Community Based Disaster Preparedness: A How-To Guide

From August to December 2008, CRS India managers and Technical Advisors reviewed and compiled lessons learned and best practices from evaluations and reports from prior community based disaster preparedness (CBDP) projects. In January 2009, staff from CRS India, implementing partner organizations and members of the Global CRS Emergency Response Team conducted a workshop in Delhi, India. They reviewed the compiled lessons and existing literature, and identified tools and best practices for CBDP programming.

This CBDP “How-To” Guide was developed to help CRS India, its partners, and CRS and other NGOs worldwide, facilitate a community-led disaster preparedness process. CBDP field practitioners repeatedly stated the need for a ready reference document detailing how to facilitate CBDP programs. This guide is designed to complement the existing handbooks on CBDP, Community Based Disaster Risk Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. The Guide focuses on How to implement CBDP programs, with tools and recommendations for facilitating CBDP planning and implementation. Additional reference materials are listed under "Further Reading."