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JANUARY 2022
Welcome to 2022, A New Year Full of New Possibilities for Partnership!
After an exciting year of growth and action, the Resilient Nation Partnership Network (RNPN) is beginning 2022 with intention. We will continue to advance our central priorities: promoting natural hazard mitigation and climate adaptation actions, advancing equitable resilience initiatives, and expanding capacity through partnerships. As we plan for this year, let’s make sure we always do so in a way that aligns with and supports our shared vision: to create more resilient communities. Join us for our 2022 kickoff on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 1:00 p.m. ET as we prepare for another year of solving challenges, together.
We thank you for your continued partnership and look forward to another exceptional year of collaborative action!
The Resilient Nation Partnership Network
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National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB): Latino and immigrant communities continue to be affected by the existing challenges of neighborhood change and involuntary displacement, challenges that have only been compounded by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it makes equitable neighborhood development more relevant than ever. NALCAB will provide two cohorts of grants to support the implementation of an existing development action plan (Implementation Grants). NALCAB anticipates awarding up to 12 grants for a period of 12 months. The application deadline is February 14 at 11:59 p.m. PT and the grant period is April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023.
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Partner News
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): NOAA and NFWF Grant $39.5 Million for National Coastal Resilience Projects
The NFWF and NOAA announced $39.5 million in new grants from the National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) to support coastal resilience projects in 28 states and U.S. territories. The 49 grants announced will generate more than $58.3 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of nearly $97.8 million.
Chasing Resilience Can Help Prepare for Change, or Not!
Resilience has emerged as a universal goal for communities facing or responding to change. A problem lies in that pursing resilience haphazardly can actually reduce a community’s ability to adapt to future conditions. In researching and delivering a community resilience course, applying resilience can be described as four, often conflicting, metaphors - risk reduction, engineering resilience, panarchy, and/or diversity/complexity. If this apparent paradox heightens your interest, you may be interested in reading Exploring a Community’s Quest for Resilience: Struggling with Past Plans.
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Blog: Nearly One Million Virginians Are at Risk of Flooding by 2080. The State Just Released a Plan to Address That Risk
Virginia joins a growing list of coastal states that have released Coastal Resilience Master Plans to address sea level rise and other forms of flooding. EDF’s Emily Steinhilber explains how this plan is critical to Virginia's future.
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FEMA Releases New Strategic Plan
Administrator Deanne Criswell released the agency’s “2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan,” which outlines a bold vision and three ambitious goals designed to address key challenges the agency faces during a pivotal moment in the field of emergency management. The goals are to instill equity as a foundation of emergency management, lead the whole of community in climate resilience, and promote and sustain a ready FEMA and prepared nation. These goals position FEMA to address the increasing range and complexity of disasters, support the diversity of communities we serve, and complement the nation’s growing expectations of the emergency management community.
Electric Power Board (EPB) of Chattanooga: Industry Needs Reliable Resilient Power Grids
Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) addresses the need to build in resilience, reliability, and sustainable practices in power grids. Through their PEER Gold recertification, EPB Chattanooga has achieved the most resilient and reliable PEER-certified utility power grid in the United States. This supports buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, like Volkswagen’s facilities.
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Preserve Healthy Indoor Air Quality During and After Emergencies and Disaster Events
People spend most of their time indoors and rely on indoor spaces for shelter. Weather-related and man-made emergencies and disasters can damage homes and buildings and make the air indoors unhealthy to breathe. EPA’s Emergencies and IAQ webpage provides tips on how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from weather-related and man-made emergencies and disasters that affect indoor environments.
After a flood or hurricane event, standing water and wet materials can become breeding grounds for microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, and mold. Wildfire smoke from outdoors can enter your home and make it unhealthy to breathe indoor air, too. Power outages that last longer than a few hours can have negative impacts on indoor environments. Carbon monoxide (CO) resulting from the improper use of portable generators is one of the most significant threats following a power outage.
NOAA, Census Bureau Award $50,000 to Teams Building Data Solutions to Climate Crisis
NOAA announced the winners of its climate competition within the Open Data for Good Grand Challenge, which is part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s The Opportunity Project. The competition was designed to accelerate the production of new digital tools to help local decision makers use federal data for better climate resilience planning. NOAA divided its $50,000 prize among four teams in these four categories:
- “Best All Around and Most Responsive to NOAA’s Challenge”
- “Best User Interface and User Experience”
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“Best Tool for Equity and Inclusion”
Fair Skies Consulting: Two More Wisconsin School Districts Become StormReady
StormReady partners increase their knowledge, awareness and resiliency to weather events by following federal best standards to mitigate weather. Standards include a plan of action, enhanced communications, drills and annual training.
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American Flood Coalition: 2021 in Review
This past year marked historic federal and state investments in flood resilience, combined with continued progress on local flood-reduction projects. The American Flood Coalition breaks down the year and looks forward to driving adaptation in 2022 and beyond.
FEMA Celebrates Cooperating Technical Partners (CTP) Recognition Program Winners
FEMA’s annual CTP Recognition Program highlights excellent work by CTPs across the country. FEMA recently released two story maps that share the work of the 2021 CTP Recognition Program winners, the Illinois State Water Survey and Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources (ISWS/IDNR), and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). This work includes a range of tasks from delivering high-quality hazard and risk assessment products to empowering and educating communities on risk mitigation. The Recognition Program helps showcase great work and helps increase overall program visibility. As a benefit of their recognition, FEMA co-created a story map with ISWS/IDNR featuring their award-winning program. The MDE and its role in developing the Coast-Smart Climate Ready Action Boundary map viewer secured an honorable mention. MDE and FEMA also co-created a story map as a benefit of its recognition.
I-DIEM Equity Response Teams Deploy to Kentucky
The Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM)'s Equity Response Team is on the ground in tornado-impacted areas of Kentucky, monitoring equitable response and recovery among marginalized, rural, and geographically-isolated communities. Equity is essential to ensure access to resources that allow for a short- and long-term recovery.
EcoAdapt: Present at the 5th National Adaptation Forum – Call for Proposals Open Now!
Share your expertise at the premier gathering of adaptation professionals by presenting at the National Adaptation Forum in Baltimore, Maryland October 25-27, 2022! Submit your proposal by February 4. For more information, contact Info@NationalAdaptationForum.org.
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American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues Hosted a Public Webinar on Green and Nature-Based Infrastructure Solutions for New England
The American Association for the Advancement of Science Center's for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues held the first of its regional webinars developed in consultation with FEMA Region 1. Panelists, including representatives from EPA, FEMA, NOAA, USACE, Trust for Public Lands, University of New Hampshire, and Environmental Law Institute, highlighted multi-disciplinary approaches and resources for equitable nature-based infrastructure solutions. For more information, please contact the AAAS EPI Center at epicenter@aaas.org or connect with us on Twitter @AAASEPICenter.
AAAS EPI Center Hosted Convening Coordination of Federal Agency Research and Programmatic Efforts on Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions
The AAAS Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues hosted a federal convening on green and nature-based infrastructure planned with the US EPA Office of Water’s Green Infrastructure staff, was attended by 12 federal agencies. The event advanced federal efforts for cooperative and multi-disciplinary approaches for equitable planning and implementation of green and nature-based infrastructure. For more information, please contact the AAAS EPI Center at epicenter@aaas.org or connect with us on Twitter @AAASEPICenter.
The Resilient Activist: Replenish Yourself, Nurture Earth, Inspire Community
The Resilient Activist’s mission is to build resilience, optimism, and hope in response to the impact of the climate crisis. It provides community-building programs that offer inspiration, self‑care, and mental health support for those who are concerned about Earth’s environmental and social justice needs.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Publishes Climate Action Plan, November 2021
HUD’s new Climate Action Plan will guide the integration of climate resilience and environmental justice into its core programs and policies. The actions outlined in this plan will help communities across the nation build more resilient infrastructure, promote responsible utility consumption, create good-paying jobs, and address environmental injustices. HUD’s Climate Action Plan is organized around three overarching Climate Action Goals for programs and policies under HUD’s purview:
- Goal 1: Increase Climate Resilience
- Goal 2: Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Goal 3: Pursue Environmental Justice
HUD Allocates More Than $2 Billion to Advance Equitable Disaster Recovery, Build Climate Change Resilience
Over $2 billion in HUD funding will go to communities to recover from and build resilience to natural disasters that occurred in 2020, with a specific focus on low- and moderate-income populations. The funds are specified to be used for: “disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, economic revitalization, and mitigation, in the most impacted and distressed areas.”
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP): Public Comment Period for the Fifth National Climate Assessment Is Now Open
USGCRP is pleased to announce that the call for public comment on the annotated chapter outlines for the Fifth National Climate Assessment is now open. This opportunity runs through February 20.
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2022 Natural Hazards Workshop: Call for Proposals!
The Natural Hazards Center invites you to contribute to the planning for the 2022 Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop to be held in Broomfield, Colorado on July 10-13. The annual Researchers Meeting will follow immediately following on July 13-14.
This year, the workshop will be organized around the theme of Changing Climates: Equity and Adaptation in a Warming World. Conversations at the 2022 Natural Hazards Workshop will focus on how the hazards and disaster field is handling the realities of the climate crisis. Plenary and thematic sessions will examine topics such as who has the power and authority to drive climate change adaptation, how we can focus on other hazards when addressing climate demands, and more. Please share your ideas by January 21.
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI): Federal Resilience Programs Article Series
All the effects of climate change that we are seeing today require policies and investments designed to protect communities and natural systems from the impacts of a changing climate. EESI published a nine-part article series featuring federal programs advancing climate resilience.
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Update from the Climate Finance Advisors
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Climate Week European Union-United States Climate Alliance (EU-USCA)
This Prezi presentation offers highlights from the EU-USCA program’s Climate Week NYC event centered on raising ambition, financing resilient infrastructure, and building local capacity in the European Union and the United States.
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 Incorporating Climate Risk in Road Infrastructure Planning
Developed with support from the European Commission, this checklist from the EU-USCA Climate Risk and Resilience Cooperation Program aims to assist public sector decision-makers integrate climate risks in road infrastructure planning through three critical steps.
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 Climate Adaptation and Resilience Funding
This Prezi presentation summarizes a webinar on how European Union supranational funds and U.S. federal funds can support the investment needs for subnational jurisdictions to meet their resiliency goals.
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 Mozaik Solutions: Comprehensive Stressors and Mental Health Survey
The #EMBCMentalHealthSurvey can provide industry-wide change with the potential to support additional analysis of the field to better lead, support, recruit, retain, and grow professionals. Calling all Emergency Management, Business Continuity, and affiliated professionals: let's move the profession forward, mindfully. The survey closes February 28.
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 FloodMapp: RISE Challenge Winner FloodMapp Launches Integration with Waze to Help Drivers Avoid Flooded Roads in Real-Time
RISE Resilience Innovations joins Norfolk, VA., and climate tech startup FloodMapp to announce the launch and integration of FloodMapp’s forecast flooding technology with the navigation app, Waze giving drivers real-time, street-level alerts of flooded roads.
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Technical Assistance Available
FEMA: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities’ (BRIC) Direct Technical Assistance to Provide Holistic Planning Support
Direct Technical Assistance (DTA) provides holistic planning support at the earliest stages to communities that may not have the capacity to start on their own. FEMA will provide support for communities with a desire to increase their capacity and capability to conduct mitigation activities, increase resilience to natural hazards, identify projects to reduce risk, or develop or submit a BRIC application. BRIC DTA offers free technical assistance from FEMA for up to 36 months. Letters of Interest (1-2 pages) are due January 28 by 3:00 p.m. ET to FEMA-BRICDirectTechnicalAssistance@fema.dhs.gov.
Anthropocene Alliance (A2): First Ever Grant Writing Slam
Thanks to the infrastructure bill, there is a lot of additional money and other support for frontline communities to mitigate flooding and tackle environmental abuse. The challenge is getting it. A2's target this year is the National Coastal Resilience Fund. It provides up to $250,000 per community for nature-based resilience planning and a pathway for more support later. The pre-proposal deadline is April; A2 wants to help 15 members apply. A2 aims to recruit 45 volunteers for this first slam. If you have skills in research and analytics, writing, or copy editing, and can spare just 4 or 5 hours of your time, A2 wants you! The work will be collaborative and fun. You will be part of a team with local, grassroots leaders and A2’s dynamic staff.
This fall, slam participants will be invited to perform a short section of their proposal at a virtual slam party. If interested, please fill in the form and share with your colleagues. The deadline to apply is January 31.
New Resources
Resilient Nation Partnership Network: The RNPN Releases “Building Alliances for Equitable Resilience” Audio Stories
The RNPN recently released a series of audio stories on equity and resilience, featuring four diverse partner voices who contributed to the “Building Alliances for Equitable Resilience” resource that was published in April 2021. The audio stories offer insights, reflections and resources that organizations can use to apply equitable practices in their day-to-day work.
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New NOAA Tool Pinpoints Natural Disaster Risk to County Level
NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) has released an innovative mapping tool that provides county-level information on natural disaster hazards across the United States. This new feature provides significant enhancements to the state-level data on NOAA’s Billion-Dollar Disasters website and provides detailed information on a location’s susceptibility to weather and climate hazards that can lead to billion-dollar disasters—such as wildfires, floods, drought and heatwaves, tornado outbreaks, and hurricanes. The tool expands upon FEMA’s National Risk Index to provide a view of a location’s risk for, and vulnerability to, single or multiple combinations of weather and climate hazards for every county and county-equivalent in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and HUD: Disaster Preparedness to Promote Community Resilience – Information and Tools for Homeless Service Providers and Disaster Professionals
The Disaster Preparedness toolkit provides guidance for identifying and collaborating with partners to address disaster response and recovery needs of homeless individuals. It outlines strategies to engage in preparedness and minimize service disruption from a disaster. Furthermore, it specifies how to enhance the capacity of healthcare settings with providers experienced in serving people who are homeless and provide expanded care following a disaster or public health emergency.
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US Climate Alliance: 2021 Governor’s Climate Resilience Playbook
States must move swiftly to build climate resilience. In doing so, they can save billions of dollars and make America’s communities more vibrant, healthy and prosperous. The 2021 Playbook outlines 12 foundational steps to set and achieve an effective state-level climate resilience agenda.
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FEMA Releases Resources for Climate Resilience
The FEMA Resources for Climate Resilience assists FEMA’s state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) partners in navigating the FEMA resources that are available to support communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change and build resilience.
The document offers a description of available FEMA resources communities can use to plan for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the adverse impacts of climate change.
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The Craig Group: Voices of Preservation – Our Resilient Network
The Craig Group’s interview series showcases resilience practices and principles throughout the country. The series includes diverse voices from advanced and emerging professionals working in academia, climate science, historic preservation, disaster mitigation and adaptation design. For more information, contact Communications Specialist Mariel Kieval at Mariel.Kieval@gmail.com.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): Earth Science Data System
NASA’s Earth Science Data Pathfinders aid decision-makers and communities in accessing NASA data and resources. The Disasters and Sea Level Change Pathfinders provide links to datasets, guidance on dataset suitability, and links to tools for data visualization and analysis.
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Alliance for Cultural Emergencies Puerto Rico (ACEPR): Emergency Preparedness in Spanish
The Alliance for Cultural Emergencies Puerto Rico (ACEPR) is a group composed of institutions and individuals interested in providing advice and assistance in the conservation of Puerto Rico's heritage in case of emergencies at the local level. The organization has been offering a series of workshops, in Spanish, to members of cultural entities and artistic organizations, as well as students from the cultural field, to prepare emergency plans for their collections.
Oregon Sea Grant: Oregon Coastal Hazards Ready (OCHR) Library and Mapper
The OCHR Library and Mapper features cases of how coastal communities deal with erosion, landslides, flooding and the threat of a tsunami. It aims to help individuals, communities and governments identify alternatives to shoreline armoring and approaches to prepare for such hazards.
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HHS Maternal-Child Emergency Planning Toolkit
The HHS Maternal-Child Health (MCH) Emergency Planning Toolkit is designed to improve the capacity of health care, public health, and social services professionals to address maternal and child health in emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities. The toolkit, built with federal MCH experts and partners, outlines basic planning steps, highlights key resources and promising practices, and explains critical data and information to be integrated into emergency planning for MCH populations.
This toolkit provides guidance and advice to address the needs of women who are pregnant, postpartum, and/or lactating and typically developing infants and young children in emergencies.
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 FEMA: The Long-Term Community Resilience Exercise Resource Guide
The impacts of climate change are being felt today in communities across the country and increasingly test our resilience.
The 2021 Long-Term Community Resilience Exercise Resource Guide is a “one-stop–shop" for any jurisdiction or organization looking to conduct a climate-focused exercise. This guide equips users with a dictionary that has common terms to ensure a shared understanding of climate-related terminology and principles before an exercise; tools and templates for planning and conducting climate-focused exercises; and resources including funding opportunities, risk assessments, and training programs.
Please email us with questions or to share how you are using the Long-Term Community Resilience Exercise Resource Guide.
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 HHS, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO): Capacity-Building Toolkit for including Aging & Disability Networks in Emergency Planning
The purpose of the Capacity-Building Toolkit for Including Aging and Disability Networks in Emergency Planning is to serve as a resource to guide the aging and disability networks in increasing their ability to plan for and respond to public health emergencies and disasters. For organizations already engaged in emergency planning, this Toolkit can help expand and improve their capabilities. For organizations new to emergency planning, this Toolkit will help orient them to the process. Both goals are accomplished through content that guides programs that serve people with access and functional needs, including older adults and people with disabilities, through the emergency planning process of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities.
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