State-Led Resilience and Recovery Management Curriculum

Objective: Understand the difference between emergency management and the over-all disaster management process, identify state roles, and assess capacity-building needs.

 

Introduction to Disaster Management Life Cycle (1.5 hours)

• Overview of emergency management vs. the post-disaster recovery life cycle

• Why states need to take greater responsibility: Federal funding reductions and FEMA changes

• Key roles and capacities states must develop on an urgent basis -- e.g., inter-agency coordination, finance, community engagement, economic impact analysis, long-term recovery planning and how to best use public-private resources

• Activity: Group discussion on current gaps and opportunities

• Case Study: States denied FEMA assistance 

 

Threat and Vulnerability Identification (1.25 hours)

• Using tools like the National Risk Index for pre-disaster assessment

• Identifying vulnerabilities in infrastructure, housing, and economic systems

• Data organization and tracking for risk management

• Activity: Mapping exercise to identify state-specific vulnerabilities

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Mitigation & Resilience Strategies (1.5 hours)

• Best practices from states with robust strategies

• Creating a State Resilience Index: Key indicators and applications

• Activity: Drafting a basic State Resilience Index framework

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Understanding Economic Impacts of Disasters (1.75 hours)

• Calculating economic impacts: Baseline economy vs. post-disaster impacts

• Understanding and planning for workforce impacts

• Resources and strategies to help with workforce issues

• Developing dashboards for tracking recovery progress

• Case Study: Economic recovery tracking in post-disaster communities

• Activity: Designing a basic economic impact dashboard

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Electives:

1. Decision-making in times of crisis: the early days after disasters are full of misinformation, disinformation, missing information, unclear lines of authorities and other challenges. This elective will provide a case study on the fiscal and political infighting which often is an integral part of the post-disaster process.

2. Working with Volunteer Organizations and Non-Profits. This will explore lessons learned from the Joplin 2010 tornado response and the Hurricane Katrina experience in Mississippi.

3. Media and Immediate Disaster Crisis Management.

Objective: Equip participants with skills for crisis management and stabilization within the first 12- 24 months post-disaster.

 

Emergency Response and Crisis Management (1.5 hours)

• Coordinating immediate response: Roles of state, local, and private sectors

• Managing communication strategies during a crisis

• Examples of effective crisis management from past disasters

• Activity: Simulation of an emergency response scenario

 

Short-Term Stabilization: Community Needs and Housing (1.25 hours)

• Stabilization aș a unique and critical part of disaster management 

• Emergency shelter and temporary accommodations

• Surveying and mapping housing impacts

• Financing temporary housing: Government-funded vs. creative solutions (e.g., pre-fabricated buildings)

• Case Study: Florida Keys volunteer housing solutions

• Activity: Develop a temporary housing plan

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Short-Term Stabilization: Infrastructure (1.5 hours)

• Surveying and prioritizing damaged infrastructure (roads, utilities, public buildings)

• Debris removal: Public vs. private property, hazardous materials

• Activity: Prioritization exercise for infrastructure recovery

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Community Assistance in Stabilization (1.5 hours)

• Standing up community-based Long-Term Recovery Groups (LTRGs)

• Managing donations and volunteers: Logistics and distribution

• Communication strategies for community engagement

• Case Study: Successful LTRGs in disaster-affected communities

• Activity: Draft a community engagement plan

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Health and Human Services in Stabilization (1.75 hours)

• Addressing mental health needs for communities, children, and leaders

• State and federal resources for health and human services

• Preventing population exodus through community support

• Activity: Develop a mental health support plan for a disaster scenario

Objective: Focus on long-term housing and infrastructure recovery, including financing, planning, and resilience.

 

Long-Term Housing Recovery (1.5 hours)

• Types of financial assistance for homeowners and renters

• Navigating HUD CDBG-DR funding and Action Plan development

• Permanent housing solutions and recovery planning

• Case Study: Rapid housing recovery examples

• Activity: Draft a housing recovery Action Plan

 

Infrastructure Recovery: Building Back Better (1.25 hours)

• Assessing pre-disaster infrastructure conditions for reimbursement eligibility

• Building back better vs. rebuilding the same

• Financing infrastructure recovery

• Considerations related to upgrading to code

• Activity: Prioritize infrastructure projects for resilience

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Infrastructure Recovery: Logistics and Execution (1.5 hours)

• Coordinating Army Corps, private contractors, and citizen labor

• Managing hazardous materials and property access permissions

• Using Dislocated Worker Grants for labor funding

• Case Study: Infrastructure recovery in a major disaster

• Activity: Develop a  debris management plan for disaster debris removal

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Financing Recovery (1.5 hours)

• Understanding reimbursable costs and federal funding timelines

• Creative financing: Bridge loans, forgivable loans, CDFIs

• Parametric insurance as a scalable model

• Community Disaster Loans 

• Case Study: Appalachian CDFI recovery financing

• Activity: Design a financing strategy for a recovery scenario

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Public-Private Partnerships and Philanthropy (1.75 hours)

• Leveraging philanthropy and public-private partnerships for recovery

• Matching funders and volunteers to community needs

• Examples of successful partnerships in disaster recovery

• Activity: Develop a public-private partnership proposal

Objective: Address economic recovery, business retention, workforce and community resilience strategies.

Economic Recovery: Measuring and Tracking (1.5 hours)

• Calculating economic impacts and tracking recovery progress

• Developing economic recovery dashboards

• Activity: Create a sample economic recovery dashboard

 

Economic Recovery: Supporting Businesses (1.25 hours)

• Business retention surveys and working with business organizations

• Financing small businesses: SBA loans, grants, and creative financing

• Types of technical assistance and where to find them

• Communicating recovery strategies to businesses through special events

• Case Study: Tourism recovery in a disaster-affected region

• Activity: Design a small business recovery workshop

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Industry-Specific Recovery (1.5 hours)

• Evaluating and addresses impacts to manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and other base industries

• Incentivizing business mitigation

• Workforce support: Unemployment programs and Dislocated Worker Grants

• Special issues when your downtown is damaged  

• Case Studies: Agricultural recovery and downtown revitalization

• Activity: Develop an industry or location-specific recovery plan

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Community Recovery and Relocation (1.5 hours)

• Challenges and strategies for community buy-backs and relocation

• Engaging communities in long-term recovery planning

• Examples of successful community recovery plans

• Disaster re-zoning and post-disaster building code requirement ordinances Activity: Draft a community relocation plan

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Natural and Cultural Resources Recovery (1.75 hours)

• Environmental impacts and assessments

• Surveying and redeveloping historic and cultural sites

• Community engagement for cultural resource recovery

• Resources for parks, museums, and cultural centers

• Case Study: Recovery of a historic site post-disaster

• Activity: Develop a cultural resource recovery plan

Objective: Synthesize learning, assess recovery efforts, and plan for continuous improvement.

 

Integrated Long-Term Recovery Planning (1.5 hours)

• Developing comprehensive long-term recovery plans

• Coordinating housing, infrastructure, economic and community recovery

• Examples of state and county recovery plans

• Activity: Draft an outline and prioritization matrix for a state-level recovery plan

 

After-Action Assessment (1.25 hours)

• Conducting after-action reviews to evaluate recovery efforts

• Identifying lessons learned and best practices

• Case Study: After-action assessment from a major disaster

• Activity: Conduct a mock after-action review

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Program Improvement and Resilience Building (1.5 hours)

• Using after-action findings to improve state programs

• Updating Hazard Mitigation Plans and State Resilience Index

• Building a culture of resilience

• Activity: Propose program improvements based on a case study

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Navigating Federal Programs (1.5 hours)

• Building your connections and understanding federal resources (e.g., HUD, SBA, USDA, EDA, DOL, DOI)

• Preparing for reduced federal involvement and developing internal resources

• Activity: Develop a federal resource navigation plan

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Capstone Exercise and Closing (1.75 hours)

• Capstone Exercise: Teams develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan for a hypothetical state disaster scenario, integrating all modules (housing, infrastructure, economic recovery, community engagement, etc.)

• Presentation of plans and feedback from ISD Fellows

• Closing remarks: Next steps for states, ongoing support from ISD Academy

• Activity: Group presentations and Q&A