Disaster Planning, Emergency Response & Recovery

Practical training to help protect taonga and collections before, during and after an emergency

Our training is grounded in real-world disaster response and recovery experience. Dr Susanne Rawson and the team have worked with collections affected by earthquakes, building failures, flooding, water damage and mould, from supporting the Smithsonian-led cultural recovery effort in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake to managing recovery operations for flooded university and rural museum collections.

More recently, Heritage Preservation led the recovery and specialist mould remediation of water-damaged documents, involving more than 11,000 individual pages. Susanne has also contributed to emergency preparedness guidance as a contributor to the Alberta Museums Association publication HELP: A Survivor’s Guide to Emergency Preparedness.

This practical experience informs training that reflects the realities of an emergency: limited time, incomplete information, competing priorities and the need to make safe, well-documented decisions under pressure.

Workshop 01

Disaster Planning & Preparedness

Build a practical emergency plan before an incident happens. This workshop helps teams identify the risks that matter most, clarify responsibilities, set collection and taonga priorities, and turn existing emergency information into a plan that people can actually use under pressure. See more details here.

Workshop 02

Emergency Response & Decision-Making

When an incident happens, the first challenge is not conservation treatment, it is making safe, organised decisions. This workshop gives teams a framework for assessing the situation, assigning roles, documenting damage, setting priorities and coordinating the first response to affected taonga and collections. See more details here.

Workshop 03

Collections Salvage & Recovery

A practical workshop for teams who may need to handle damaged collections after water, storm, fire or building incidents. Participants practise setting up a salvage operation, triaging mixed materials, handling wet and fragile items, documenting movement, using basic drying and packing techniques, and deciding when specialist recovery is required. See more details here.

Need more tailored support?

Every organisation, site and collection is different. Alongside our workshops, Heritage Preservation can provide bespoke disaster preparedness, response and recovery support based on your specific needs.

Support may include:

  • Reviewing and updating existing emergency response plans

  • Site and collection risk assessments

  • Identifying vulnerabilities and preparedness gaps

  • Establishing collection priorities for emergency response

  • Assessing emergency supply kits and recommending appropriate equipment

  • Developing documentation, movement and damage-recording procedures

  • Recovery planning following an incident

  • Integrating collection emergency planning with wider organisational emergency and business-continuity procedures

Not sure exactly what you need? We can start by reviewing your current arrangements and work with your team to identify the most useful next steps.

FAQs

  • Our disaster preparedness and recovery workshops are designed for museums, galleries, marae, whare taonga, collection teams, registrars, technicians, managers, volunteers and others responsible for the care of taonga and cultural collections. Training can be adapted to suit different levels of experience, from organisations developing their first emergency plan through to teams wanting to practise response and salvage skills.Our disaster preparedness and recovery workshops are designed for museums, galleries, marae, whare taonga, collection teams, registrars, technicians, managers, volunteers and others responsible for the care of taonga and cultural collections. Training can be adapted to suit different levels of experience, from organisations developing their first emergency plan through to teams wanting to practise response and salvage skills.

  • No, not necessarily. If your organisation already has an established Emergency Response Plan, for example, you may not need support at the planning level. The workshops can be tailored to reflect the experience of your staff, the needs of your collections, and the systems you already have in place, so you can focus on the areas that will be most useful for your team.

  • No. The workshops can support organisations at different stages of preparedness. If you do not yet have a collections emergency plan, training can help identify risks, clarify responsibilities and establish practical next steps. If you already have a plan, exercises can be used to test how well it works in practice and identify gaps that may need attention.

  • Yes. Training can be adapted to your site, collection types, existing emergency procedures and local risks. For marae and whare taonga, workshop planning can also take existing emergency arrangements, tikanga, access requirements and local decision-making structures into account.