Developing a
Framework for
Measuring
Community
Resilience
_________________________
SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP
Dominic A. Brose, Rapporteur
Committee on Measures of Community Resilience:
From Lessons Learned to Lessons Applied
Resilient America Roundtable
Policy and Global Affairs Division
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This summary report and the workshop on which it was based were supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency under contract HSFE40-14-C-006. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number: 13: 978-0-309-34738-9
International Standard Book Number: 10: 0-309-34738-6
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Room 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2015 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This page intentionally left blank.
Committee on Measures of Community Resilience
Susan L. Cutter (Chair), Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography, University of South Carolina and Director, Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute
Gerald E. Galloway, Jr. (NAE), Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering and Affiliate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland
Robert Kolasky, Director, Strategy and Policy, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Infrastructure Protection
Linda Langston, Linn County (Iowa) Board of Supervisors
Richard Reed, Senior Vice President, Disaster Cycle Services, American Red Cross
Jacqueline Snelling, Senior Policy Advisor to the Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Individual and Community Preparedness Division
Staff
Lauren Alexander Augustine, Director, Program on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events
Elizabeth A. Eide, Director, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
Sherrie Forrest, Program Officer, Program on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events
John H. Brown, Jr., Program and Administrative Manager, Program on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events
Jamie Biglow, Senior Program Assistant, Program on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events
Eric J. Edkin, Senior Program Assistant, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
This page intentionally left blank.
Preface and Acknowledgments
In 2012, the National Research Council convened a committee of experts to address the importance of resilience, discuss different challenges and approaches for building resilience, and outline steps for implementing resilience efforts in communities and within government. The committee’s report Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative provided a central reference for the current state of the nation’s resilience to disasters, and presents ways in which the nation can move forward on a path toward greater resilience.1 The report, sponsored by eight federal agencies and a community resilience organization, was national in scope and extended to stakeholders beyond the Washington, D.C. governmental community to recognize that experiential information necessary to understand national resilience lies in communities across the United States. On September 5, 2014 the National Research Council convened a one-day workshop in Washington, D.C. that built upon the report’s recommendation to develop a framework of resilience measures and indicators to support communities in increasing their resilience.
This report is a summary of the one-day workshop, which consisted of a keynote address and two panel sessions in the morning, and afternoon breakout sessions that began the discussion on how to develop a framework of resilience measures.
This workshop summary report has been prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The statements made are those of the rapporteur and do not necessarily represent positions of the workshop participants as a whole, the planning committee, or the National Research Council. This workshop summary is the result of the efforts and collaboration among several organizations and individuals. The workshop’s success would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions by the many speakers, panelists, moderators, and other participants who donated their time and expertise to inform these discussions. We would like to say a special thanks to Susan Cutter, Gerald Galloway, Roy Wright, Thomas de Lannoy, Michael Szönyi, Chuck Wemple, Arrietta Chakos, Sandi Fowler, Clay Stamp, Miriam Chion, Laura Cabiness, John Carberry, Lori Peek, Bill Solecki, Eric Tate, and Julie Hassett for their insightful presentations and discussion. We wish to also extend a sincere thanks to each member of the planning committee for their contributions in scoping, developing, and carrying out this project, Susan Cutter, chair, Gerald Galloway, Bob Kolasky, Richard Reed, Linda Langston, and Jacqueline Snelling.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Erwann Michel-Kerjan, University of Pennsylvania; Chris Poland, Chris D Poland Consulting Engineer; Clay Stamp, Talbot County Government; Monica Schoch-Spana, University of Pittsburgh; and Gene Whitney, Independent Consultant.
______________
1National Research Council (NRC). 2012. Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative. The National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Mary Lou Zoback, Stanford University. Appointed by the National Academies, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.
The Resilient America Roundtable2 will use the workshop ideas as it develops a framework of resilience measures/indicators. The framework can help communities better understand their progress towards building resilience. The participants’ input and feedback from the plenary and the breakout sessions will be included in that framework and shared with the pilot communities and partner communities participating in the Resilient America program. Over the next two years, we will continue to receive additional input from our partners, through activities such as meetings, workshops, and webinars, and we will test the framework in our pilot communities. The overarching goal is to develop a framework that is applicable to many communities for measuring or tracking their efforts for building resilience.
Lauren Alexander Augustine, Director
Program on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events
______________
2Further information on the Resilient America Roundtable can be found at: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/resilientamerica/. For more information on this workshop and to view the plenary discussions of the workshop, please visit: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/ResilientAmerica/PGA_152193.
Contents
2 DEVELOPING RESILIENCE INDICATORS AND MEASURES
3 IMPLEMENTING RESILIENCE INDICATORS AND MEASURES AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL
4 DEVELOPING A DECISION-MAKING FRAMEWORK
C STEERING COMMITTEE, SPEAKER, AND MODERATOR BIOGRAPHIES
TABLES, FIGURES AND BOXES
TABLES
1-1 Top Down Approaches & Indexes for building resilience
1-2 Bottom Up Approaches & Indexes for building resilience
A-1 Vulnerable Communities Breakout Table
A-2 Critical and Environmental Infrastructure Breakout Table
A-3 Social Factors Breakout Table
A-4 Built Environment Breakout Table
FIGURES
BOXES