Criteria for selecting partner cities in a national-level resilience network

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish the factors affecting the selection of a suitable partner city for resilience building at the national level.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory sequential research was adopted using New Zealand as a case study. Data were collected through focus groups and semi-structured interviews and subsequently validated through an online survey.

Findings

The study confirmed that the criteria for selecting partner cities for collaboration and knowledge sharing on resilience were similarity of hazards, geographic proximity, city resources and priorities, resilience performance, city size and demographics, previous relationship, willingness to collaborate and similar industries.

Practical implications

The findings of this paper will help guide cities that are interested in developing national-level resilience partnerships through the process of selecting the most suitable partner cities.

Originality/value

Despite the existence of international intercity resilience networks, there is a lack of information on the criteria affecting the selection of suitable resilience partner cities at the national level. This paper addresses this gap and offers informed decision-making criteria for cities to consider.

Citation

Elkhidir, E., Mannakkara, S. and Wilkinson, S. (2021), "Criteria for selecting partner cities in a national-level resilience network", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 443-454. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-06-2020-0067