Restore Your Economy

Developing a pre-disaster economic preparedness plan requires a dedicated and in-depth process led by a committed organization that can bring together all stakeholders. This organization will need to galvanize wide-ranging support for the project and align the resources needed to get the project off the ground. The economic preparedness plan should coordinate with and eventually feed into a larger, comprehensive pre-disaster preparedness plan.

Step 2a: Create stakeholder groups

1. Involve a diverse and dynamic group of stakeholders, including public and private actors, elected officials, and other key community stakeholders. A list of potential economic recovery stakeholders can be found on page 8 of the Pinellas County PDRP Update. Representation from industries that are economic drivers in the community will be important. This stakeholder group could also serve as the post-disaster economic recovery team.
2. Divide the stakeholders into subgroups that will focus on specific topics to be covered in the plan. Planning for post-disaster situations can be a complicated, challenging and controversial process.
3. All stakeholders should be made aware of this at the kick-off meeting and agree to work through the decision-making process.
4. See what planning efforts have already been done by these stakeholders and combine resources.

Step 2b: Establish clear goals for the planning process

• Ensure that adequate time is given to the planning process. Establish a regular meeting schedule for subgroups and the group as a whole.
• Establish clear timeframes for each step. This will ensure that the process continues to move forward, keeping the stakeholder groups on target and notifying the public that though this is a lengthy process, it is finite.

Step 3a: Identify the community’s economic assets

An inventory of current assets and economic drivers will help the community determine its economic vulnerabilities as well as the resources to harness in the event of a disaster. Current information for this effort may be available in existing strategic plans and economic analysis. The assessment should include a strong understanding of:

• Demographics
• Key industries and/or clusters
• Labor and workforce characteristics
• SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis
• Local policy framework (e.g., building codes, local and state incentives and regulations, environmental mitigation policy, etc.)

Step 3b: Perform an economic vulnerability analysis

An economic vulnerability analysis should be conducted for each disaster type. The economic analysis performed in the previous step should be coordinated with analysis from hazard mitigation and land-use planners to see what companies, industries, or industry clusters are more vulnerable to disasters. An example of this can be found on page 33 of the Polk County Post Disaster Redevelopment Plan.

Step 3c: Conduct scenario planning for community redevelopment

Evaluate the community’s cluster industries and economic assets and how they relate to specific disaster possibilities.

Steps to scenario planning:

1. Define the disaster context (i.e. what kind of disaster the community is facing).
2. Identify factors that could impact the community by leading key stakeholders through scenario exercises.
3. Ask stakeholders to identify what local community and economic assets are most vulnerable to these factors.
4. Work through plausible futures by combining all of the recognized forces from the above steps. Develop scenarios of what the community could do in terms of redevelopment or mitigation to protect these community and economic assets. This is part of a process for generating and evaluating the community’s strategic options when it comes to community redevelopment after a disaster.

Based on different disaster scenarios, action strategies and steps should be established with enough detail to indicate who leads what strategy/step and the resources needed to complete the effort.

These should be proposed for all stakeholders for both pre-disaster preparation and post-disaster economic recovery (short-term and long-term). This key step will increase efficiencies once a disaster strikes, as well as help stakeholders make smart post-disaster recovery decisions. An example of this can be found on page 35 of the Palm Beach County Post Disaster Redevelopment Plan (PDRP).

Suggestion: Create an implementation timeline that lists which steps should occur when after a disaster. This will ensure that the recovery process continues to move along once a disaster hits. A timeline example can be found from Sarasota County’s PDRP.

Develop a contact list of key stakeholders throughout the region and state. The lead organization can use this list to coordinate information-gathering and economic analysis in the event of a disaster. A communications plan should be established to facilitate this. See the section on Developing a Communication Strategy for more detailed information.

Potential funding sources for disaster recovery and redevelopment should be identified, including federal, state, and local sources. See the section on Navigating the Federal System for federal funding possibilities.

Ensure that the pre-disaster economic preparedness plan is adopted by the community and that collaborations remain by taking the following steps.

Step 7a: Integrate the plan with other relevant plans

Though the pre-disaster economic preparedness plan is part of the larger, comprehensive disaster planning effort, it should also be linked with other community plans to reconcile inconsistencies. Local government leadership should adopt the plan to increase awareness and ensure implementation. See page 23 of the Panama City Post Disaster Redevelopment Plan (PDRP) for a guide to integrating these plans.

Step 7b: Monitor, evaluate, and update the plan

The pre-disaster economic preparedness plan should be revisited annually. One of the greatest benefits of the planning process is the collaborations and relationships created among stakeholders. These connections should be fostered by convening stakeholders annually to evaluate and update the plan. An example of this can be found on page 79 of the Palm Beach County Post Disaster Redevelopment Plan.