To ensure that federal agencies incorporate key principles of resilience into their formulation, evaluation, and prioritization of infrastructure investments related to Sandy rebuilding, the Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force developed its Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines. RAND researchers conducted an initial assessment of federal agencies' implementation of the guidelines to identify the main opportunities and challenges.

The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force's Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines

An Initial Assessment of Implementation by Federal Agencies

Melissa L. Finucane, Noreen Clancy, Henry H. Willis, Debra Knopman

ResearchPublished Dec 9, 2014

In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast of the United States, devastating communities across the region. This disaster motivated the federal government to examine how it might improve community and infrastructure resilience so that communities are better prepared for existing and future threats, including those exacerbated by climate change. To ensure that federal agencies incorporate key principles of resilience into their formulation, evaluation, and prioritization of infrastructure investments related to Sandy rebuilding, the Presidential Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force developed its Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines in the spring and summer of 2013. On behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Interagency Policy Committee's Subcommittee on Recovery and Mitigation, the RAND Corporation conducted an initial assessment of federal agencies' implementation of the guidelines. The main goal of this study was to identify the lessons learned from the opportunities and challenges encountered when implementing the guidelines.

Researchers conducted semistructured interviews of 67 individuals employed by federal, state, and local government agencies and departments and nongovernmental organizations. An analysis of the interview notes and other documents provided information on different approaches to implementing the guidelines, the opportunities or challenges encountered during implementation, and whether the guidelines would be feasible to implement in nonrecovery environments. Overall, the guidelines were viewed as reflecting worthy resiliency principles that merit broader pursuit — and not just in a disaster recovery context.

Key Takeaways

Lessons Learned from Conditions That Enhance Implementation of the Guidelines

  • Our analysis indicates that the Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines reinforced the approach to resilience principles that many agencies had been pursuing in recent years.
  • Organizations already familiar with or embracing resilience principles found it easier to implement the guidelines than did those that were encountering these principles for the first time.
  • Building community resilience via a "holistic systems approach" (i.e., one that underscores the dynamic links among human, social, physical, economic, and natural resources) was a new concept for some agencies and their grantees.
  • Implementation of the guidelines was enhanced by an existing community vision for resilience.

Lessons Learned from Challenges Posed by the Guidelines

  • The guidelines need to be worded broadly to achieve interagency consensus and be applicable across different agency responsibilities and contexts, but also worded in a way that provides enough detail on the methods and outcomes that would be compatible with resilience principles.
  • Resilience meanings and metrics need to be clarified and aligned to improve communication and understanding across agencies and contexts.
  • Appropriate and sufficient resources and expertise are needed to implement the guidelines.
  • Reduced complexity and redundancy across resilience initiatives is desired by both agencies and grantees.
  • Additional research is needed to clarify specific standards most likely to improve resilience.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 2014
  • Pages: 74
  • Document Number: RR-841-DHS

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Finucane, Melissa L., Noreen Clancy, Henry H. Willis, and Debra Knopman, The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force's Infrastructure Resilience Guidelines: An Initial Assessment of Implementation by Federal Agencies. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2014. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR841.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

The research reported here was conducted in the RAND Homeland Security and Defense Center (HSDC). The HSDC is a joint center of two research divisions: RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment and the RAND National Security Research Division.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.