A significant portion of SCIPP’s work over the last decade has focused on how climate and hazard information can inform planning and practices. Progress has been made, but hazard mitigation planning is still lacking in the region. Several reasons for why this is the case have been identified. This project is working to address one of those reasons, which is the need to develop a hazard mitigation planning template that is useful for low-capacity communities and broadly advances climate resilience and disaster risk reduction. The project will also shed light on other reasons and identify solutions that can be used to reduce barriers.
Through a collaboration with the National Hazard Mitigation Association and FEMA Region VI, this project is addressing several research questions. The first two questions are primarily being answered through literature review. The second two are being answered by collecting data through focus groups. The research questions are as follows:
- Why are most low-capacity communities unable to address their existing hazard-related challenges?
- What additional capacities and capabilities are needed so that low-capacity communities can address their hazard challenges that are being/will be exacerbated by climate change?
- How should a hazard mitigation planning template be designed so it: a) better aligns with the capabilities and capacities of low-capacity communities and b) advances climate resilience and disaster risk reduction more broadly rather than only meeting a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Plan requirement?
- What hazard mitigation planning capability and capacity gaps exist that could be addressed by the NHMA Disaster Risk Reduction Ambassador Curriculum and other applicable training curriculums?
To date, 31 local planners, emergency managers, town managers, consultants and related practitioners working in or with low-capacity jurisdictions across the region are involved in the study. Three rounds of focus groups have been conducted. Research is ongoing and an additional round of focus groups is planned for later this year.
For more details, including preliminary results, see this webinar recording that was hosted by the Natural Hazards Center as part of their Making Mitigation Work webinar series.