For more details on the RPCs’ work, read the NADO Research Foundation report Lessons Learned from Irene: Vermont RPCs Address Transportation System Recovery, which was published in July 2012.  For more information, contact Kissel at 202.624.8829 or ckissel@nado.org.

View the presentation slides below:

In an era of tightening government budgets, regional planning and development organizations need to think creatively about developing and funding initiatives that improve residents’ quality of life. Through partnerships with community foundations, both regional development organizations and foundations can leverage community and external funds, access knowledge and skills beyond their own areas of expertise, broaden their networks, and align work programs to best meet community needs.

This report explores the strategies and rewards behind eight partnerships. The East Central Iowa Council of Governments worked with a community foundation to recapitalize a small business assistance revolving loan fund, and the organizations have continued to collaborate on regional initiatives.  Similarly, the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission began an active partnership with the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama through a successful public health program. Central Minnesota’s Region Five Development Commission has worked with several community foundations, after establishing a strong partnership with the Initiative Foundation. Virginia’s New River Valley Planning District Commission has helped the Community Foundation of the New River Valley discover community needs, while the Foundation has helped NRVPDC engage community members. In Texas and North Carolina, foundations and regional development organizations worked together on projects to provide wildfire relief and equip a business incubator, respectively. Oregon’s Mid-Columbia Economic Development District has been working with the Meyer Memorial Trust to develop a digital tool to connect foundations with community priorities, while the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance operates a resource center to facilitate partnerships. These stories demonstrate how foundations and regional development organizations can help each other leverage resources, expand their toolkits, broaden their networks, and align their work programs.

To read the full report, click here (PDF).

While the RPCs were well positioned to assist because of their established relationships and networks within the towns, their recovery activities often went beyond their typical scope of work. The collaboration between VTrans and the RPCs offers lessons for disaster preparedness and recovery, both crucial elements for building more resilient communities.

This publication was developed with support from the Federal Highway Administration through the NADO Research Foundation’s Center for Transportation Advancement and Regional Development.

• Read the report here. (PDF)
• View the form the RPCs developed (PDF) to assess damage to infrastructure.
• This report was also the subject of a recent NADO Research Foundation webinar.  Listen to the webinar recording or view the slides here.

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Otto explained the traditional roles of Vermont’s RPCs, including transportation, land use, emergency, and natural resource planning, as well as GIS mapping and analysis assistance. After Irene, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) requested help from the RPCs to restore the state’s transportation networks. This primarily involved assisting municipalities with tasks such as mapping, data collection, resource matching, communications, and technical assistance. In Vermont, counties are not responsible for maintaining roads and the towns are small—ranging from 250 to 9,000 in population in this area, with an average of 3,000—and often lack resources and capacity. The Southern Windsor County RPC was well-suited for this task because of existing relationships with local staff and other officials, as well as strong working relationships with state agencies and the network of RPCs helping each other.

Otto also identified areas where the recovery process could have been improved. First, there was no established role for RPCs to assist VTrans in this context. Some staff members lacked the appropriate knowledge and training for the assignments requested. The large size of the task often led to conflicting messages and an inundation of information, as well as changing expectations that made it difficult to keep up with the demanding process. Despite these challenges, the RPC was able to help towns restore a large proportion of their roads that were damaged.

The RPCs’ work was discussed further in the webinar Lessons Learned from Irene: Regional Planning Commission Involvement in Recovery of Vermont’s Transportation Network, which occurred in June 2012. For more information on the Southern Windsor County RPC, click here.

Return to Overview | Next >> Rita Seto, Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Planning Commission (VT)

Following the severe flooding that damaged infrastructure, utilities, buildings, and communities, the Vermont Agency of Transportation asked the state’s RPCs to assist with mapping and data collection, resource matching, communications, help with FEMA Public Assistance, and technical assistance to communities.  Although these tasks were related to the transportation and hazard mitigation planning that RPCs regularly conduct, they went far beyond the typical scope of the RPCs’ training and work.  As a result, the members of VAPDA divided responsibilities, with organizations whose regions were less impacted providing support to those regions with more damage.

View the webinar recording below.

Download the speakers’ slides:

• Part I (large PDF)
• Part II (large PDF)

View the presentation slides without downloading the large files:

Contact NADO Associate Director Carrie Kissel at ckissel@nado.org or 202.624.8829 with questions or feedback.

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The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Rural Futures Lab™ and the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation Release New Report on Assessing Current Policy and Practice Relating to Regional Resilience

The NADO Research Foundation is pleased to announce the release of a new special report, Regional Resilience.  The issue brief summarizes recent research and practice on economic and community resiliency, including a potential framework for regional development organizations to use in preparing and responding to economic shocks.

Disasters, whether natural or man-made disasters, often know no boundaries and a community’s ability to recover is mostly determined by its capacity to respond to the magnitude and severity of the event.  A resilient region anticipates threats, develops resources to reduce their impact, responds appropriately, and recovers.  A resilient approach extends beyond emergency responsiveness by utilizing advanced planning and leadership to address vulnerabilities and support vibrant, healthy communities.

In partnership with Rupri and the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), NADO is working to assist regions in taking a more pro-active approach to pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster economic recovery.  Through partnerships and training, NADO is working with regional development organizations (RDOs) and other partners to explore methods to hasten post-disaster economic recovery and reduce the long-term financial burden of disasters (natural disasters as well as economic disasters) on impacted communities, businesses, and individuals.

View the New Rupri-NADO Report on Regional Resilience (pdf)

The NADO Research Foundation, the nonprofit research affiliate of the National Association of Development Organizations, identifies, studies, and promotes regional solutions and approaches to improving local prosperity and services through the nationwide network of RDOs.  For more information or to access these and other reports online, visit www.NADO.org or contact Program Manager Matt Black at 202.624.7809 or mblack@nado.org.  

This report was produced under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) under cooperative agreement 08-79-04379.  Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations do not necessarily reflect the views of EDA.

(March 1, 2012)

Released August 2005, 8 pages

Click here to view Regional Approaches to Homeland Security Planning and Preparedness: Survey of the Nation’s Regional Development Organizations (PDF).

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Click here to view An Improved Federal Response to Post-Disaster Economic Recovery (PDF).

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The NADO Research Foundation completed this report under a grant with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (No 08-79-04379) to look at post disaster economic recovery initiatives of regional planning and development organizations after the catastrophic events of 2008.

Click here to view A Peer Learning Forum of the NADO Research Foundation:  Innovative Approaches to Disaster Recovery and Economic Resilience (PDF).

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