Solution

Community connection and preparedness

This solution addresses lack of community connection and preparedness in Boulder, USA for local communities

Problem Description

Prepare all segments of the community for uncertainty and disruption by encouraging community preparedness, creating a culture of risk awareness and personalizing resilience. Despite several severe natural disasters over the last decade, most Boulder community members remain unprepared for future events. Many of the potential shocks the city faces require constant vigilance, a deeply personalized understanding of individual exposure and community risk, and an ability to act quickly in case of an emergency. Fundamental to preparedness is community connectivity and the ability for all members of the community to contribute to response and recovery when disaster strikes. Community connection can be as simple as knowing your neighbors, but it can also mean building new relationships and capacities between the city and local businesses. By enhancing preparedness and connection now, before the next disaster, the city can empower everyone to take quick action.

Building Blocks

Story

"Community connection and preparedness" is 1 of 3 goals of Boulder's Resilience Strategy. Building on a legacy of frontier innovation, Boulder will cultivate a creative spirit to adapt to and thrive in a changing climate, economy, and society and in the face of increasing disruptions. Our strategy presents new actions to address gaps and weaknesses to create an integrated, strategic, and intentional approach to building resilience—through understanding our interlinked hazards, building on regional collaboration, fostering more resilient communities and government, and leveraging our history of planning innovation.

Resources

Organisations Involved

Contributed By

  • Greg Guibert, Chief Resilience Officer, Boulder Resilience Team

Solution Stage

One of the 7 stages of an innovation. Learn more
STAGE SPECIALIST SKILLS REQUIRED EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES RISK LEVEL AND HANDLING FINANCE REQUIRED KINDS OF EVIDENCE GENERATED GOAL
Developing and testing3
Mix of design and implementation skills
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Service, product and process design
  • Co-design
  • User-design
  • Light-touch evaluation
  • Cost-benefit modelling
  • Randomised control trials
  • High failure rate should be an explicit expectation
  • Visible senior leadership essential
HIGH
  • Grants, convertible grants/loans
MEDIUM
A stronger case with cost and benefit projections developed through practical trials and experiments, involving potential users
Demonstration that the idea works, or evidence to support a reworking of the idea

Submitted By

Janae Futrell

Key Details

Activity