Enhancing Connections
Leveraging existing networks and forming new professional and community relationships to address a task or topic are useful ways to improve planning outcomes. By enhancing connections between organizations and individuals, networks help strengthen community capacity, improve communication, develop resources, and better inform and coordinate specific activities through appropriate expertise.
To successfully tap into existing networks or build a new one, first investigate whether any previous collaborative efforts within the community have been formed to address the topic at hand. There’s no need to re-invent the wheel, but there may be opportunities to strengthen the spokes. For example, if your community decides to develop a new planning tool or update an existing plan, determine if there is a group already dedicated to this topic, such as a coalition, council, or emergency management working group. Some delicate digging will be required to discover how/if the group was successful, who was involved, and which areas of expertise were adequately represented or missing.
Tips on the Network
Be sure everyone in the network has a clear role for engaging in the task, such as a working group member, an expert reviewer, or an advocate/liaison to other groups. Involve those with access to multiple other networks who can serve as intermediaries to organizations such as the fire department, emergency management, government agency staff members, consultants, and others. Finally, keep project goals front and center – conflicts may arise, but having a good facilitator can help navigate these waters and ensure that others’ agendas don’t derail the primary task.
Knowing this information will help identify what type of additional expertise, political leadership, and community input is desired for your community’s task. Specifically:
- Identify subject matter experts. Identify individuals or organizations that have recently published relevant and useful information. If the topic is broad and sifting through online search results is overwhelming, determine if there is a local, state, or national non-profit dedicated to this topic. Reach out to them to ask for suggestions on any local experts, resources, or other information.
- Find examples from other communities. Use the examples provided in this guide. Reach out to state offices and professional associations to learn from other communities. Colorado’s State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, and the Colorado chapter of the American Planning Association may be able to point you to communities who have undertaken similar efforts.
- Identify best practices and additional resources. Contact other state agencies, universities, and branches, for example the Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado Geological Survey, and Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers. Depending on your timeframe, attend a local conference where topics of interest will be discussed. For more technical resources, refer to Available Resources.
- Harness political leadership. Determine who may be necessary to lead this effort at a community-wide level. Determine if a local city council member, county commissioner, or other elected official has demonstrated interest in the issue, or whether the Local Fire Chief, Emergency Services or Development Services Director buy into the effort and have recommendations to connect with others.
- Recruit local champions. Determine if there are other citizen’s advocacy groups, neighborhood groups, or other local champions who may be interested in engaging and supporting this cause. Think about people whom show up to meetings, whom are engaged in a previous plan update, or whom might be willing to rally around a new effort.
The Champion: Putting Local Advocates to Work
Decades of research and practice in hazards management suggest that one of the key factors to achieving successful and sustained community risk reduction is the presence of one or more “local champions.” Champions are those influential people who are committed and capable of driving meaningful change within an organization or community. They are often passionate individuals with the skills to understand, communicate, motivate, and engage others in support of achieving their vision or goals—even in the face of obstacles or resistance. For the purposes of advancing community hazard mitigation, there are essentially two types of champions: internal local government employees and external volunteer advocates.
Internal government champions may be elected or executive officials (such as a mayor, county commissioner or town manager) or local agency staff members who have the ability to lead projects, policies, and other initiatives through multiple departments. To be effective, the local government champion must have the knowledge and authority required to enlist the right partners who can provide the leverage needed to drive decisions and actions with the local governing body. For this reason, it is highly advantageous to have local champions at both the appointed and staff levels who are committed to working for hazard risk reduction. Whereas a department head or line staff member may be best positioned to lead the work, an elected or executive official can direct intergovernmental coordination from above, shepherding the involvement of support staff and other resources across various departments to ensure a more comprehensive and cross-sector effort. (Another option communities have pursued is the creation of an executive staff position within the chief executive’s office – for example, a “chief resilience officer” who reports directly to the mayor or county/city/town manager.)
External volunteer champions may be equally if not more important to the success of a community’s hazard mitigation efforts. In many cases it is those outside of local government who can serve as catalysts for change in local policies, programs, or activities relating to natural hazards. External champions may include representatives of outside groups such as private businesses, local media, non-profit or civic organizations such as environmental foundations or homeowner associations—or they may simply be individual citizens advocating on behalf of other constituents. These non-governmental advocates can be powerful drivers and partners of community risk reduction by enhancing public outreach and engagement in ways that can complement local government action. They can be especially important for smaller communities with minimal staff or limited capability to implement hazard mitigation efforts on their own.