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Participatory Resilience

From Awareness to Action: The ATLAS Framework for Participatory Resilience

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) is not only a technical challenge—it is fundamentally a societal process.    

To be effective, DRRM strategies must reflect the voices, needs, and knowledge of those most affected: communities themselves.

This means shifting from top-down responses to approaches that embed participation, enable empowerment, and strengthen shared decision-making.   

The ATLAS for Empowerment is built on this premise. It is not just a repository, but a user-centred ecosystemdesigned to:   

  1. Assess how communities engage in DRRM;

  2. Support them with tailored tools, practices, and solutions;

  3. Enhance their agency across all phases of risk governance.   

This page explains how the ATLAS conceptualises and applies three pillars at the heart of community-centred DRRM: Participation, Decision-Making, and Empowerment.

Participation

Participation is not static—stakeholders may shift between levels depending on the phase of DRRM and on institutional efforts to engage them.

Decision-Making

A Shared Process Across Phases Participatory DRRM requires opening up all phases of decision-making to meaningful stakeholder involvement. 

Empowerment

Enabling influence and Ownership empowerment is the capacity, opportunity, and authority of citizens and communities to shape decisions and influence outcomes.

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Participation

In ATLAS, participation is understood as a function of two variables:

  • Interest – the stakeholder's willingness and motivation to be involved;

  • Relevance – the stakeholder’s actual capacity to contribute meaningfully to the process.   

These variables generate four levels of participation: 

  • Information (Low - Low) - One-way communication; citizens are informed of decisions or processes but have no direct input.

  • Dialogue (High - Low) - Two-way communication; stakeholders are interested in engagement but may not yet be seen as central actors.

  • Consultation (Low - High) - Authorities actively seek input from stakeholders who may not be highly mobilised but are key to the process.

  • Partnership (High - High) - Shared responsibility and co-decision-making; stakeholders co-create and co-own solutions with public authorities

 

Decision-Making

The ATLAS framework follows a six-phase model, aligned with Council of Europe recommendations

  1. Priority Setting – Identifying what matters most to the community and aligning strategic focus. 

  2. Drafting – Co-designing plans, policies, and measures based on shared understanding. 

  3. Decision – Making final choices based on evidence, input, and deliberation. 

  4. Implementation – Putting strategies into action, often requiring community roles and ownership. 

  5. Monitoring – Tracking outcomes, evaluating progress, and ensuring accountability. 

  6. Tuning – Adapting approaches based on lessons learned and new challenges.

Empowerment

In the ATLAS, empowerment is seen as both an outcome of participation and a driver of more resilient systems. 

It unfolds in four progressive levels:  

  1. Awareness - Communities are informed of DRRM strategies and understand their importance.

  2. Understanding - Communities engage in dialogue and acquire knowledge to interpret and reflect on DRRM choices.

  3. Involvement - Communities provide input that is considered in planning and action.

  4. Collaboration - Communities share responsibility and decision-making power throughout the process.   

Empowerment is enhanced when:

  • Citizens are offered clear, accessible entry points for involvement;

  • Their inputs are acknowledged and integrated;

  • Resources and capacity-building opportunities are provided consistently;

  • Structures such as local resilience teams or co-decision bodies are established.

Bringing it Together: 
Participation + Empowerment = Resilience 

The ATLAS framework integrates these three components—participation, decision-making, and empowerment—into a coherent model that supports local, national, and regional actors. 

It helps them identify: 

  • Where communities are on the participation spectrum; 

  • Which phases of the decision-making cycle are open or closed; 

  • How to enhance empowerment for more inclusive and effective DRRM.    

The platform does this through self-assessment, tailored recommendations, curated examples, and the possibility to learn from and contribute to a growing community of practice.