ESA Strategic Plan 2024–27

The ESA 2024–27 Strategic Plan will be used to help the agency run better and support a safer environment for all ACT residents.

The plan has identified six main challenges and ways we can meet them. By addressing these challenges, ESA will:

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Create a better working environment for staff and volunteers

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Be better prepared for the effects of climate change

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Strengthen community resilience to major events

1. BACK OUR PEOPLE BETTER

Challenge: Recruiting and keeping staff and volunteers is getting harder. This is due to competitive job markets, burnout, changing demographics and the growing demands of the work we do.

Solution: ESA strives to be an attractive employer by offering excellent benefits and support for staff and volunteers.

New wellbeing programs and training will be introduced and HR policies will be updated in line with best practice. We will work hard to build a workplace culture where every role, no matter the level, is appreciated, respected and seen as equally important.

There will be clear career paths to keep staff and volunteers motivated and committed to their roles.

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2. IMPROVE THE BALANCE

Challenge: ESA is not as efficient as it could be because the organisation has been structured around skills and services, rather than the way it operates day to day.

Solution: We will improve the integration of ESA’s services by establishing shared goals and standardising our operations wherever possible.

We will celebrate individual diversity, confident in our ability to pull together in a crisis. We will establish a new commitment to collaboration that will unite ESA’s approach to its role as emergency managers.

This will create a shared experience across the organisation that is transparent and equal and better supports the way the agency operates.

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3. ENGAGE MORE WITH THE COMMUNITY

Challenge: Canberrans have high expectations of its emergency services. They are right to, but it can sometimes overstretch ESA’s capabilities.

Solution: ESA will improve how it communicates with the community. We will ensure the public has access to easy-to-digest information about how emergency management works.

We will develop automated response systems and detailed educational campaigns to inform Canberrans about issues like climate change and community resilience.

ESA will renew its bond with the community and use a proactive communication strategy to support Canberra to become more resilient and prepared for emergencies.

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4. PRIORITISE THE IMPORTANT

Challenge: ESA’s focus on immediate action often comes at the expense of strategic planning. This leads to inefficiencies and worker burnout.

Solution: ESA will devise a new approach that balances its need to be responsive with longer term strategic planning. This will be achieved by freeing up more time for ESA’s leadership to think, design and plan.

Projects will be prioritised, ranking them by impact and then resources will be aligned to them based on their impact.

This will help ESA react quickly to events with better strategic consideration and improve its effectiveness in the field.

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5. ANTICIPATE SYSTEMIC RISK

Challenge: Canberra is growing, and the climate is changing. These inevitabilities complicate ESA’s emergency management efforts.

Solution: ESA will use the latest research to train staff on these growing risks. This will create in-house expertise to see problems coming and respond to long-term and short-term emergencies better.

The extensive data we have access to will be used more effectively to update our risk management procedures.

By integrating long-term risk management into daily operations, ESA will be better prepared and more able to respond to the complex emergencies of tomorrow.

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6. STREAMLINE ASSET MANAGEMENT

Challenge: Technology is evolving very quickly. This challenges ESA’s ability to update and maintain important assets, particularly our information and communications systems.

Solution: ESA will upgrade to standardised and modular technology. This will make updating much simpler in the future as technology continues to change.

Our new focus on adaptable and scalable systems will ensure ESA will be able to manage emergencies using the latest technology.

We will also develop asset management policies to simplify the way our technology and other resources are managed. This will allow ESA to run more efficiently and free up resources to use for other parts of the agency.