Across the country, local and regional agencies are finding new ways of building resilience through their day-to-day decisions.  By applying a new lens to not only disaster recovery but also to planning, zoning, capital investment, lending, and other routine services, they are making their communities better able to withstand and bounce back from natural disasters and the impacts of climate change.

On May 19-20, the NADO Research Foundation and the International Economic Development Council (http://www NULL.iedconline NULL.org/) (IEDC), with support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), brought federal, regional, and local leaders together for a discussion about how they can work together to achieve better resilience outcomes on the ground.  Representatives from RDOs and local governments—whose communities have all been impacted by natural disasters in the past five years—shared how their recovery experiences have changed their approaches to everyday decision-making and how they are finding creative ways to use federal resources to fortify their regions against future hazards and disruptions.  Federal partners from over a dozen agencies highlighted recent efforts to support disaster and climate resilience through new and existing policies, programs, and investments.

Participants engaged in a “gallery walk” brainstorming exercise, rapid-fire presentations on their resilience initiatives, and breakout discussions on topics ranging from data to infrastructure to rural resilience.  Additionally, they heard from thought leaders from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (https://www NULL.whitehouse NULL.gov/administration/eop/ceq), EDA, National Academy of Sciences Resilient America Roundtable (http://sites NULL.nationalacademies NULL.org/PGA/resilientamerica/), the Royal Netherlands Embassy (http://www NULL.the-netherlands NULL.org/), and others, and had the opportunity to work with many of these experts to tackle specific resilience-related challenges.

By targeting communities on the forefront of resilience and fostering a broad interagency conversation that reached beyond the primary disaster recovery and preparedness players, this convening inspired new ideas for strengthening resilience and institutionalizing it as an integral objective of participants’ ongoing work.  The NADO Research Foundation plans to synthesize the outcomes of the convening and share them broadly in the near future.

Event background information, the agenda, and participant contact information are available here.

Attendees participated in a “gallery walk” brainstorming exercise to share practice and policy suggestions for improving resilience efforts.

Training Presentations: 

• Resilience and Economic Development:  Moving from Idea to Action 
  Josh Barnes, Disaster Recovery Coordinator, EDA
• Building Community Resilience…Making Resilience the New Normal
  Lauren Alexander Augustine, Director, Program on Risk, Resilience and Extreme Events and Associate Executive Director, Division on Earth and Life Studies, The National Academy of Sciences 
• Adaptation and Resilience Projects in the Netherlands
  Dale Morris, Senior Economist, Royal Netherlands Embassy 

Participants heard from a variety of national, regional, and local leaders and practitioners. Here, Josh Barnes from EDA discusses how disasters can serve as an opportunity to diversify and strengthen economies.

Participant Presentations:

A sampling of participants delivered 5 minute, 5 slide presentations on how their communities and regions are incorporating resilience into ongoing disaster recovery efforts as well as planning, zoning, capital investment, lending, and other day-to-day decisions.  

• Doug Elliott, East Central Iowa Council of Governments, Cedar Rapids, IA
• Robin Edgeworth, City of Tuscaloosa, AL
• Randy DeShazo, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Commission, Pinellas Park, FL
• Miriam Chion, Association of Bay Area Governments, Oakland, CA
• Dan Albrecht, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, Winooski, VT
• Pat Steed, Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Bartow, FL
• Mayor John O’Brien, Town of Lyons, CO
• LisaBeth Barajas, Metropolitan Council, Twin Cities, MN
• Chris Campany, Windham Regional Commission, Brattleboro, VT
• Robin Barnes, Greater New Orleans, Inc., New Orleans, LA

A variety of breakout sessions provided opportunities for taking a look a different facets of resilience, including infrastructure investments, public health, data collection, and regional planning.  Key takeaways were shared with the entire group.

Additional Resources from the NADO Research Foundation:

• Lessons from the Storm:  Case Studies on Economic Resilience and Recovery
  
• Resilient Regions:  Integrating Economic Development Strategies, Sustainability Principles, and Hazard Mitigation Planning
  
• Regional Resilience:  Research and Policy Brief
  
• Building Economic Resilience in the Kerr Tar Region:  Recommendations for Linking Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies and Hazard Mitigation Plans
  
• Lessons Learned from Irene:  Vermont RPCs Address  Transportation System Recovery
• [Webinar]:  Innovation and Opportunity:  A Closer Look at the New CEDS Content Guidelines
• [Webinar]:  Building Economic Resilience in Your Community:  Linking Economic Development and Hazard Mitigation Planning 
• [Webinar]:  The Regional Development Organization’s Role in Disaster Recovery 

For more information about this event or NADO RF’s resilience initiatives, contact Sara James at [email protected] (sjames null@null nado NULL.org) or Brett Schwartz at [email protected] (bschwartz null@null nado NULL.org).