The world is increasingly complex with risks and consequences becoming more systemic in nature. Our sector is rapidly evolving as we are exposed to these challenges. 

To help practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in navigating these issues, AIDR, in conjunction with the National Emergency Management Agency, is excited to launch the new Spotlight Series webinars. 

The purpose of this series is to provide a forum for conversations about emerging issues in disaster risk reduction and resilience, and to highlight topics of importance that receive little attention or focus. This series will support practitioners to be informed, build knowledge and skills, and to identify sound evidence to support effective planning and practice.

The webinars will be one hour long with a feature topic and time for discussion and questions at the end. Look out for new webinars as they are developed and added to the events calendar.

1pm-2pm AEDT, Tuesday 28 October 2025

This presentation explores the evolving dynamics of trust between governments and communities, drawing on two key reports from the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies. The 2024 report Do Governments Trust Communities reveals that trust is not a static attribute but a relational flow—shaped by behaviours such as openness, accountability, and reciprocity. It highlights the under-examined question of whether governments trust communities, and how this affects co-design and policy legitimacy. 

Building on these insights, the 2025 Removing Barriers to Trust Building report proposes four actionable strategies: simplifying access to government systems, investing in community capability, training officials in trust-building, and establishing a Trust Lab to embed innovation. Together, these findings underscore the urgent need for governments to move beyond transactional engagement and foster sustained, respectful partnerships—especially in an era marked by grievance narratives and disinformation. 

The presentation will offer practical guidance for policymakers and practitioners seeking to rebuild trust through inclusive processes and resilient relationships. It invites reflection on how trust can be mobilised as a form of social capital to counter fragmentation and strengthen democratic cohesion.

Guest Speaker:

Mark Duckworth PSM FIPAA (Vic)
Co-Director of the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS), Senior Research Fellow at the Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, and Senior Political Advisor to the Faculty of Health at Deakin University.

Mark's current research focus is on building resilience to social harms, disaster resilience, co-design and strategies for trust-building between government and communities. 

Before joining Deakin University in 2019 he had more than 30 years’ experience in the Victorian and New South Wales public sectors leading significant policy and legislative reform initiatives on intergovernmental relations, multicultural affairs, veterans’ affairs, public administration, countering violent extremism, counter terrorism, emergency management and community resilience.

Mark is currently a Member of the Victorian Government Expert Advisory Committee on Countering Violent Extremism. He was a Member of the 2025 Victorian Government’s Multicultural Review which drafted the recently released Report “Rebuilding Trust for a Multicultural Victoria”.

Mark has held many senior executive roles in government including as Executive Director of Governance, Security, and Intergovernmental Relations and as Chief Resilience Officer in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet. He was Chair of Victoria’s State Crisis and Resilience Council’s Risk and Resilience subcommittee (2013-19); Chair, Victorian Government Expert Reference Group for the Research Institute on Social Cohesion (2015-18); and a Member of Victoria’s Social Cohesion and Community Resilience Taskforce (2016-2018).

He previously worked at the NSW Cabinet Office, the Sydney University Law School and the Victorian Law Reform Commission. In 2022 he was appointed as a Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA).

Host:

Dr Mayeda Rashid
Manager Capability Development and Engagement,
Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR)