Progress 09/01/09 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: ACTIVITIES Over the life of the grant, the PDs facilitated a total of nine public meetings with hazard mitigation planning committees from Bremer County and municipalities within Bremer County. Meetings were designed to help citizens identify and prioritize feasible mitigation measures. A final meeting brought together representatives from each participating community as a wrap-up of the planning effort and to summarize the action steps to be taken by those communities. DISSEMINATION As of this date, three presentations have been given related to the process and findings of this project - one at a national extension conference and two in Iowa. "Improving Implementation of Hazard Mitigation Planning" was presented at the 2011 National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) Conference in Charleston, South Carolina on March 9, 2011. "Facilitating the Integration of Hazard Mitigation Planning into Comprehensive Planning" was presented at a meeting organized to discuss the implementation of the Greater Des Moines Partnership's (GDMP) Regional Sustainability Plan. This meeting was sponsored by the GDMP in Des Moines, Iowa on December 8, 2011. "Facilitating the Integration of Hazard Mitigation Planning into Comprehensive Planning" was presented at a workshop for communities receiving smart planning comprehensive planning grants. The workshop was sponsored by the Iowa Department of Economic Development in Des Moines, Iowa on November 2, 2011 and had 70 participants. In addition, the Facilitators Manual (identified under 'Publications') has just been printed and will be disseminated to Iowa planning professionals, and to the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). ONGOING EFFORTS The Federal Emergency Management Agency has yet to certify the Bremer County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. While plans of action for each community have been drafted, final plans depend on any feedback provided by FEMA. INRCOG intends to prepare posters for each community that identify action steps, timelines and responsible departments. PARTICIPANTS: Gary Taylor,PD - Primary developer of facilitation processes and related materials. Conducted meetings at all locations. Presented a session about the project at the February 2011 National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) conference (reported in 'Outputs' above). Don Broshar, Co-PD - Assisted in outlining facilitation processes and modifications thereto after early public meetings. Brad Grefe, Technical Assistant - Assisted with the preparation (desktop publishing using InDesign) of the meeting materials and flyers publicizing the public meetings. Julie Whitson, Technical Assistant - Assisted with the preparation of the facilitators manual. Brian Schoon, Planner with the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (collaborator) - prepared the actual hazard mitigation plan and helped with the public meetings. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences were citizen committees representing Bremer County and each of the cities involved in the hazard mitigation planning process. Approximately 10-20 citizens participated from each jurisdiction. The ultimate target audience for the project is extension community development professionals interested in working with communities to increase the level of implementation of hazard mitigation measures. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The initial proposal was to work with one community developing a single-jurisdiction hazard mitigation process; however, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security is "strongly encouraging" all new or amended plans be developed as county-wide multi-jurisdictional plans involving a single county and all municipalities with that county. Considering this is a new approach for almost all Iowa communities, we saw this as an opportunity to put the goals and objectives of this project to work in the state's new paradigm. Another minor change in approach was the lessened emphasis on the discussion in our (extension-led) public meetings of the scientific information on risk. We learned from early experiences that these discussions were detracting from the main objective of plan implementation.
Impacts
CHANGE IN KNOWLEDGE Extension has a role to play in improving the degree to which hazard mitigation measures are recognized, publicized, and ultimately implemented by communities. Extension professionals are generally seen as impartial neutrals, and, as such, are well-suited to engage citizens and elected officials in a public dialogue designed to achieve more informed decisions, especially around sometimes-controversial public policy choices. CHANGE IN ACTIONS Questioning of participants at the conclusion of the final public meeting indicates that participants had a better understanding of the risks facing the community, and felt that the process was beneficial in setting priorities for hazard mitigation steps. As a result, it is projected that communities will have a greater degree of implementation of mitigation measures because of participation in this project. Other long-term impacts cannot be assessed at this time. It is also hoped that the dissemination of the results of this project will lead extension professionals across the country to seek participation in the hazard mitigation planning and implementation process in their local communities. CHANGE IN CONDITIONS Ultimately, because of the participation of extension professionals in the hazard mitigation plan implementation process, mitigation measures will be adopted at a higher rate than without their participation. This will ultimately lead to a reduction in losses of lives and property
Publications
- MANUAL Taylor, G. 2011. Improving Implementation in Hazard Mitigation Planning: A Facilitators Manual. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: One of the project goals is to develop a facilitation process designed to increase the value of citizen involvement in community hazard mitigation planning and implementation. The Principal Investigators continued to work with Bremer County Iowa officials and citizens, and officials from municipalities within Bremer County on their multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan. ACTIVITIES- We facilitated four public meetings designed to help citizens identify and prioritize feasible mitigation measures, based on fiscal and administrative capacity of the community, the perceived risk to the community presented by hazards, and the perceived benefits of the mitigation measures in reducing those risks. The final meeting brought together representatives from each participating community as a wrap up of the planning effort and an enunciation of action steps to be taken by those communities. DISSEMINATION - summarized results of each meeting were shared with local officials and participating citizens. PLANNED EFFORTS - INRCOG intends to prepare 'action posters' for each community that identify action steps, responsible parties and deadlines. The facilitator's guide to be disseminated via EDEN is in process. PARTICIPANTS: Gary Taylor, PI - Primary developer of facilitation process and related materials. Conducted public meetings. Presented a session at the February 2010 National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) annual conference explaining the project and the progress to-date. Brad Grefe, Technical Assistant - Assisted with development of meeting materials, posters, and flyers publicizing the public meetings. Julie Whitson, Technical Assistant - Currently assisting with preparation of facilitator's manual. Brian Schoon, INRCOG Planner - Prepared the actual hazard mitigation plan and assisted in facilitating the public meetings. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences were citizen committees and public officials representing Bremer County, Iowa and each of the cities participating in the planning process. Approximately 5 - 20 citizens participated from each jurisdiction. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: No major changes to the approach were made since the last annual reporting period.
Impacts
A short survey at the conclusion of the final meeting indicates that participants had a better understanding of the hazard risks facing the community and felt that the process was beneficial in setting priorities for hazard mitigation steps. Longer term impacts cannot be assessed at this time, but it is projected that communities will have a greater degree of implementation of mitigation measures because of participation in this project.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: One of the project goals is to develop a facilitation process designed to increase the level and quality of citizen involvement in community hazard mitigation planning and implementation. Working with the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments (INRCOG), the Principal Investigators began working with Bremer County, Iowa and the municipalities within Bremer County on their multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan. We developed facilitation materials and facilitated public meetings in the cities of Frederika, Tripola, Sumner and Denver. At each meeting, we educated citizens on hazard risks found in their communities and conducted a process to enable citizens to identify and prioritize mitigation policies and action steps. With each successive public meeting, we revised the approach based on lessons learned from previous meetings. The summarized results of each meeting were shared with the meeting participants and with the local officials of that city. Two joint public meetings of all cities and the county participating in the multi-jurisdictional planning process will be held. Regional flooding in July and August 2010 set us back on our timeline, as our collaborators at INRCOG were drawn away to various disaster recovery projects. PARTICIPANTS: Gary Taylor,PI - Primary developer of facilitation processes and related materials. Conducted meetings at all locations. Don Broshar, Co-PI - Assisted in outlining facilitation processes and modifications thereto after each successive public meeting. Brad Grefe, Technical Assistant - Assisted with the physical development (desktop publishing using InDesign) of the meeting materials and flyers publicizing the public meetings. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences were citizen committees representing Bremer County and each of the cities involved in the hazard mitigation planning process. Approximately 10-20 citizens participated from each jurisdiction. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The initial proposal was to work with one community developing a single-jurisdiction hazard mitigation process; however, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security is "strongly encouraging" all new or amended plans be developed as county-wide multijurisdictional plans involving a single county and all municipalities with that county. Considering this is a new approach for almost all Iowa communities, we saw this as an opportunity to put the goals and objectives of this project to work in the state's new paradigm. This, along with summer 2010 flooding in north central Iowa, has resulted in slight delays to the project. We still anticipate completion in Spring 2011.
Impacts
As stated above, with each successive public meeting we revised our facilitation process based on lessons learned from previous meetings. We will need to conduct the final two joint public meetings and conduct the final evaluation before we can determine how our approach has resulted in changed action by the local governments involved.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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