Local Flood Action Groups: Governance And Resilience

A diverse range of citizen groups focusing on flood risk management have been identified in several European countries. The paper discusses the role of flood action (citizen) groups in the context of flood resilience and will do this by analysing the UK and its diverse range of flood groups. These civil society organisations are becoming an increasingly prominent part of the UK flood risk management landscape and may be performing roles that the public sector no longer has the resources to undertake. They are supporting the empowerment of communities, use of local knowledge and context, and providing another engagement route for regional government and private sector actors. There is evidence of their use in supporting flood recovery, building community capacity and self-sufficiency, campaigning for community interests and in supporting flood risk communication. This paper focuses on the role and governance arrangements of several flood groups based across England. These groups vary in terms of their governance, size, flood risk, funding and influence within the local context. These findings help to understand the extent to which flood groups in England work with existing organisations and communities to build flood resilience at the local level. Data was collected through a survey and semi-structured interviews with flood group members and national and local flood actor