Award Abstract # 1434791
Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure Systems: Post-Disaster Reconstruction Processes and Stakeholder Networks

NSF Org: CMMI
Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn
Recipient: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
Initial Amendment Date: July 18, 2014
Latest Amendment Date: July 18, 2014
Award Number: 1434791
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Walter Peacock
CMMI
 Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn
ENG
 Directorate For Engineering
Start Date: September 1, 2014
End Date: May 31, 2019 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $300,101.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $300,101.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2014 = $300,101.00
History of Investigator:
  • Amy Javernick-Will (Principal Investigator)
    amy.javernick@colorado.edu
  • Matthew Koschmann (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Colorado at Boulder
3100 MARINE ST
Boulder
CO  US  80309-0001
(303)492-6221
Sponsor Congressional District: 02
Primary Place of Performance: University of Colorado Boulder
3100 Marine St Rm 481 572 UCB
Boulder
CO  US  80309-0572
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): SPVKK1RC2MZ3
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): CIS-Civil Infrastructure Syst,
HDBE-Humans, Disasters, and th
Primary Program Source: 01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 029E, 036E, 039E, 041E, 042E, 1057, 1631, 1638, 9102, CVIS
Program Element Code(s): 1631, 1638
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.041

ABSTRACT

Sustainable infrastructure that is used and maintained by communities over time, and resilient networks that can support infrastructure construction and repair in times of crisis, are sorely needed. Unfortunately, conventional approaches in post-disaster reconstruction focus primarily on rapid and recognizable results (e.g., number of houses built), over long-term results, causing some infrastructure to deteriorate only a few years after a disaster. The inherently complex post-disaster environment places stress on this process, resulting in the rapid emergence of coordination networks and the application of vastly different reconstruction processes. If ineffective, these coordination networks and construction processes can result in deficient, unused infrastructure, an inefficient use of relief and recovery funds, and human development setbacks. Given the increasing number and impacts of disasters, this research will analyze and determine the post-disaster coordination network models and reconstruction process strategies that facilitate the development of sustainable infrastructure and resilient networks. These models and strategies will be disseminated broadly to organizations and agencies involved in these efforts. In addition, the database of results, operationalized constructs, and analysis of processes will also be disseminated widely for future expansion and validation.

The research will develop a theory of post-disaster reconstruction process and coordination network pathways that enable resilient and sustainable infrastructure. Using a longitudinal, multi-method research approach that includes network and fuzzy-set qualitative analysis, the research will identify the processes that are employed and the networks formed to mobilize resources and coordinate work in various rebuilding phases, including planning, design, construction and operation and maintenance. Furthermore, it will analyze the evolution of post-disaster coordination networks, stakeholder participation and training processes over time. Finally, it will determine the necessity and sufficiency of individual processes and networks, as well as the combinations of reconstruction processes and coordination networks, that result in sustainable and resilient systems.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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(Showing: 1 - 10 of 30)
Opdyke, A., Javernick-Will, A., Koschmann, M. and Moench, H. "Characterizing Post-Disaster Shelter Design and Material Selection: Lessons from Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines" Construction Research Congress , 2016 10.1061/9780784479827.148
Opdyke, A., Javernick-Will, A., Koschmann, M. and Moench, H. "Emergent Coordination Practice in Disaster Planning of Infrastructure Systems" Engineering Project Organization Conference , 2015
Opdyke, A. and Javernick-Will, A. "Building Coordination Capacity: Post-Disaster Organizational Twitter Networks" Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Global Humanitarian Technology Conference , 2014 10.1109/GHTC.2014.6970265
Opdyke, A. and Javernick-Will, A. "Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure Systems: The Role of Coordination, Stakeholder Participation, and Training in Post-Disaster Construction" Engineering Project Organization Conference , 2014
Opdyke, A. and Javernick-Will, A. "Building Coordination Capacity: Post-Disaster Organizational Twitter Networks" Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Global Humanitarian Technology Conference , 2014
Opdyke, A. and Javernick-Will, A. "Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure Systems: The Role of Coordination, Stakeholder Participation, and Training in Post-Disaster Construction" Engineering Project Organization Conference , 2014
Opdyke, A., Javernick-Will, A., and Koschmann, M. "Infrastructure hazard resilience trends: An analysis of 25 years of research" Natural Hazards , v.87 , 2017 , p.773 10.1007/s11069-017-2792-8
Opdyke, A., Javernick-Will, A., Koschmann, M. and Moench, H. "A Constitutive Communication Lens of Stakeholder Participation in Post-Disaster Recovery" Engineering Project Organization Conference , 2016
Opdyke, A., Javernick-Will, A., Koschmann, M. and Moench, H. "Characterizing Post-Disaster Shelter Design and Material Selection: Lessons from Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines" Construction Research Congress , 2016
Opdyke, A., Javernick-Will, A., Koschmann, M., and Moench, H. "Emergent Coordination Practice in Post-Disaster Planning of Infrastructure Systems" Engineering Project Organization Conference , 2015
Opdyke, A., Leprore, F., Javernick-Will, A. and Koschmann, M. "Inter-organizational resource coordination in post-disaster infrastructure recovery" Construction Management and Economics , 2017 10.1080/01446193.2016.1247973
(Showing: 1 - 10 of 30)

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Our longitudinal project investigated the post-disaster reconstruction and recovery processes that lead to sustainable and resilient infrastructure. We analyzed 19 shelter reconstruction projects in communities within three regions following Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.  We initially collected over 340,000 tweets and corresponding metadata from organizations responding to Typhoon Haiyan. We then conducted 210 interviews and 680 hours of observations during the planning, design, and construction phases, together with 880 training surveys with homeowners and skilled labor.  This was supplemented by recovery plans, drawings, and meeting minutes from organizations involved in the reconstruction within communities. An additional 359 surveys were conducted that focused on shelter and community outcomes.

Coordination

Our analysis of inter-organizational coordination in early disaster reconstruction projects found that information was the most commonly shared resource, followed by financial and material resources. Government agencies were often the most central in early recovery networks due to obligatory consultations by international organizations but these relationships frequently lacked legitimacy in practice. The longitudinal analysis highlighted the detrimental impact of short-term expatriate contracts and premature end of supported humanitarian cluster coordination, pointing to strategies to strengthen humanitarian response efforts.

Participation

We examined how household participation in planning, design, and construction phases led to shelter outcomes of household satisfaction and safe shelter design. We operationalized participation via eight central project tasks, which included (1) determination of aid, (2) location selection, (3) floorplan and layout, (4) government permitting, (5) sweat equity, (6) material procurement, (7) financial management, and (8) oversight. We found that participation of households in early planning stages of projects, specifically in determination of aid,location selection, and government permitting were important for household satisfaction.  Government permitting was important for safe shelter design, as was oversight, high assistance value, and determination of aid. Household participation during the design phase of projects, such as on floorplan and layout of shelter, tended to negatively impact safe shelter designs.

Training

Using surveys, we characterized learning style preferences and training methods used in communities and determined which training methods led to higher levels of construction knowledge in households. Lecture (78%) and active demonstration (67%) training formats were the most preferred methods to convey construction knowledge. Most individuals surveyed gravitated towards learning through concrete experience (e.g. stories, past events) and reflective observation (e.g. lectures, photographs). To obtain higher levels of construction knowledge, households needed to be trained through active demonstration, reflective observation, and concrete experiences or observe shelter construction conducted by trained labor. The first pathway demonstrates the crucial role of multiple methods in training, while the second shows that observation can play an important role in extending impact, in this case knowledge acquisition, beyond those that receive direct training. Both pathways support recent attempts to extend better building practices in disaster recovery in resource limited communities.

Resilience and Sustainability Indicators

A systematic literature review provided an overview of scholarly resilience trends over the last 25 years and identified gaps in resilience and sustainability studies. Studies focused primarily on infrastructure systems and at the community level, but infrequently connected infrastructure and communities. To begin addressing the gap of sparse metrics specific to community infrastructure, we compiled a set of 52 metrics that emerged from the literature review. Our results advance the operationalization and measurement of resilience in infrastructure systems at the community level, providing metrics for our study outcomes.  

Pathways to Resilient and Sustainable Outcomes

We studied and operationalized coordination, participation, and training across the planning, design, and construction phases of projects and assessed their impact on building resilient and sustainable community infrastructure systems. Six projects showed presence of resilience across all four dimensions considered (infrastructure, governance, economic, and social); ten displayed sustainability, defined as the ability to maintain infrastructure overtime; Six communities achieved both resilience and sustainability. Critical elements that enabled sustainability and resilience included: (a) early involvement of households in planning efforts and (b) training during construction, which was important to build local capacity and situate recovery efforts within local priorities. In addition to these elements, communities either had to (c) participate during construction or (d) have assisting organizations actively involved in coordination during both planning and design.  These results point to the need to promote shelter processes (e.g., coordinating and participating) over products (e.g., number of shelters) and integrate construction training into shelter projects.

We shared results with the communities studied and over 26 non-governmental organizations that are continually engaged in disaster response efforts globally through ongoing presentations, reports, papers, blog-posts and videos.  These results are helping to shape how organizations structure and plan their recovery efforts to maximize aid funding. Results were presented via case studies and presentations to classes.

The project involved 6 graduate students, 3 undergraduate students, and 4 investigators.  7 are under-represented in Science, Technology and Engineering.


 


Last Modified: 06/13/2019
Modified by: Amy N Javernick-Will

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