The Recovery Exercise Toolkit is designed to strengthen disaster recovery planning across local and regional levels. It provides structured guidance, modules, and templates to support recovery exercises that go beyond immediate response, enabling communities and institutions to explore medium- and long-term recovery needs in a practical, participatory way.
Map
Recovery Exercise Toolkit
General information
Strategy aiming to strengthen disaster recovery planning
Recovery from disasters is complex, long-term, and requires cross-sectoral coordination. Historically, exercises and planning have focused heavily on immediate emergency response, leaving recovery underexplored. This toolkit fills that gap by helping communities and institutions practice recovery planning in advance through structured, scenario-based exercises.
Status
Purpose
Topics For Preparedness
Needs Addressed
The project addresses the widespread lack of mechanisms to simulate recovery challenges. Many governments and organisations are unprepared for issues such as economic rebuilding, community wellbeing, and inclusion of vulnerable groups in long-term recovery.
The toolkit includes dedicated elective modules focusing on:
- People with Disabilities, highlighting inclusion and accessibility in recovery.
- Indigenous Communities, recognising their unique connection to the country, historical and structural inequalities, and intrinsic strengths. This module addresses the lack of engagement with Indigenous peoples in disaster recovery planning and promotes Indigenous self-determination in recovery processes.
Exercises align with existing emergency management structures, particularly local and regional recovery committees and their thematic subcommittees across the four recovery environments: built, social, natural, and economic.
The toolkit supports organised and advanced preparedness, integrating recovery considerations into disaster planning and preparedness systems.
The toolkit is adaptable across different infrastructure levels:
- Operates effectively in both resource-limited environments and well-developed emergency response systems.
- Functions in low-resource settings by relying on volunteers as essential manpower.
- Strengthens existing emergency infrastructure by adding a trained and ready volunteer workforce
The engagement is intended to strengthen collaboration and shared learning between different actors, while also promoting a deeper understanding of the diverse recovery challenges that unfold across different timeframes. At the same time, it seeks to improve recovery planning by incorporating the perspectives of vulnerable groups, small businesses, and the communities most affected.
The toolkit uses discussion-based, scenario-driven exercises. Modules are delivered through plenary discussions, syndicate group work, breakout activities, and structured facilitation. Each elective module is designed to be run as a whole-group activity, ensuring shared understanding.
Participants in the recovery exercise toolkit influence decisions primarily through structured discussions, scenario-based analysis, and feedback processes that shape recovery planning and coordination. Their contributions are actively considered in the design and implementation of strategies, allowing for shared responsibility across agencies, councils, and community groups.
The toolkit emphasizes capacity-building and long-term empowerment by strengthening networks, enhancing understanding of diverse recovery challenges, and providing training modules that build knowledge and skills. This approach equips stakeholders with greater resilience and decision-making capabilities that extend beyond a single exercise, supporting sustained preparedness and adaptive recovery practices over time.
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Geographical Scope
Population Size
Population Density
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
The toolkit includes core modules on the fundamentals of community recovery and recovery considerations over time, addressing short-, medium-, and long-term needs. Elective modules focus on coordinating recovery support for people with disabilities, working with Indigenous communities to promote culturally safe recovery and recognition of Country, and understanding economic recovery for small businesses, primary producers, and local economies. Innovations include starting scenarios three weeks post-disaster to emphasize recovery, integrating Indigenous perspectives and cultural safety, and linking economic wellbeing to overall community resilience.
Ensglish
The strategy presented by the toolkit is best initiated by local and regional authorities because they have the mandate to promote structured recovery initiatives and the capacity to resource them. Their leadership can be complemented by civil organisations, universities, training institutions, and first responders that provide technical expertise, learning resources, and facilitation support.
The organisations that first promote the strategy presented by the toolkit should have expertise in recovery planning and coordination, inclusive engagement with vulnerable groups, and economic recovery. They also need skills in facilitation, training, and inter-agency collaboration to support consistent and inclusive implementation across different contexts.
- Local councils and recovery committees.
- State and national emergency management agencies.
- Non-government and community organisations.
- Indigenous community-controlled organisations.
- Business and industry groups (chambers of commerce, agribusiness networks).
- Subject matter experts and facilitators.
- Establish planning teams with broad representation.
- Develop exercise concept and objectives.
- Tailor disaster scenario with input from emergency services.
- Prepare relevant modules and supporting resources.
- Conduct exercises through whole-group and breakout activities.
- Capture participant reflections via discussion and feedback forms.
- Analyse findings and integrate into recovery planning and reporting.
- Facilitators and local co-facilitators (including Indigenous representatives and business advisors).
- Templates, guides, and pre-session planning materials.
- Venues and logistical support.
- Financial and human resources for preparation, delivery, and evaluation.
Exercises are delivered as one-day events, structured around short- to long-term recovery stages (3 weeks to 12+ months). The session duration of each module goes from 30 to 60 minutes
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
- Limited preparedness for recovery among practitioners: provide accessible facilitator guides and resources, ensuring materials accommodate diverse learning needs and people with disabilities.
- Complexity of economic recovery: provide frameworks and link recovery planning to existing economic networks and peak bodies.
- Ensuring meaningful engagement of vulnerable groups: encourage co-facilitation with Indigenous and disability-related organisations and embed cultural safety practices.
Specific information on the risk and mitigation plan related to this strategy is not available. However, common risks and mitigation plans could be:
- Limited engagement or cultural misalignment : engage stakeholders early, tailor content to the local context, and ensure cultural safety.
- Facilitator or resource constraints : provide training, involve experts, and ensure adequate time and materials.
- Short-term focus or coordination challenges : incorporate long-term recovery, promote collaboration, and link across agencies and communities.
- Technological or participant wellbeing issues : ensure accessible tools and provide psychological support during exercises.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The toolkit is designed for repeated use, enabling continuous learning and institutionalisation of recovery exercises into emergency management practice. Modules can be reused and adapted over time.
The modular structure ensures scalability across governance levels (local, regional, national) and adaptability across hazard types and community contexts. Indigenous and economic recovery modules provide content that can be tailored for specific localities.
The toolkit includes the use of multimedia, such as videos and slide decks, to complement facilitation. Additionally, templates and resources are available digitally, allowing for reuse and adaptation. Innovation also lies in the toolkit’s strong focus on long-term recovery and in the inclusion of modules that specifically address vulnerable groups, such as Indigenous communities and people with disabilities, as well as the economic aspects of disaster risk management, ensuring that recovery is both inclusive and sustainable.
Costs are minimised by embedding exercises within existing emergency management budgets. Reusable templates, guides, and video resources reduce preparation and delivery costs over time.
The main lesson from the toolkit is that effective recovery requires inclusive, culturally safe approaches that leverage community strengths, address vulnerable groups, link economic and social resilience, use accessible tools to support collaboration, and emphasize long-term recovery rather than focusing solely on short-term measures after a disaster.