Measuring resilience helps make an abstract concept visible. Once resilience is visible, we can do something about it.
The New Zealand Resilience Index (NZRI) includes resilience concepts across 7 capitals (built, economic, environmental, governance, cultural, social, and human), along with 13 national resilience indicators, and regional and local resilience data, that all contribute to the resilience of our country.
The NZRI is based on national and international research. It was developed with extensive collaboration with experts and practitioners working on the leading edge of resilience enhancement in New Zealand.
Benefits of the NZRI
- Standardised benchmarking and monitoring of disaster resilience at sub-national scale.
- Standardised quantitative measure that can track changes in the resilience of communities over time.
- Assists in identifying target interventions that improve resilience.
- Affordable decision support tool.
Using the NZRI
The index is part of a multi-stakeholder engagement framework that helps:
- Reflect regional and local priorities within a consistent framework so policy and investment decisions are clearly tied to resilience outcomes.
- Weight indicators based on their influence on resilience outcomes.
- Identify and integrate additional data to create a more nuanced, regional or local-level NZRI.
- Visually communicate the results of the resilience assessment to a broad audience.
Why use the NZRI
The index helps users see the resilience capacities across their communities. It helps them be clear about the decisions they are making and how they relate to their resilience goals.
The engagement framework is designed to help regional and local authorities work with their communities toward a common resilient future.
It is an affordable option with low-barriers for entry. When the national baseline is supplemented by additional data sourced at the regional and local level it becomes a powerful strategic planning, decision-support, and communication tool.
While these tools were developed within New Zealand, it is possible to adapt and scale them to other locations globally.
Additional resources
Stevenson, J. R., Kay, E., Bowie, C., Ivory, V., Vargo, J. J. (2019). The Resilience Warrant of Fitness Research Programme: Towards a method for applying the New Zealand Resilience Index in a regional context. Resilience to Nature’s Challenges report.
Stevenson, J. R., Kay, E., Bowie, C., Ivory, V. (2019). The Resilience Indicators Bank and the New Zealand Resilience Index. Resilience to Nature’s Challenges report.