ‘best’ practice.

Find useful templates and examples

What is recovery?

Emergencies can affect individuals, communities, regions and nations. How well we recover from events will depend on how well we have prepared to recover.

Find more information about recovery

Useful templates and examples

Having your templates prepopulated and ready to go before an emergency will help you be prepared. While the recovery will likely unfold and evolve overtime, without clear distinct phases, the following phases will help you find relevant templates in this toolkit.

Preparation: processes, procedures and protocols before an emergency for coordinated post-emergency recovery planning and implementation.

Under the CDEM Act 2002, CDEM Groups and each member must plan for recovery. This includes strategic planning for recovery, which involves people across all parts of the local authority (not just those with CDEM responsibilities), the community, iwi, business, organisations, as well as government.

Read more about recovery planning and the Strategic Planning for Recovery Director's Guideline for CDEM Groups.

Preparing for recovery by establishing processes, procedures and protocols before an emergency for coordinated post-emergency recovery planning and implementation greatly enhances the speed and success of recovery.

Local authorities and CDEM Groups may use these templates and examples in preparation for an emergency.

Information for Elected Officials

Resources for elected officials

Stakeholder engagement

Recovery Managers and Leaders

Recovery manager role map (.PDF, 508KB)
Leading in Disaster Recovery: Companion through the Chaos - A book by New Zealand Red Cross for leaders working in disaster recovery. The book shares hard-won wisdom, practical strategies and tools for people in leadership roles during an emergency.
Aotearoa NZ ReCap Guide | Recovery Capitals (ReCap) – The ReCap framework uses seven capitals to help understand the ways that many elements interact and influence recovery in diverse disaster contexts, and how resources can be drawn upon to support wellbeing. This guide can be used in tandem with the four recovery environments described in the Recovery Preparedness and Management Director’s Guideline.

Social recovery

Human Face of Disaster Recovery (.DOC 42kb). This factsheet outlines how all workers involved in disaster can contribute to human recovery. It summarises changes likely to occur to communities and people during the recovery period, and offers suggestions for helping people in crisis.
Social Dimension of Recovery (.PDF 1.8MB). This paper presents a model of the social phenomena of emergency recovery and predicts the dynamics of affected communities that enable social recovery to be managed as the context for personal recovery. It is based on observations of Australian disasters and emergencies over the last twenty years and on research findings in the literature.
Understanding Social Recovery This report provides social recovery practitioners with strategies, activities and lessons learned by CERA’s social recovery leaders between 2011 and 2016. It describes the recovery context of greater Christchurch; the leadership challenges and opportunities and the skills and values necessary for social recovery leadership. It outlines the importance of recovery monitoring and evidence and the strategic activities that progress community resilience and housing recovery.

International guidance

International Recovery Platform guidance on pre-disaster recovery planning (unisdr.org). This guidance note steps through examples of how scenario-based planning can assist in developing recovery plans.
Australian Emergency Management Handbook Series, Community Recovery (knowledge.aidr.org.au) This handbook provides a comprehensive guide to community recovery in Australia. It is intended for use by planners, managers and those involved in working with communities to design and deliver recovery processes, services, programs and activities.It provides valuable insights that are also relevant to New Zealand

Tools, insights and information from the Canterbury earthquakes

UC CEISMIC is a comprehensive digital archive of video, audio, documents and images relating to the 2010-11 Canterbury Earthquakes, managed by the University of Canterbury. It brings together the collective learning from the Canterbury earthquakes that will help equip leaders and communities involved in disaster recovery and complex challenges.

Building recovery capability

Takatū Introduction to Recovery e-learning course. This Integrated Training Framework online course is an introduction level course to prepare staff to work in the Recovery function during and following a response to an emergency event. You will be required to login through Takatū using a RealMe identity.
Response & Recovery Leadership Programme. The Response and Recovery Leadership Programme offered by Response & Recovery Aotearoa New Zealand (RRANZ) aims to support Controllers, Recovery Managers and Response Managers across the National Security System to develop their response and recovery management and leadership capabilities at local, regional and national levels.

Response phase: actions taken immediately before, during or directly after an emergency to save lives and protect property, and help communities recover.

These templates may be used by the Recovery Manager during the response phase to assist in understanding the consequences of an emergency and begin recovery specific planning

Assess

Template: Consequence matrix (.XLSX, 16kb)
Template: Issues to consider about consequences of an emergency when planning and reporting (.XLSX, 22KB)
Template: Risks and opportunities register (.DOCX, 31KB)

Plan

Template: Response transition report (.DOCX, 88KB)
Template: Recovery action plan (.DOCX, 93KB)
Example: Uawa and Waipaoa Communities Recovery action plan (gdc.govt.nz) (.PDF, 1.68MB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council Recovery action plan (boprc.govt.nz) (.PDF, 1.29MB)

These resources may be used by the Recovery Manager when moving from response into recovery.

Local Transition Notices

The CDEM Act provides for CDEM Groups to give notice of a transition period following an emergency, whether a state of local emergency has been declared or not.

Give notice, extend and terminate local transition notices

Factsheet: Local transition periods (.PDF, 316 KB)
Quick Guide: Giving notice of a local transition period (.PDF, 114 KB)
Templates: Local transition period forms (giving notice of, extending and terminating a local transition period) (.DOCX, 22KB)

Record and report powers used during a transition period

Factsheet: Advice on recording powers used during a transition period (.PDF, 631 KB)
Factsheet: Reporting on use of powers during a transition period (.PDF, 173 KB)
Template: Record powers exercised during a transition period (.DOCX, 42KB)
Template: Report powers exercised during a transition period (.DOCX, 50KB)

Managing the recovery: the coordinated efforts and processes used to bring about the for the immediate, medium-term and long-term holistic regeneration and enhancement of a community after an emergency.

Plan

Example: Reimagine Kaikōura – Kaikōura District Recovery Plan (.PDF, 2.85 MB)

Monitor

Template: Lessons learnt template (continuous improvement) (.DOCX, 55KB)

Report

Horizontal infrastructure

Factsheets: Systems, processes and work scope eligibility criteria for government financial support to local authorities for essential infrastructure during or after an emergency.

Mayoral relief

Example: Whakatāne District Council Mayoral assistance grant form(www.whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 87 KB)

Recovery Environments

Social environment

Psychosocial

Volunteers

Example: Whakatāne District Council volunteer handbook (whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 131 KB)

Navigators/ Outreach

Example: Whakatāne District Council navigation service (whakatane.govt.nz)(.DOCX, 1.2 MB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council case for navigators (whakatane.govt.nz)(.DOCX, 202 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council navigation service oversight committee (whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 107 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council navigator structure (whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 192 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council navigator team leader job description(whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 191 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council community support officer job description (whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 176 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council navigator service monthly report form (whakatane.govt.nz) (.DOCX, 135 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council navigator report (whakatane.govt.nz)(.DOCX, 943 KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council navigator flyer (whakatane.govt.nz) (.PDF, 542 MB)

Built environment

Economic environment

Natural environment

Natural environment recovery programme for Greater Christchurch (quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz)

Exit: wind down once recovery activities no longer require arrangements to oversee and support activity.

Resources useful during wind down, once recovery activities no longer require arrangements to oversee and support activity. The Recovery Manager is required to develop an exit strategy (section 158 National CDEM Plan Order 2015).

Review: Post-emergency learning, eg organisational debriefs, preparing reports, reviewing plans and arrangements and documenting and implementing lessons.

The phase is about post-emergency learning, eg organisational debriefs, preparing reports, reviewing plans and arrangements and documenting and implementing lessons. However continuous assessment, learning and improvement should be undertaken throughout the recovery.

Template: Risks and opportunities register (.DOCX 32KB)
Template: Lessons learnt template (continuous improvement) (.DOCX 32KB)
Example: Whakatāne District Council debrief whakatane.govt.nz) (.PDF)

Feedback

This toolkit is not a finished product - it is a living toolkit and will evolve over time. We’ll edit and add material in the spirit of continuous improvement. If you’d like to share a template you’ve found useful, suggest we develop one, or provide feedback, we’re keen to hear from you.

Please email us at Recovery@nema.govt.nz.

Last updated: 9 Nov 2020