Social entrepreneurship, co-production, and post-disaster recovery

Area of Science:

• Disaster management
• Community resilience
• Social entrepreneurship

Background:

• Post-disaster recovery necessitates citizen involvement, termed co-production, for successful community rebuilding.
• Unilateral recovery efforts by authorities often fail without meaningful beneficiary participation.
• Social entrepreneurs can bridge this gap by fostering co-production in disaster-affected communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the role of social entrepreneurs in facilitating post-disaster co-production.
• To highlight how social entrepreneurs promote voluntary activities, community engagement, and participation in recovery.
• To analyze the impact of social entrepreneurship on community resilience in disaster contexts.

Main Methods:

• Case study of the Dhurmus Suntali Foundation's Namuna village project in Giranchaur, Nepal.
• Analysis of post-earthquake recovery efforts following the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
• Qualitative examination of social entrepreneurship's role in community-led reconstruction.

Main Results:

• Social entrepreneurs played a pivotal role in mobilizing citizens for post-disaster recovery.
• The Namuna village project demonstrated successful co-production through facilitated voluntary activities and community engagement.
• Citizen participation, spurred by social entrepreneurs, was crucial for effective reconstruction.

Conclusions:

• Social entrepreneurs are key facilitators of co-production in post-disaster recovery.
• Effective community resilience is built on meaningful citizen engagement and participation.
• The study underscores the importance of social entrepreneurship in enhancing disaster recovery outcomes.