As local community members took their boats out into flooded Lismore to save their neighbours, a local business owner used social media to compile the only digital database of people needing to be rescued. With the increasing prevalence, speed and unpredictability of disasters, spurred on by climate change, these local responses will form the cornerstone of disaster response in the years to come.

These examples showcase the power of crowdsourcing and collective intelligence. Increasingly, the use of technologies such as the internet, smartphones, and social media is amplifying the power of local community action and knowledge. With the support of governments, collective intelligence could improve the broader disaster response and feed into long-term community resilience.

This policy brief addresses the need for policy change to overcome key barriers in this space.