Evolution of disaster risk governance in Greater Manchester: a case study from the UK

In the face of 21st century challenges including globalisation, urbanisation, climate change and anti-microbial resistance, disaster risk governance must ensure top-level buy-in from city leaders. The Sendai Framework calls for focused action in strengthening disaster risk governance. Over the last decade Greater Manchester has transformed its disaster risk governance to reflect a more sophisticated understanding of resilience. At the start of this century, the UK experienced a series of crises that led to modernisation of its civil protection arrangements. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 enabled Greater Manchester to formalise existing partnership structures to strengthen the local platform for disaster risk reduction. This created the multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder Greater Manchester Resilience Forum which coordinates civil protection activities for nearly 3 million residents. The UK recognises that local and national platforms need to work together and this alignment is delivered through a specialist Government team working closely with the Forum. In 2014 Greater Manchester joined the UNISDR's Making Cities Resilient Campaign. Use of the campaign's toolkit led to a review of governance and renewed trans-disciplinary collaboration across multiple thematic local partnerships. A role model city within the campaign, Greater Manchester also participated in an EU-funded project (USCORE) to pilot the UNISDR's Disaster Resilience Scorecard. Outcomes highlighted the importance of place-based assurance together with relevant metrics to inform decisions. This case study draws on this experience of strengthening disaster risk governance arrangements, a journey which will continue as Greater Manchester works with the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities initiative.