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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
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Summary

Starting with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a series of natural and human-made disasters in the United States and around the world have brought increased attention to vulnerable communities that face persistent health, environmental, and economic threats. Resulting efforts on the part of governments and private philanthropies have aimed at strengthening the resilience of such communities. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report, Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative, defined resilience as the “..the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events” (NASEM 2012:1) In the United States, resilience efforts have focused particularly on the Gulf Coast, which was imperiled by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling disaster, as well as by Hurricane Katrina and other major storms.

In 2013, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine established the Gulf Research Program (GRP) as one response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster (see NASEM, 2020 for additional information about the origins of GRP). Since that time, GRP has spent close to $200 million to support studies, projects, and other activities aimed at advancing and applying knowledge “to enhance oil system safety and the protection of human health and the environment in the Gulf of Mexico region and other areas along the U.S. outer continental shelf” (NASEM, 2017, p. 3). GRP’s 2020–2024 strategic plan calls for new approaches to spur positive change, with the aims of (1) advancing scientific understanding, (2) building partnerships and engaging networks, (3) bridging knowledge to action, and (4) monitoring for progress and change (NASEM, 2020).

In a 2019 report, the National Academies recommended that GRP develop a major new program to strengthen community resilience in the Gulf region (NASEM, 2019). Because Alaska shares similar challenges, with a history of hydrocarbon extraction, communities in Southcentral Alaska are also included as part of the geographic scope of the resulting program, known as the Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative. EnCoRe aims to

  • reduce inequities in health and community resilience;
  • advance research and practice in health and community resilience; and
  • build the capacity of communities for
    • addressing the impacts of climate change and disasters on at-risk populations, and
    • sustaining their disaster and climate resilience efforts.
Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×

To achieve these goals, EnCoRe will support long-term, multiyear community engagement projects that partner directly with select communities across the Gulf region and Alaska.

This report develops findings and recommendations intended to help guide EnCoRe in identifying, selecting, and engaging with communities as it moves forward with the initiative. Following this summary, Chapter 1 provides an introduction, including the committee’s statement of task. Chapter 2 contains findings and recommendations aimed at helping to orient community selection for the EnCoRe initiative within the changing context of resilience and community engagement efforts. Chapter 3 highlights guiding principles and lessons learned from past and existing resilience-strengthening efforts. Chapter 4 contains the report’s core recommendations for EnCoRe—criteria and guiding principles for community identification and selection. Finally, Chapter 5 highlights the broader importance and potential of EnCoRe as a mechanism for sustainable and equitable change.

The committee chose the term partnership to describe the various mechanisms of community engagement that EnCoRe might utilize. Based on planning documents and presentations from GRP to this committee, these mechanisms could include, among others, direct funding for communities; funding for nonprofit or community-based organizations, or academic institutions working with communities; or funding for GRP staff or consultants working with communities (see the definition of partnership in Box 1-1 in Chapter 1 and more information about EnCoRe’s mechanisms in Chapter 4).

This summary highlights key insights from the report, including abbreviated versions of the committee’s findings and recommendations. Full versions of the findings and recommendations are included in the body of the report.

REIMAGINING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

Community resilience, defined as the “the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt” (NRC, 2012, p. 1), can remain a useful and powerful central concept for capacity-building efforts in Gulf and Alaskan communities, such as those that EnCoRe is planning to undertake. At the same time, the ongoing relevance and utility of resilience as an organizing principle will depend on reimagining the concept by incorporating new understanding and experience, particularly in areas related to equity and sustainability. A reimagined community resilience paradigm needs to go beyond recovery and “bouncing back,” to include capacity building that promotes posttraumatic growth. In addition, it will be important to address resilience fatigue, which may affect some individuals and communities, and the skepticism toward the resilience paradigm that has emerged among some community organizations and activists, particularly in the Gulf region.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×

Recommendation 2.1: The Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative should adopt an updated and reimagined concept for community resilience in its selection of communities and formation of partnerships. This reimagined concept should recognize disparities among communities in their baseline resilience capacities; recognize systemic issues that affect capacities; develop holistic approaches to building resilience that take account of persistent environmental, mental, and public health burdens that some communities face; and monitor and address resilience fatigue where it might arise.

PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Participatory approaches to applied research, in which those most directly impacted by the research become active participants in the process, are being utilized increasingly across a range of domains. This trend comes in response to accumulating experience from research efforts in areas such as planning, agriculture, psychology, and public health, and from a greater appreciation of the needs and rights of community members. The committee applied a body of knowledge to this study referred to broadly as participatory action research (PAR). Key elements of this approach are relevant to working with Gulf and Alaskan communities that might participate in EnCoRe. These elements include (1) focusing on cocreation and codesign at the initial phase so that projects are not being imposed in a top-down manner; (2) using an iterative process of action and reflection to develop effective solutions during the implementation phase; (3) prioritizing the long-term sustainability of programs and solutions; and (4) ensuring that researchers and other outside technical experts make proactive efforts to engage with community members in order to understand and learn from their lived experiences, narratives, stories, and other information. Action research is a form of participatory research, with an explicit goal of social change, that is informed and driven by those most affected by the problem at hand. In addition to addressing equity issues, PAR approaches can also improve the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions.

The term and acronym participatory action research and practice (PARP) were developed by the committee for this study. The inclusion of the term practice underscores the practical applications of PAR and how the PAR approach can be applied beyond pure research projects to include capacity-building projects that may or may not include a research component.

Recommendation 2.2: The Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative should employ participatory action research and practice (PARP) as a framework for selecting and engaging communities. PARP involves a focus on cocreation and codesign of projects, including the development of metrics, and emphasizes long-term sustainability of capacity and solutions. When outside researchers and other experts participate in projects and partnerships, they should understand and commit to the PARP approach.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×

CRITERIA AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES: LEARNING FROM PAST AND EXISTING EFFORTS

The committee’s examination of a range of relevant programs reveals several important lessons about which criteria and approaches contribute to strengthening resilience equitably and building sustainable capacity. EnCoRe can apply these lessons, which have been incorporated into the criteria and guiding principles laid out in Recommendations 4.1 and 4.2. In selecting and partnering with communities. They include the importance of identifying and empowering champions, which are individuals and organizations that are trusted locally and that are invested in the long-term success of the partnership; using a collaborative approach to identifying community needs and developing project evaluation strategies; supporting cultural and language competence; and ensuring the potential for sustainability and expansion. Flexibility in how partnerships are initiated and launched helps to ensure inclusivity and a diversity of partners.

Recommendation 4.1: The Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative should employ an approach to community selection that aims to build equitable resilience by applying the following criteria flexibly: (1) community need for enhanced resilience, (2) community interest in participating and commitment to partnering, (3) existing community capacity and potential for building capacity, and (4) community potential for sustaining equitable resilience.

Recommendation 4.2: In applying the recommended criteria, the Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative should utilize lessons learned from past and existing efforts to maximize the potential for success by adopting the following guiding principles: (1) empowerment of program champions, (2) collaborative identification of community needs, (3) collaborative development of metrics and evaluation plans, (4) support for the cultural and language competence of program participants from outside the community, and (5) commitment to inclusion of underserved and small-population communities.

ENCORE’S OPPORTUNITIES AND POTENTIAL FOR BROAD IMPACT

EnCoRe has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen equitable resilience across many communities in the Gulf region and in Alaska, and to contribute to sustainable, positive changes in the lives of community members. EnCoRe also has the opportunity to develop insights and new knowledge that can be applied more broadly to efforts to engage with and empower communities in the context of resilience and beyond. Particular challenges and opportunities will arise in fostering sustainability among, within, and across partnerships and programs; in

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×

engaging with communities in Alaska; and in employing approaches to funding, reporting, and evaluation that promote equity.

The National Academies plays an important role as a neutral convener in a variety of science policy contexts and has the potential to play a role in helping existing and new efforts in the Gulf region and Alaska work together more effectively for the benefit of communities. Also, EnCoRe can help communities achieve greater visibility for their needs among local, state, and national policymakers, as well as philanthropic, academic, nongovernmental organization, and corporate leaders.

Recommendation 5.1: The Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative should apply the recommended community selection criteria and guiding principles to address significant challenges and opportunities in areas such as fostering sustainability in partnerships and programs; engaging with communities in Alaska; developing innovative and equitable approaches to funding and the partnership initiation process; and developing and implementing robust approaches to metrics and evaluation. EnCoRe should help communities achieve greater visibility among local, state, and national policy makers, as well as philanthropic, academic, nongovernmental organization, and corporate leaders.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×
Page 1
Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×
Page 2
Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×
Page 3
Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×
Page 4
Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience: Criteria and Guiding Principles for the Gulf Research Program's Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) Initiative. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26880.
×
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The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has developed a program to strengthen community resilience, the Enhancing Community Resilience (EnCoRe) initiative. EnCoRe aims to reduce inequities in health and community resilience; advance research and practice in health and community resilience; and build the capacity of communities for addressing the impacts of climate change and disasters on at-risk populations. To achieve these goals, EnCoRe will support long-term, multiyear community engagement projects that partner directly with select communities across the Gulf region and Alaska.

This report develops findings and recommendations intended to help guide EnCoRe in identifying, selecting, and engaging with communities as it moves forward with the initiative. Strengthening Equitable Community Resilience examines past and current community engagement efforts and other relevant materials, particularly those that have included communities in the Gulf region and Alaska, for the purpose of identifying guiding principles and lessons learned and then develops a set of guiding principles to identify criteria for selecting the participating communities in the EnCoRe program.

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