Other Lifelines participants

Many parties play a part in supporting Lifelines in resilience and response.

Regional lifelines groups

Lifelines Groups assess vulnerabilities and influence resilience building at a regional level. They focus on interdependencies and coordination between sectors and consider all hazards.

There are Lifelines Groups in most New Zealand regions. Most have informal relationships with regional Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Groups. Some CDEM Groups:

  • provide a programme manager for the Lifelines Group,
  • fund projects, or
  • recognise their Lifelines Group in CDEM Group plans.

Lifeline utilities support Lifelines Groups through:

  • membership,
  • funding (in some cases), and
  • sharing information.

Lifeline Utility Coordinators (LUCs)

Lifeline Utility Coordinators (LUCs) are required by the National Plan. CDEM Groups must nominate and train LUCs. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) must nominate and train National LUCs.

LUCs coordinate during readiness, response, and recovery. They build relationships and establish sector planning arrangements during reduction and readiness. During readiness, LUCs may:

  • take part in training and exercises,
  • maintain relationships with lifeline utilities and NEMA / CDEM Groups, and
  • provide advice to NEMA or CDEM Groups about lifeline utility response issues.

During response LUCs:

  • lead lifeline utility coordination within their response or recovery centre,
  • help connect regional and national LUC work,
  • provide information and advice to their Controller or Recovery Manager, and
  • provide information to lifeline utilities or sector co-ordination entities on emergency management priorities.

The CDEM Competency Framework includes a role map for LUCs. This describes the role, attributes, knowledge and skills needed to undertake the role. Download the LUC Competency Framework Role Map (pdf 505k).

The LUC role is only active in response, and any readiness work happens as part of the individual’s day job.

Sector Coordinating Entities (SCEs)

Sector Coordinating Entities (SCEs) can be:

  • an organisation,
  • a group of sector representatives, or
  • an individual agreed by the sector.

SCEs act as a single point of contact for each lifeline sector in a major emergency. This supports pre-planned sector coordination. They help keep clear reporting lines both within sectors and to regional and national LUCs.

Some SCEs do readiness activities as well as their response role. For example, facilitating sector emergency exercises and contingency planning. Readiness arrangements differ from sector to sector, reflecting different sector structures and regulation.

For SCE contact information, email [email protected]

New Zealand Lifelines Council (NZLC)

The New Zealand Lifelines Council (NZLC) is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1999. It’s mission is “to connect lifeline utility organisations across agency and sector boundaries to improve infrastructure resilience”.

It does this by:

  • connecting national agencies from the public and private sectors,
  • supporting regional Lifelines Groups,
  • delivering an annual National Lifeline Utilities Forum, and
  • publishing the National Vulnerability Assessment.

NZLC believes that “infrastructure resilience is more than just robust assets”. To support robust assets, infrastructure resilience also needs:

  • resourcing to build resilience, prepare and respond,
  • effective coordination across the 4Rs, and
  • realistic customer expectations about things like outages.

NZLC includes public and private sector entities. Members fund a small professional staff of infrastructure consultants.

NZLC helps link Lifelines Groups, the National Emergency Management Agency and other government agencies.

For more information and contacts visit the NZLC website.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

The National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) Infrastructure Resilience team works across the Lifelines sector to:

  • enhance relationships within the sector and with other stakeholders important to it;
  • influence for risk reduction and improved resilience;
  • lift the sector’s planning, capability and capacity for response;
  • improve Lifelines doctrine and documentation; and
  • deliver the Lifelines Function and National LUC role in response.

Contact: [email protected]