Resilience is a growing business. The number of researchers and centers studying resilience in one way or another has blossomed over the past two years. The number of federal agencies with resilience initiatives or divisions working in resilience policy grows daily. All of these are worthwhile efforts and will clearly help the nation focus on the important task of ensuring that we can better recover from significant disturbances to the fabric of our society no matter the scale or cause. The more we know as the result of evidence-based research and the more that we create policy and procedures for multi-disciplined, cross-sectional response and recovery, the better America will be able to protect itself from large scale disruptions.
Unfortunately, most of the research efforts remain largely uncoordinated. While the numerous conferences, workshops and symposia serve an important function for sharing information, they tend toward examining focused aspects of resilience and do not shed light on the overall state of resilience research nor do they identify research gaps and requirements in a way useful to government, academic, or scientific organizations seeking to sponsor work in resilience.
Similarly there is no federal interagency process for resilience. Nothing better demonstrates this than an examination of the various federal agency definitions of resilience and even the different ways the definitions are expressed and applied within a single agency. Agencies are developing resilience plans and applying resilience resources with no common policy framework to ensure that these resources and organizational efforts are effective.
There is evidence to suggest that this challenge is recognized. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recently organized Regional Consortium Coordinating Council (RCCC), an effort by the Office of Infrastructure Protection to bring together regional organizations that are attempting to work significant interdependency issues, is clearly a step in the right direction. Last year’s two-day symposium for researchers by the DHS, Science and Technology Directorate, University Programs Division attempted to survey the field of resilience research although there has been no identifiable follow-up to document either results or a coordinated way forward. The need for coordination remains.
CARRI intends to try to help with a very small part of the research challenge. Collaborating with other centers and institutes who work in this field, we will convene a day-long workshop for researchers in conjunction with the Annual Natural Hazards Workshop in Colorado this summer. We are excited that Director Kathleen Tierney and the staff of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder have graciously agreed to work with CARRI in convening this workshop. We are in the process now of working with a group of associates from other centers to define an agenda that will assist in surveying the current state of thinking about community resilience and identify significant research needs. I will provide more information in subsequent postings as the agenda develops.
Resiliency Is A Growing Business
ReplyDeleteRegrettably, you are accurate by stating that most of the community resiliency research efforts remain largely uncoordinated and I would add that these efforts began without preliminary plans, concept of short-term goals or structure as to how we can begin to achieve sustainability/resiliency with national, harmonized efforts. Sadly to me it is somewhat reminiscent of the still on-going national ‘interoperability’ communications concerns/debates, in that the powers to be, threw millions of dollars at, without any thought as to guidance, definition and without any leadership. We are still for the most part unable to suitably communicate with others and across jurisdictions. It was not too long ago that I was asked to oversee and give some suggestions on a multi-jurisdictions drill that was done in the Memphis TN regional area and I quickly became aware that various and diverse emergency chief officers were carrying at least ‘four’ different emergency frequency radios, in order so that they might correlate with the numerous PD, Fire, EM and specialized teams etc. Not a good sign.
I also strongly agree that academia research has long been long overdue and a critical component, not only in beginning to identify the existing gaps in resilience research but also in understanding the patterns of why some populations are committed and take action to resilience and some do not. Is it because some have been exposed or have experienced some types of disasters and therefore have become more resilient and some have not? I well remember responding to a complicated multiple dwelling fire in a depressed area of town (where fires and emergencies is the norm) and as I was heading up the interior stairs to locate the seat of the fire (in a severe smoke and heat environment) an African American adult was calmly evacuating the building through the same interior stairs when he composedly said “the fire is located in the third floor, left side” giving me precious spare time. I do believe that there is something here (exposure and experience building resiliency).
The recent US Airways Flight 1549 “Miracle on the Hudson” to me is a indication of citizen resilience, as I visualize them accurately evacuating the downed plane on a speedily running, shaky river and then patiently standing on the airplane wings awaiting rescue by none other than “private party” boats. The city emergency response agencies where there after the fact and there is much to say about this event, as many emergency departments took credit for preparedness when in fact the opposite was to some extent true. This specific ‘controlled’ and rehearsed emergency situation of the crew (besides the pilot’s landing expertise) and the confidence of the civilians in them (crew) led them to become a resilient group and performed a well-coordinated evacuation and therefore a successful outcome.
In addition, can it also be (non-commitment in resiliency), due because of a public distrust of government and emergency agencies? Future research needs to identify these gaps before we spend vast amount of limited dollars and time, which we are doing now. Research should also focus and training on different types of disasters and not just prepare for home-based emergency pre-plans and storage of emergency supplies and kits, which are seen in most resilient web sites, in case of an emergency.
Most disasters or disruptions will occur when one is at work in the office, school or away from the home in the community without these pre-positioned plans or emergency kits. I think we would also agree that because every community and their inherent infrastructures are different, these specific cities and townships know best what risks their communities face thereby how to best use the lessons learned from the research efforts that has flourished over the years or possibly the gaps identified.
I would assert that there have been some positive programs such as the grass roots, bottom-up, ‘citizen-corps’ that is being encouraged and supported by the Office of Community Preparedness, Department of Homeland Security. I do believe that they are beginning to make a difference and engage the citizens and communities in adopting a culture of preparedness. Here community based organizations, such non-governmental (NGOs), Faith Based organizations and others such as Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), educate, and train citizens in disaster preparedness, basic disaster response skills, etc. etc. Community minded, involved First responders, Fire, EMS and Police, with a stake in the results, usually run these organizations and have proven to be a visible advantage in these efforts. They bring together community and governmental leaders and involve them in emergency preparedness. Some Citizen Corps Councils will feature local activities that reflect new and existing national programs such as Neighborhood Watch, Community Emergency Response Teams, Volunteers in Police Service, and the Medical Reserve Corps. Some will include local programs that involve partnerships with law enforcement agencies, hospitals, first responders, and schools. (Citizen-Corps)
I commend CARRI in assisting in these research efforts, as it will be a challenge, but at the end of the day I do believe that CARRI will make an impact and difference in this critical community need of realizing a culture of preparedness.
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