2015-06-23 I&S Agenda - Item 5 - Local Disaster Recovery Plan - Attachment 2

                            Noosa Local Disaster Recovery Plan 2015/2016

27.18.3 Setting objectives for volunteer effort
It is likely that a range of volunteer programs will be needed to address diverse needs in the
community. For example volunteers may assist in urban cleanup, farm debris removal and
fencing, environmental care projects, provision of psychosocial support, recovery event
management, provision of specialised/technical work, or management of donated goods.
Matching volunteer availability and skill and resources will be required across diverse
functions that operate over different timeframes. For example farm fence repair may be
undertaken over months whereas cleanup of community infrastructure will often need to be
completed in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

It is important for the LDRC and the Sub-groups to clearly define objectives for the
volunteering effort to assist planning and to enable the matching of volunteers’ availability
and skills with tasks on the ground. Volunteering programs, recruitment and management
can then be undertaken to achieve those objectives.

Objectives should be SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and include a
time frame. Volunteer objectives may be short, medium or long term. Long term volunteer
objectives should be developed to ensure that volunteer effort can be managed to support
the long term recovery of the community.

A volunteer management plan should be developed and endorsed by the LDRC. It should
be updated regularly to reflect changing the changing volunteer environment.

The LDRC or the Volunteer Coordinator on behalf of the LDRC may consider the following
when planning and developing volunteer objectives and the programs to achieve them:

                                                                   Support to businesses
Initial Clean up (mud army)       Psychosocial support
                                                                   (repair/rebuilding)

Farm clear and fence repair       Assistance in community          Creative fund raising for
programs                          recovery event management        identified public appeals

Pet Foster Care                                                    Technical or specialised
                                  Environmental care
(for those displaced)                                              work/advice
                                  Support to community
Donations management and                                           Assistance in transport of
                                  organisations for
closure of donation centres                                        goods/donations
                                  rebuilding/repair
Wildlife care and treatment
(wildlife affected by disaster)

27.18.4 Coordinating volunteer effort
A Volunteer Coordinator may be required to assist the LDRC in planning and implementing
recovery volunteer programs and activities and the LDRC should consider the need for such
an appointment early in the recovery process. The appointment of a volunteer coordinator
provides a central point of contact within the community for volunteer matters and enables
volunteer effort to be closely coordinated, monitored and reported. If a Local Recovery
Coordinator is deemed necessary by the LDRC, the Local Recovery Coordinator shall liaise
with the Noosa Council Chief Executive Officer to appoint a suitable council staff member to
the role.

It should be noted that such an appointment may need to be on a full time basis during the
initial planning and development of volunteer programs and activities. The workload of a
volunteer coordinator is likely to decrease as longer terms programs are established e.g.
once the volunteering effort has settled into a routine.
To assist in coordination of volunteer effort, Noosa Council may consider providing a
dedicated telephone number and/or email address for use by the Volunteer Coordinator.
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