This week, the University of Bath will host the CBR Cohort 2026 Study Programme, bringing together professionals from policing, emergency management, civil protection, academia and the voluntary sector from across the UK.
In this guest post, Dr Brett Edwards (Department of Politics, Languages & International Studies) explains how lessons from the past can help inform policing and national resilience in an increasingly complex and uncertain security environment.
The geopolitical environment of the mid-2020s has re-established national resilience as a central concern of public policy. The re-emergence of hybrid threats, growing interdependence between digital and physical systems, and the return of strategic competition have revived questions that had largely faded from public debate since the end of the Cold War.
In response to these developments, the University of Bath, with funding from the Bath Policing Academic Centre of Excellence (Bath P-ACE), sponsorship from the National Voluntary Civil Aid Services (NVCAS) and support from a range of heritage and emerging organisations, will host the CBR Cohort 2026 Study Programme on 9-10 July.
The two-day programme has been developed through collaboration between multiple organisations, combining academic expertise, operational experience and policy insight. This partnership reflects the whole-of-society approach that increasingly underpins resilience planning. It also builds on a series of previous events hosted at Bath through the annual CBR Cohort scheme, which supports community building and capacity development in chemical and biological incident and threat response, alongside related resilience sectors.
A key aim of the programme is to explore how historical experience can inform contemporary security analysis. Civilian protection and national security have long been interconnected. By examining the evolution of UK Civil Defence—from the mass mobilisation of the Second World War to Cold War continuity-of-government planning—the programme provides a practical framework for understanding modern crises.
Research undertaken through Cohort members' stewardship of national civil protection archives demonstrates how previous generations responded to uncertainty, resource shortages and contested information environments. These findings challenge the assumption that today's hybrid threat landscape is entirely unprecedented. Instead, they highlight how many of the challenges facing policymakers today—including maintaining public confidence, communicating during crises and making decisions under pressure—have important historical parallels.
Policing remains central to the United Kingdom's resilience framework. The Cohort explores this through Exercise GRAPPLE, a multi-day immersive tabletop simulation designed to test strategic decision-making and multi-agency coordination during a period of escalating international tension. What makes GRAPPLE distinctive is its ability to bring together multiple layers of civilian society within a single scenario. The exercise examines how communities, institutions and national systems respond under the pressures of a major national emergency, offering valuable insights into the relationships between police, government, voluntary organisations and the public.
Historical police guidance also highlights the enduring nature of many resilience challenges. The Police Manuals of Home Defence produced between the 1960s and 1980s, held within the archives of participating organisations, illustrate responsibilities that remain highly relevant today: managing displaced populations, maintaining vital transport routes and preserving public order during periods of severe disruption. Understanding these challenges requires both historical awareness and contemporary behavioural insight.
A defining feature of the CBR Cohort 2026 programme is its multi-agency composition. The Cohort provides a structured environment in which organisations with long-established histories work alongside newer organisations to address shared national challenges. Established institutions such as the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (ICPEM), the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), Raynet, and the National Voluntary Civil Aid Services (NVCAS) contribute historical knowledge, subject expertise and leadership. Alongside them, organisations including RE:ACT, the National Civil Protection Centre (NCPC) and the Defence and Resilience Scenario Simulation Centre (DRSSC) are helping to shape contemporary approaches to resilience and emergency response.
Together, these organisations represent a whole-of-society approach to resilience, ensuring that policy and practice are informed by a broad range of experience and expertise. While each organisation contributes in different ways, it is their collective effort that enables the Cohort to function as a genuinely collaborative initiative.
The programme also benefits from the involvement of interns and students, whose perspectives provide valuable generational insight. Their analytical skills, creativity and willingness to challenge assumptions help ensure that the Cohort reflects the breadth of society it seeks to support. Their participation not only enriches discussions but also contributes to the long-term development of resilience professionals and future leaders across the sector.
As resilience challenges continue to evolve, the value of collaboration and shared learning has never been greater. By bringing together practitioners, researchers, volunteers and policymakers, the CBR Cohort 2026 programme aims to create opportunities for participants to learn from one another while drawing lessons from historical experience. Through these conversations, connections and practical exercises, the event will help strengthen understanding of the role that policing and wider society play in building national resilience for the future.
To find out more about the event, and next steps, please contact Dr Brett Edwards (bwie20@bath.ac.uk).
End note
The Bath Policing Academic Centre of Excellence is one of nine Policing Academic Centres of Excellence (P‑ACE), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Its role is to strengthen connections between academic research and policing practice.
Commenting on the event, Professor Katie Maras, Co-Director of Bath P-ACE, said:
"We are delighted to support the CBR Cohort 2026 event through our Rapid Response Fund, bringing together policymakers, practitioners and researchers to strengthen the UK's resilience to modern hybrid threats. This is particularly relevant for UK policing, as many threats are first felt at the community level and require coordinated, multi-agency responses”.
“Policing plays a central role in safeguarding communities, maintaining public order and protecting critical infrastructure as part of a holistic approach to national resilience. The event will provide valuable learning opportunities for attendees, including those working in policing, and will generate practical insights to support responses to critical incidents."
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