CDEM Resilience Fund

This page provides information about the CDEM Resilience Fund

The CDEM Resilience Fund enhances New Zealand’s hazard risk resilience through the development of local and regional capability and practices. The Resilience Fund aligns with CDEM Group Plans and the National Disaster Resilience Strategy (NDRS) priorities:

Managing risks: what we can do to minimise the risks we face and limit the impacts to be managed if hazards occur;
Effective response to and recovery from emergencies: building our capability and capacity to manage emergencies when they do happen; and
Enabling, empowering, and supporting community resilience: building a culture of resilience in New Zealand so that everyone can participate in and contribute to communities’ – and the nation’s – resilience.

A total of $889,000 (excluding GST) is available each year for projects that improve emergency management capability and contribute to resilience.

The fund supports strategic targeting of investment in CDEM capability. The focus will be on areas that have the greatest benefit and that support a collaborative approach for the sector.

For the 2026/27 financial year, preference will be given to projects that are linked to:

National Disaster Resilience Strategy

Resilience Fund - Due Date Extended

With a number of regions impacted by recent weather events and unable to meet the 31 January 2026 deadline to submit Resilience Fund applications, an extension has been approved.

The new deadline for submitting applications will be 2 March 2026 which will also mean that decisions on successful applications will also be delayed. NEMA will notify applicants of outcomes once internal decisions have been made.

For further information contact: [email protected]

CDEM Resilience Fund: Information Series [IS 11/21] (.pdf 832kb)

2025/26 Successful Resilience Fund applications

Project #	Project	Lead agency	Amount approved
2025-01	AF8 Programme (.pdf 830kb)	Emergency Management Southland	$200,000
2025-04	Porirua Flood Monitoring and Community Warning Project (.pdf 187kb)	Porirua City Council	$34,900
2025-06	Milford Sound/Piopiotahi Tsunami, Landslide and Inundation Modelling (.pdf 186kb)	Emergency Management Southland	$206,000
2025-08	Manawatū-Whanganui Tsunami Evacuation Zone Signage and Public Education Project (.pdf 5.7mb)	Manawatū-Whanganui Emergency Management Group	$41,723
2025-11	A Pilot Federated Electricity Power Outage Map (.pdf 292kb)	Digital Built Aotearoa Foundation	$117,740
2025-14	Whakatāne District Council Tsunami Evacuation Planning (.pdf 253kb)	Whakatāne District Council, with support from Emergency Management Bay of Plenty	$47,000
2025-15	Access and retrieval of fuel in ground tanks (.pdf 335kb)	West Coast Emergency Management Group	$28,400
2025-20	Toolbox for Resilience Education (.pdf 171kb)	Taranaki Catchment Communities	$42,500
2025-21	Napier Hill (Mataruahou) Community Emergency Hub Resilience Project (.pdf 917kb)	Napier Hill (Mataruahou) Community Emergency Response Society	$60,000
2025-24	Strengthening Community Emergency Response through targeted CIMS training and dedicated Iwi partnerships (.pdf 590kb)	Hono (Māori Emergency Management Network)	$50,000
2025-26	Whakakīa te kete rokiroki - Marae Preparedness and Resilience (.pdf 393kb)	Te Ihuwaka	$60,000
		Total	$888,263

Key dates
Applications open for submission	All year round
Closing date for applications	31 January
Applications assessed	February - March
Applicants notified of funding decisions	31 March
Project start date	1 July
Project end date	30 June (the following year)

Projects must meet the following eligibility criteria to be considered for funding.

Please note that any agency or individual can apply to the fund, but your application must be endorsed or sponsored by your relevant CDEM Group.

Eligibility considerations:

Projects are aligned with the National Disaster Resilience Strategy.
Projects will achieve equitable outcomes for Māori communities, marae, hapū, iwi and Māori organisations.
Projects are outcome focused. They will make a material difference.
Outcomes will be applicable across regions / CDEM Groups and projects will be delivered under Creative Commons license.
Projects build on existing work to support national consistency.
Projects and outcomes will not be used in commercial products or services.
Projects are achievable within one year. Applications with a project life of up to three years may be submitted within the support of a proportionate number of CDEM Groups. NEMA discretion and annual funding availability will apply.
Projects can leverage funding and in-kind contributions from other sources.
Operational expenditure (Opex) projects are preferred but Capital expenditure (Capex) is not excluded.

For a list of what project areas that do not qualify for funding please read the CDEM Resilience Fund: Information Series document (.pdf 832kb).

Project #	Project	Lead agency	Amount approved	Output
2024-01	AF8 Programme	Southland CDEM Group	$200,000	AF8 Year 9 Report (.pdf 4.6mb)
2024-06	Governing and Managing Disaster Recovery in Uncertain Times - research successful governance and management structures for disaster recovery, based on case studies and existing guidance (.pdf 4.8 MB)	Simon Markham Consulting Limited	$54,000	Governing and Managing Disaster in Uncertain Times Final Report (.pdf 9.9mb)
2024-07	Refinement and implementation of a framework for Professional Engineering Services during Emergencies (.pdf 5.4 MB)	Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Emergency Management	$50,000	Integration of Professional Services in Emergency Management (.pdf 1.1mb)
2024-08	Ruapehu Marae Resilience Programme - deliver training to 25 marae in the Ruapehu rohe to enhance their resilience during emergencies, self-manage during events and assist the local community (.pdf 2.5 MB)	Ruapehu Emergency Management Office	$115,000	Ruapehu Marae Resilience Programme Final Report (.pdf 588kb)
2024-09	Enhancing Situational Awareness for Extreme Weather Response – using AI to collect and analyse information to enhance the quality of intelligence products (.pdf 292 KB)	Waikato Regional Council	$99,000	Enhancing Situational Awareness for Extreme Weather Response (.pdf 343kb)
2024-12	Te Ātiawa Response and Resilience Development - enhancing emergency response capabilities within the Te Ātiawa community (top of the South Island) (.pdf 509 KB)	Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Maui	$121,600	Te Ātiawa Response and Resilience Development (.pdf 640kb)
2024-15	Training for 26 Te Arawa marae and Te Arawa Lakes Trust staff - to ensure consistent emergency response practices across marae and enhance coordination with CDEM (.pdf 454 KB)	Te Arawa Lakes Trust	$52,835	Project withdrawn
2024-17	A project to establish emergency caches of supplies across the region to support emergency response coordination and operations (.pdf 386 KB)	West Coast Emergency Management Group	$110,000	Emergency Cache Alternate EOCs Final Report (.pdf 1mb)
2024-18	Building on ‘Resilient Westport Evacuation Planning’ for Greymouth, Hokitika and Franz Josef (.pdf 254 KB)	West Coast Emergency Management Group	$45,000	Enhanced Evacuation Planning Final Report (.pdf 319kb)
2024-19	Consistent and effective flood warning and evacuation protocols (.pdf 204 KB)	National Flood Warning Steering Group	$41,100	Consistent and effective flood warning planning Final Report (.pdf 101kb)
		Total	$888,535