Building Organisational Resilience: A summary of Key Research Findings

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a six-year research programme underway in New
\nZealand to develop strategies for improving the resilience of organisations to major crisis
\nevents. The research takes a systems view of organisations, recognising that there are
\nmultiple interdependencies within and between different organisations that influence
\ntheir abilities to respond and recover. This means that effective resilience management
\nfor any one organisation must look beyond that single organisation and consider the
\nresilience of other organisations that it depends on.
\nParticular aspects of organisational resilience focused on by the research team include:
\nhow individual organisations are positioned to respond and recover from major crises;
\ntheir ability to communicate and share information in order to direct resources
\neffectively during crises; and the legal and contractual frameworks within which they will
\nneed to operate during crisis response and recovery. None of these issues can be
\nresolved by a single organisation acting unilaterally. Organisations are required to work
\ntogether towards system resilience.