A FAIR Approach to Community Flood Risk

A FAIR (Flood: Aware, Informed and Resilient), innovative and collaborative approach to reducing community flood risk and improving flood resilience across Staffordshire and the Black Country.


Through effective community engagement, and enabling partnerships between communities and Risk Management Authorities, the FAIR Project will empower communities with the skills, knowledge, and resources to actively participate in risk management and resilience activities, alongside other partner agencies.



This project aims to develop a participatory approach to enable communities and risk management authorities to work in partnership to co-design interventions to improve resilience to flooding (including reducing damage and disruption, and speeding up recovery). This will employ innovative and state-of-the art physical and digital infrastructure, alongside flood risk management interventions, to embed and encourage long term community engagement. Benefits will be achieved by reducing risk, together with both significant resilience and learning benefits.

The project will provide resilience benefits, such as improving social capital in a range of diverse communities across Staffordshire and the Black Country (by increasing social networks, belonging, safety, reciprocity, participation, citizen power, values-led living, and environmental benefits); and learning benefits through the active participation of communities in all aspects of the project and integration of participatory research.


Our project will:

  • Establish a community framework and infrastructure for a FAIR (Flood: Aware, Informed and Resilient) approach to flood resilience in Staffordshire and the Black Country.

  • Listen to the needs of communities, and develop a participatory web-based and community-accessible ‘one-stop-shop’ tool and communications system for local flood monitoring, warning, and assistance.

  • Establish in-situ monitoring of infrastructure and utilise machine learning image processing to integrate local flood forecasting within the developed web-based tool.

  • Work in partnership with communities to co-design and inform decision making to establish what types of physical intervention and resilience practices would most suit them. This will empower communities with the skills, knowledge, and resources to actively participate in risk management and resilience activities, alongside other partner agencies.

  • Embed participatory applied research to evaluate, monitor and incorporate significant learning.


How you can get involved

Engagement is key to the FAIR project, and a holistic approach to resilience is the primary aim. Local knowledge will help develop ideas and initiatives.

If you would like to get involved or find out more about our project, please email us at: flood.team@staffordshire.gov.uk.


How we are innovating

By placing a diverse range of communities at its heart, and using innovative research and technology, the FAIR Project aims to produce a blueprint of resilience measures that can be easily adopted in different areas.

As part of the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme we will be testing 6 resilience actions

  • Property flood resilience
  • Monitoring and management of local assets
  • Community infrastructure resilience
  • Community and voluntary sector action to be better prepared and recover more quickly
  • Enhanced flood warning systems
  • Minimise damages and disruption to small and medium sized businesses

Visit the programme evaluation page to find out more.


Who we are working with


The Environment Agency, National Flood Forum, University of Wolverhampton, University of Reading, Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit, JBA Consulting, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Council, and Wolverhampton City Council

A FAIR (Flood: Aware, Informed and Resilient), innovative and collaborative approach to reducing community flood risk and improving flood resilience across Staffordshire and the Black Country.


Through effective community engagement, and enabling partnerships between communities and Risk Management Authorities, the FAIR Project will empower communities with the skills, knowledge, and resources to actively participate in risk management and resilience activities, alongside other partner agencies.



This project aims to develop a participatory approach to enable communities and risk management authorities to work in partnership to co-design interventions to improve resilience to flooding (including reducing damage and disruption, and speeding up recovery). This will employ innovative and state-of-the art physical and digital infrastructure, alongside flood risk management interventions, to embed and encourage long term community engagement. Benefits will be achieved by reducing risk, together with both significant resilience and learning benefits.

The project will provide resilience benefits, such as improving social capital in a range of diverse communities across Staffordshire and the Black Country (by increasing social networks, belonging, safety, reciprocity, participation, citizen power, values-led living, and environmental benefits); and learning benefits through the active participation of communities in all aspects of the project and integration of participatory research.


Our project will:

  • Establish a community framework and infrastructure for a FAIR (Flood: Aware, Informed and Resilient) approach to flood resilience in Staffordshire and the Black Country.

  • Listen to the needs of communities, and develop a participatory web-based and community-accessible ‘one-stop-shop’ tool and communications system for local flood monitoring, warning, and assistance.

  • Establish in-situ monitoring of infrastructure and utilise machine learning image processing to integrate local flood forecasting within the developed web-based tool.

  • Work in partnership with communities to co-design and inform decision making to establish what types of physical intervention and resilience practices would most suit them. This will empower communities with the skills, knowledge, and resources to actively participate in risk management and resilience activities, alongside other partner agencies.

  • Embed participatory applied research to evaluate, monitor and incorporate significant learning.


How you can get involved

Engagement is key to the FAIR project, and a holistic approach to resilience is the primary aim. Local knowledge will help develop ideas and initiatives.

If you would like to get involved or find out more about our project, please email us at: flood.team@staffordshire.gov.uk.


How we are innovating

By placing a diverse range of communities at its heart, and using innovative research and technology, the FAIR Project aims to produce a blueprint of resilience measures that can be easily adopted in different areas.

As part of the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme we will be testing 6 resilience actions

  • Property flood resilience
  • Monitoring and management of local assets
  • Community infrastructure resilience
  • Community and voluntary sector action to be better prepared and recover more quickly
  • Enhanced flood warning systems
  • Minimise damages and disruption to small and medium sized businesses

Visit the programme evaluation page to find out more.


Who we are working with


The Environment Agency, National Flood Forum, University of Wolverhampton, University of Reading, Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit, JBA Consulting, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Walsall Council, and Wolverhampton City Council

What else would you like to know about our project?

loader image
Didn't receive confirmation?
Seems like you are already registered, please provide the password. Forgot your password? Create a new one now.
Page last updated: 20 Feb 2024, 02:15 PM