CQUniversity Unit Profile
DSMG29003 Building Adaptive Capacity in Communities
Building Adaptive Capacity in Communities
All details in this unit profile for DSMG29003 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

In this unit, you will explore adaptive capacity building within communities and community resilience from a partnerships perspective. You will come to understand policy levers, available tools, programs and information that support adaptation. You will also develop skills to help facilitate partnerships and networks across government, non-government and community agencies to build community resilience. A key part of this unit involves understanding how these processes influence community change.

Details

Career Level: Postgraduate
Unit Level: Level 9
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

The co-requisite for the unit is DSMG28001 Foundations of Emergency and Disaster Management.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 1 - 2023

Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Group Discussion
Weighting: 20%
2. Presentation
Weighting: 40%
3. Written Assessment
Weighting: 40%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Examine the relationship between both adaptive capacity building and community resilience and the contribution they make to how communities deal with change
  2. Collaborate with community members and agencies to prioritise strategies to build community resilience
  3. Critique the effectiveness of strategies to build community partnerships
  4. Critically reflect on case studies of building community partnerships.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Group Discussion - 20%
2 - Presentation - 40%
3 - Written Assessment - 40%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Knowledge
2 - Communication
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills
4 - Research
5 - Self-management
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility
7 - Leadership
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
  • Zoom capacity (web cam and microphone)
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Robyn Preston Unit Coordinator
r.preston@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Theme 1: Introduction to Communities, Adaptive Capacity and Community Resilience Begin Date: 06 Mar 2023

Module/Topic

Theme 1: Introduction to Communities, Adaptive Capacity and Community Resilience

1.1 Introductions

1.2 Introduction to Communities

1.3 Communities, Disasters and Change

1.4 Introduction to Resilience Thinking, Adaptive Capacity and Community Resilience

  •     Introduction to 7 Principles of Resilience
  •     Understanding Different Disciplinary Contexts

    

Chapter

Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities

Events and Submissions/Topic

Introductory Zoom Tutorial: including discussion on assessments. (week 1).

Discussion Board

Theme 2: Partnering with communities to build resilience and adaptive capacity Begin Date: 20 Mar 2023

Module/Topic

Theme 2: Partnering with communities to build resilience and adaptive capacity

2.1 Why and How do Communities Act?

2.2 Working with Communities: Theoretical approaches

  • Principles of Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience

2.3 Strength and Asset Based Approaches


Chapter

Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 1 Part A: Theme 1 and Theme 2 discussion postings due: Thursday 6 April 2023 4:00pm (week 5). (5%)

Optional drop in Zoom Session on Assessment 2 (week 3).

Discussion Board

Vacation Week Begin Date: 10 Apr 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Theme 3: Strategies and approaches to build community resilience and adaptive capacity with communities Begin Date: 17 Apr 2023

Module/Topic

Theme 3: Strategies and approaches to build community resilience and adaptive capacity with communities

3.1 What is a community resilience or adaptive capacity initiative?

3.2 Working with communities on community resilience and adaptive capacity initiatives :

  • Understanding your community
  • Community Profiles
  • Establishing and strengthening relationships

3.3 Choosing Appropriate Approaches

  • Partner designs and delivers to community
  • Partner leads with community input
  • Community and partner work together
  • Community leads with partner support
  • Community designs and delivers

3.4 Strengths and Challenges of working with communities

  • Critically analyse who may be left out of the process

Chapter

Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities

Events and Submissions/Topic

Optional Drop in Zoom session on Assessment 3 (week 9).

Discussion Board.



Oral Presentation Due: Week 8 Tuesday (2 May 2023) 4:00 pm AEST
Theme 4: Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Reflection Begin Date: 15 May 2023

Module/Topic

Theme 4: Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Review and Reflection

4.1 Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

    Log Frame approach

4.2 Reflective Practice and Working with Communities

     Reiterating the 7 Principles of Resilience

    

Chapter

Prescribed learning activities - combination of narrated PowerPoints, journal articles, chapter readings and online activities

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 1 Part B: Themes 3 and Theme 4 discussion postings due: Friday 26 May 2023 4:00pm (week 11). (15%).

Discussion Board.

Week 12 Begin Date: 29 May 2023

Module/Topic

Focus on Report Writing

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 05 Jun 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 12 Jun 2023

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Report Due: Exam Week Tuesday (13 June 2023) 4:00 pm AEST
Assessment Tasks

1 Group Discussion

Assessment Title
Group Discussion

Task Description

Task Description

Length: Discussion should be 100 to 300 words, depending on the topic/activity.

In each theme there are reflective questions on the concepts covered in the unit that should be responded to in the Online Discussion Board conversation. You must contribute to at least TWO Discussion Board post per theme. You should post these responses in a timely manner (e.g., by the end of the theme). You should also interact with other students online through posting responses to their discussion board posts.

Due Dates:

Assessment 1 Part A: Theme 1 and Theme 2 discussion postings due: Week 5 Thursday 6 April 2023 4pm.

Assessment 1 Part B: Themes 3 and Theme 4 discussion postings due: Week 11 Friday 26 May 2023 4pm.

Weighting: 20%

Assessment 1 Part A: Theme 1 and Theme 2 discussion posting: 5%.

Assessment 1 Part B: Theme 3 and Theme 4 discussion postings: 15%


Assessment Due Date

Contribute to the discussion forum on Moodle. Theme 1 and Theme 2 discussion postings due: Week 5 Thursday 6 April 2023 4pm; Themes 3 and Theme 4 discussion postings due: Week 11 Friday 26 May 2023 4pm.


Return Date to Students

Feedback on the discussion forum will be given throughout the term. Grade assessment will be returned two weeks after submission


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

Discussion Posts will be marked using criterion-referenced assessment. Criterion includes the following:

  • Discussion posts are clear, coherent and timely and draw on relevant unit and external literature (40%)
  • Discussion posts always respond to or contribute to discussion so learning of self and others is promoted (40%)
  • Discussion posts are persuasive and compelling. The purpose of the text is clear and there is appropriate use of spelling, grammar, and syntax (20%)


Referencing Style

Submission
Offline

Submission Instructions
Post to the relevant Discussion Board Posts

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Examine the relationship between both adaptive capacity building and community resilience and the contribution they make to how communities deal with change

2 Presentation

Assessment Title
Oral Presentation

Task Description

Task description

Present a 10 to 15-minute narrated PowerPoint or equivalent (live on Zoom or recorded).

To prepare for this presentation:

  • Choose a discipline that you are familiar with through work or study (e.g., nursing, emergency services, public health, Allied Health, business management, education).
  • Research this discipline’s understanding of adaptive capacity, community resilience and community engagement through relevant policy documents and the peer reviewed literature.
  • Critically discuss this discipline’s understanding of adaptive capacity, community resilience and community engagement with reference to the literature.
  • Select a case study of a community resilience and/or adaptive capacity building initiative relevant to this discipline.
  • Analyse how this initiative was guided (or not guided) by the National Principles of Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience (Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience [AIDR], 2020). (e.g were some of the principles used by stakeholders, were some not used).
  • Based on your analysis, provide recommendations for your discipline (e.g. How could your discipline work with communities on community resilience and/or adaptive capacity building initiatives, what needs to be done, how could they use the National Principles of Community Engagement for Resilience?).

Suggested presentation outline:

1. Introduce your presentation.

2. Present an introduction to the discipline and its context (e.g., understanding/definitions of community engagement, community resilience and adaptive capacity building) with reference to relevant policy documents and the peer reviewed literature.

3. Briefly outline your case study initiative (Who, What, Where, When: Community and stakeholders involved.)

4. Critically discuss how this initiative was guided (or not guided) by the National Principles of Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience (Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience [AIDR], 2020).

5. Outline your recommendations.

6. Provide a closing statement/summary/take home message.

Presentation Format

Students can record their presentation and submit the recording to Moodle.

Students can choose to present live to the Unit Coordinator by the due date. Presentation times must be arranged by 4pm Monday 24 April (week 7).

Uploading Files

Students should upload their files to cloud storage such as OneDrive or Google Docs and then create a shareable link which they then paste this link into a Word file submitted to Moodle.

In addition, a PDF version of their Presentation should be uploaded to Moodle.

Instructions for uploading to OneDrive

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/upload-files-and-folders-in-onedrive-work-or-school-5bd927ad-d186-495c-93e8-7ca116fe7b83?wt.mc_id=otc_onedrive#

Instructions for sharing via OneDrive

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-files-and-folders-in-onedrive-personal-3fcefa26-1371-401e-8c04-589de81ed5eb

Students can also arrange to present Live via Zoom

Reference

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience. (2020). Community engagement for disaster resilience. https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/media/7989/aidr_handbookcollection_communityengagementfordisasterresilience_2020.pdf


Assessment Due Date

Week 8 Tuesday (2 May 2023) 4:00 pm AEST

Students can choose to present live or record their presentation. Students should upload their files to cloud storage such as OneDrive or Google Docs and then create a shareable link which they then paste this link into a Word file submitted to Moodle.


Return Date to Students

Week 10 Tuesday (16 May 2023)


Weighting
40%

Assessment Criteria

Presentations will be marked using criterion-referenced assessment. There is a detailed marking criteria on Moodle. This assessment will be marked according:

  • Critical understanding of key the concepts of adaptive capacity, community resilience and community engagement in disciplinary context. (30%)
  • Critical discussion of the application of the relevant National Principles of Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience (AIDR, 2020) through relevant case studies of community resilience and/or adaptive capacity initiatives. (35%)
  • Succinct recommendations based on the critique. (20%)
  • Presentation skills. (10%)
  • Visual aids/PowerPoint. (5%)


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Students should upload their files to cloud storage such as OneDrive or Google Docs and then create a shareable link which they then paste this link into a Word file submitted to Moodle.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Examine the relationship between both adaptive capacity building and community resilience and the contribution they make to how communities deal with change
  • Collaborate with community members and agencies to prioritise strategies to build community resilience
  • Critique the effectiveness of strategies to build community partnerships

3 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Report

Task Description

Task Description

Write a 3000-word report outlining the process of building a community resilience and/or adaptive capacity initiative. You can write this report from the perspective of an organisation or a community member. You are encouraged to draw on your work and/or experience in a community.

Scenario 1: Your new manager has previously implemented a successful adaptive capacity building/community resilience initiative in a community. They would like to you to work with a local community to implement this initiative in your context.

Scenario 2: You live in a community impacted by a current health/disaster issue. You have been approached by an organisation to be part of a community committee to implement an adaptive capacity building/community resilience initiative. This initiative has previously been successful in another community.

You can use the community resilience and/or adaptive capacity initiatives you analysed in Assessment One or any of the examples used in the unit.

In your report you will need to:

1) Provide an overview of the community (this can be a community of place or interest) and the disaster or health issue that needs to be addressed.

 2) Referencing appropriate community engagement processes, outline how you would plan, implement and evaluate the community resilience and/or adaptive capacity building initiative in partnership with the community/organisation.

a) Provide an overview of the emergency services, health, business, or community organisations that could work with this community on the resilience and/or adaptive capacity initiative.

b) Identify and justify the most appropriate community engagement approach for implementing the community resilience and/or adaptive capacity initiative in the chosen community case study/your community (AIDR, 2020).

3) Identify challenges that might arise during the process of community engagement/partnership building and critically discuss viable solutions.

4) Use relevant literature throughout.


Assessment Due Date

Exam Week Tuesday (13 June 2023) 4:00 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Two weeks after submission.


Weighting
40%

Minimum mark or grade
50%

Assessment Criteria

The report will be marked using criterion-referenced assessment. There is a detailed marking criteria available on the Moodle site you should refer to. This assessment will be marked according to the following criterion:

  • Identification and analysis of the context of the partnership/key stakeholders (20%)
  • Critical justification of the most appropriate community engagement approach for developing the partnership in the chosen case study / context (15%)
  • Critical application of the community engagement process that would be undertaken with the partner community to plan, implement and evaluate the community resilience and/or adaptive capacity building initiative (35%)
  • Identification of challenges and application of viable solutions drawing on relevant literature (20%)
  • The presentation of the written task is persuasive and compelling. The purpose of the text is clear and there is appropriate use of spelling, grammar, and syntax and report writing format. (10%)


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Submit on Moodle

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Collaborate with community members and agencies to prioritise strategies to build community resilience
  • Critique the effectiveness of strategies to build community partnerships
  • Critically reflect on case studies of building community partnerships.

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?