![](https://emergencyservicestimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ESS-Button-resized.png")
In recent weeks, the news has been dominated with examples of fractures and divisions across so much of our society. From the COVID Inquiry report to the truly upsetting violent disorder and rioting we have seen on the streets. It seems that now, more than ever, is the time for us to have what we are calling The Big Conversation.
The Emergency Planning Society’s Human Aspects and Community Resilience Professional Working Group is hosting a series of events under the banner of The Big Conversation. These events aim to allow open and honest conversations that lead to innovations and initiatives to help to shape the future of humanity in resilience in the UK.
All events under The Big Conversation banner will consider (among other areas) the following:
- What are human aspects of resilience?
- Guidance – expectations v reality
- Planning – training – exercising
- Responsibilities – short, medium and long-term.
The launch of The Big Conversation is timely for emergency management in the UK. The sector is repeatedly affected by all the ‘big’ issues including infectious diseases, pandemics, climate change, pollution, extreme weather, civil unrest and every other emergency and disaster in between.
“People in our profession simply seek to do their best with the resources they have. They remain stoic and resilient but often muted, with little opportunity to have their views and ideas heard. It is wearing and demoralising.
“In the United States, recent research has shown that the field has been faced with regular setbacks in their struggle to become a profession. The lack of resources and the constant of ‘do more with less’ has led to the loss of experienced professionals who are choosing to leave the profession and those remaining disillusioned and exhausted.”
Beverley Griffiths FEPS, Senior Lecturer and Researcher BNU, and EPS Fellow .
The Emergency Planning Society recognises that more needs to be done to support emergency planning and resilience professionals and we feel The Big Conversation may be a good starting point.
Through a series of events, we will collect people’s thoughts, ideas, and challenges and use these to inform the development of tools, new initiatives and innovations to influence change. We will start with our ‘Coffee and a Conversation’ events which will be held online on 5 and 26 September. To register your interest in attending, please email info@the-eps.org.
The EPS will also be attending The Emergency Services Show and we warmly invite you to visit stand S218 in Hall 5 to join our members for a Coffee and a Conversation or complete the ‘I just want to be heard’ postcards that will be available at the stand. Please note all comments etc will be completely anonymised.
The EPS is also hosting a national conference on 12 and 13 November where we will be continuing the The Big Conversation. We also have an ‘I just want to be heard’ online form available as well.
Once the data has been collected, it will be analysed to identify themes that inform development of guidance, and influence the direction for change. All of the findings will be shared and explored during our Spring Seminar in 2025 with and from there they will be transformed into tangible actions for change.
The world and humanity are facing global threats, hazards, and risks and in order for us all to be prepared, to be resilient, to feel confident in our ability to adapt to and recover from challenging situations we need to work together, talk together, support each other and listen to each other, and be heard.
We hope stakeholders such as Local Resilience Forums, Local Resilience Partnerships, businesses, academia, voluntary sector, government, military and all other interested parties, will join us in The Big Conversation.
The industry will once again be gathering at the NEC, Birmingham for The Emergency Services Show, co located with The Emergency Tech Show on 18-19 September, check out the full exhibitor list here. You can find The Emergency Planning Society in Hall 5, on stand S218.
