Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 039

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office removing food from a Student Volunteer Army box.

Dan Neely WEMO Photograph 31

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in a van.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 112

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in a van.

Kim Wright WEMO Photograph 043

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in a van.

Jim Baltaxe WEMO Photograph 003

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in Wellington Airport. The volunteers travelled to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake to help with the emergency response.

Jim Baltaxe WEMO Photograph 002

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in Wellington Airport. The volunteers travelled to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake to help with the emergency response.

Jim Baltaxe WEMO Photograph 050

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in a campervan in Hagley Park. The campervan was used as temporary accommodation for the volunteers after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Jim Baltaxe WEMO Photograph 025

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of emergency management personnel, including volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office, standing a temporary Civil Defence Report Centre in Christchurch.

WEMO ERT Set 3 - February 2011 - Photograph 003

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office being photographed in front of a truck. The volunteers are preparing to travel to Christchurch to help out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background is the Wellington Emergency Management Office building.

WEMO ERT Set 3 - February 2011 - Photograph 005

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office being photographed in front of a truck. The volunteers are preparing to travel to Christchurch to help out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background is the Wellington Emergency Management Office building.

WEMO ERT Set 3 - February 2011 - Photograph 006

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office being photographed in front of a truck. The volunteers are preparing to travel to Christchurch to help out after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background is the Wellington Emergency Management Office building.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 19

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office conversing on a residential street in Christchurch.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 041

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer at the temporary emergency management offices at the Mainland Foundation Ball Park.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 080

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers working in a temporary emergency management centre set up after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 079

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers working in a temporary emergency management centre set up after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Natalie Kerschner WEMO Photograph 129

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office, examining the lateral shifting of a rural road.

Sonja Farmer Photograph 40

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from The Wellington Emergency Management Office standing near a pile of rubble on Bealey Avenue.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 042

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office working at a table in the temporary emergency management offices at the Mainland Foundation Ball Park.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 37

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 35

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 38

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 32

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 09

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office standing outside the Mainland Foundation Ball Park in Christchurch.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 34

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Jim Baltaxe WEMO Photograph 049

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office shaving outside their temporary accommodation in Hagley Park.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 36

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Terry Binding WEMO Photograph 33

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office waiting to board a plane at Christchurch Airport.

Nic Johns and Mark Osborne WEMO Photograph 127

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office in the departure lounge of the Christchurch International Airport.

Rebekah Rogers WEMO Photograph 003

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office with a member of the New Zealand Army.

Gaining ‘authority to operate’: Student‐led emergent volunteers and establ…

Research Papers, Lincoln University

There is growing expectation that local volunteers will play a more integrated role in disaster response, yet emergent groups are often ‘outsiders’ to crisis management, prompting questions of the conditions and processes by which these groups can forge relationships with established response agencies, and the tensions which can arise those interactions. This article analyses how student-led volunteers, as an emergent group, nevertheless gained “authority to operate” in the aftermath of the 2010-2011 earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand. Our study demonstrates how established response agencies and emergent groups can form hugely impactful and mutually supportive relationships. However, our analysis also points to two interrelated tensions that can arise, regarding the terms by which emergent groups are recognised, and the ‘distance’ considered necessary between emergent groups and established response agencies. The discussion considers implications for inclusiveness, risk and responsibility if emergent volunteers are to be further integrated into disaster response.