Building a Resilient Community: The Lyttelton Timebank

Facing unforeseen disasters, communities often rely on tight-knit networks for support. But what if there is a structured way to enhance these connections for the community, fostering resilience and cooperation? 

Meet the Lyttelton timebank - a unique innovative solution examined by two renowned researchers in the field of Marketing - Professor Lucie K. Ozanne from the University of Canterbury and Professor Julie L. Ozanne from the University of Melbourne. Their research sheds light on an alternative market exchange system that can build a resilient and connected community.

Key takeaway

Before the Christchurch earthquakes, Lucie immersed herself in the field for almost two years, witnessing firsthand how the Lyttelton timebank evolved beyond its initial purpose which is a marketplace for local services. What Lucie discovered is over time, the timebank created a vital communication and social network that members activated to solve diverse practical problems facing the community. Lucie's findings, a rare gem in disaster studies with valuable pre-disaster data, highlight the crucial role that timebanks play in community resiliency during disaster relief and over the long years of recovery and reconstruction.

Why this research?

As a consumer researcher, Lucie is intrigued by how people get their needs met outside of the traditional market structures, such as in timebanks. As a member of the Lyttelton timebank organisation (an industry partner of this research), Lucie was granted access to trading and focus group data, emails, minutes of meetings, correspondence, and formal reports, which served as the foundation for the analysis along with extensive qualitative interviews.

Expected impacts

The local timebank leveraged the insights of this research to craft a disaster management plan for the surrounding harbour communities, which was successfully implemented after a subsequent flooding event. The Lyttelton timebank also shared the recommendations with new timebanks, guiding them in facilitating trades to support community resilience. In addition, this research demonstrated its potential for securing funding and support from local government and other entities by delivering a report on the timebank’s response to the earthquakes, commissioned by the New Zealand Civil Defence and Emergency Management Authority. It is now a beacon for timebanks across New Zealand, aiding in funding access and illustrating their potential for community impact.

Beyond immediate applications, the research lays a foundation for policymakers to understand, develop and promote community capacities, fostering more resilient societies over the long term.

Next steps

While the research project is complete, its impacts continue to ripple through communities. As policymakers, community organisations, and other stakeholders absorb the lessons, the hope is that the lessons learned from the Lyttelton timebank benefit communities far and wide.

Lucie encourages you to reach out if you would like to learn more about this research.

Related media

A secret weapon for true disaster resilience – TedxChristchurch

Banking on time - RNZ

Pay it forward: the New Zealand town where your time is a currency – The Guardian

Outputs

Reports

Ozanne, J.L., & Ozanne, L.K. (2013). Developing local partners in emergency planning and management: Lyttleton time bank as a builder and mobiliser of resources during the Canterbury earthquakes. Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

Journal articles

Ozanne, L. K., & Ozanne, J. L. (2021). Disaster recovery: How ad hoc marketing systems build and mobilize social capital for service delivery. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 40(3): 372-388.

Ozanne, L. K., & Ozanne, J. L. (2020). The power of sharing to support consumers through liminality. Australasian Marketing Journal, 28(3): 34-41.

Ozanne, L.K. & Ozanne, J.L. (2016). How alternative consumer markets can build community resiliency. European Journal of Marketing, 50(3-4): 330-357.*

Ozanne, L. (2010). Learning to exchange time: Benefits and obstacles to time banking. International Journal of Community Currency Research, 14(A): 1-16.

Conference presentations

Ozanne, L. (2023). The strength of community, or how a bank can contribute to community resilience. The second conference on community disaster preparedness, Luxembourg, 26 October.

*Achievement: This article was a highly commended paper in the 2017 Emerald Literati Awards, and a Finalist in the 2022 AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Annual Award for Responsible Research.