Collaborating to Create Resilient
Organizations and Communities
Brandon Hardenbrook, Deputy Director, PNWER
Paula Scalingi, Director, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience
Resiliency in Times of Disaster Conference
May 25, 2010
“Pacific NorthWest Economic Region”
 PNWER – formed by
statute in 1991
 PNWER is a PublicPrivate Partnership
 Alaska, Alberta, British
Columbia, Idaho,
Oregon, Montana,
Saskatchewan,
Washington, Yukon &
NW Territories
Private Sector Partners
Other PNWER Partners
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Border Policy Research Institute
University of Lethbridge
Hudson Institute
Business Council of BC
Canadian American Business
Council
Woodrow Wilson Center
Carleton University
AK, WA, OR, ID, MT, BC, AB, SK
Emergency Management
BC Innovation Council
Idaho National Lab
Cascadia – Discovery Institute
Canadian American Border Trade
Alliance
Association of WA Businesses
US Dept. of Energy
Asia Pacific Foundation
Border Policy Research Institute
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Argonne National Lab
Pacific Northwest National Lab
Energy Council
US Dept. of Homeland Security
Applied Science Technologists &
Technicians of BC
APEGG BC & Alberta
Western Economic Diversification
Canada
Human Resources Social
Development Canada
Center for Canadian Studies
Institute of Health Economics
US/Canadian Consulate General
National Conf. of State
Legislatures
Idaho Farm Bureau
United Way
University of WA
PNWER Working Groups
Agriculture
Border
Issues
Energy
Environment
Health
Care
Forestry
Water
High-Tech
Infrastructure
Security
Each Working
Group has a Public
& Private Sector
Co-Chair
Tourism
Sustainable
Development
Trade
Transportation
Workforce
Development
Critical Infrastructure Sectors
A “System of Systems” Perspective Needed for
Analyzing Infrastructure Interdependencies
Transportation
Oil
Natural
Gas
Electric
Power
Water
Telecom
Need for Public-Private Partnerships
• 2001 PNWER formed
Partnership for Regional
Infrastructure Security
• Nearly 9 years later,
regional/community resilience
now widely accepted goal
•Puget Sound Region and WA
State considered one of most
advanced areas in nation
•Tremendous amount of work
done, much remains
NIPP and NGA Guide
PNWER is referenced in the
National Infrastructure Protection
Plan as the model for bringing the
public and private sectors together
to address critical infrastructure
protection issues. - July 2009
PNWER is listed as a best practice for working with
other states and provinces to address critical
infrastructure security issues in the NGA’s Governor’s
Guide to Homeland Security - March 2007
• Center for Regional Disaster Resilience
– www.regionalresilience.org
Center for Regional Disaster Resilience
About the RDR Center:
The Center serves public and private sector
organizations and other key stakeholders to identify
preparedness gaps and implement cost-effective
prevention and mitigation measures to address them
Center Goal:
To improve the ability of the Pacific Northwest and
its communities to protect critical infrastructures and
essential services and to withstand all-hazards
disasters through raising awareness of infrastructure
interdependencies, providing training and education,
and developing tools, technologies, and approaches
How the RDR Center Does This
• Creating cross-sector partnerships focused on
infrastructure security
• Developing and conducting regional infrastructure
interdependencies initiatives
• Developing requirements for stakeholdervalidated projects and activities to improve
regional resilience
• Seeking funding to support regional pilot projects
to address regional preparedness needs
How the RDR Center Does This, cont.
• Overseeing the implementation of projects and
activities in a cost-effective, timely and ethical
manner
• Conducting outreach, developing and
facilitating seminars, workshops and exercises
• Communicating stakeholder-validated regional
disaster resilience recommendations to state
and provincial governments and policymakers
Blue Cascades Regional Exercise Series
• Blue Cascades I (2002)—focused
on physical disruptions
• Blue Cascades II (2004) focused
on both cyber/physical
disruptions
• Blue Cascades III (2006) recovery
& restoration from major
earthquake
• Blue Cascades IV (2007) critical
infrastructures and pandemic
preparedness
• Blue Cascades V (2008) critical
supply chains - food, fuel, water
• Blue Cascades VI (2010) floods
and H1N1
14
350 Key Stakeholder Representatives at the
Blue Cascades III Tabletop Exercise
Some PNWER Center for Regional
Disaster Resilience Projects
• Cross-Sector Information Sharing Capability with the
Washington State Fusion Center
• Regional Cyber Security/Resilience Coordination
(NWWARN & Northwest Alliance for Cyber Security)
• Automated Interdependencies ID Template
• Comprehensive Community Bio-Event Resilience
Project
• PNW Columbia River Basin Regional
Assessment/Mitigation Study
• Green River Valley Interdependencies Workshop
• WS DOT SR 520 Bridge Exercise
• SCADA Security Workshops and Cyber Exercise Support
• Energy Assurance Planning Workshops
• Waterway contingency planning with Coast Guard
• Regional Interdependencies Workshops and Blue
Cascades Exercises
www.nwwarn.org
What Disaster Resilience Means
– The capability to protect against or mitigate
significant all-hazard threats and incidents and to
quickly recover and reconstitute critical services
with minimum damage to public safety and health,
the economy and national security
– It’s about adapting—
– Having vision, focus, follow-through and fortitude—
– Embracing the “new normal”
“How to take a licking and keep on ticking”
The Resilience Tautology
• Resilient assets, infrastructures and communities require
resilient regions
• Resiliency requires understanding which assets and
services are critical in any scenario
• Understanding criticality depends upon understanding
interdependencies among infrastructures and other
stakeholder organizations (criticality is dynamic)
• Understanding interdependencies requires cross-sector
and multi-jurisdiction information sharing from the grass
roots to national levels, cross-border and all sectors
• This information sharing requires the creation of an
environment of trust where stakeholders feel ‘safe’ to
share their vulnerabilities, idea, and work together
What Community Resilience Requires
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Recognition by one or more influential local leaders
of the importance of cooperation and collaboration
because of interdependencies
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Willingness of a state, local government or a nonprofit organization to mobilize and facilitate a
partnership
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Have a process to enable regional stakeholders and
community leaders to mutually identify needs and
solutions
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Developing ways to provide encouragement,
technical expertise, resources, and sustainability to
improve disaster resilience
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Providing best practices that key stakeholders can
customize to meet community & organizational needs
Blue Cascades Series
Integrated Regional Action Plan
Covers broad spectrum of needs:
 All hazards threat assessment
 Interdependencies and related vulnerabilities
 Risk Assessment and Management
 Prevention and Mitigation
 Cooperation and coordination/information sharing
 Communications and critical IT infrastructure impacts
 Roles and responsibilities/Incident management
 Response and restoration
 Resource management
 Operations and business continuity
 Supply chains and logistics
 Human factors
 Legal and liability issues
 Public information/media as a “first responder” and
communicator /training and education
Integrated Action Plan, cont.
• Compilation of Action Plans developed from lessons
learned from the first five Blue Cascades Exercises
• Reflects a continuous process of improving allhazards preparedness and resilience by the Puget
Sound Partnership for Regional Infrastructure
Security with PNWER’s Center for Regional Disaster
Resilience
• Specifies short, medium and long-term activities that
have been completed, are underway, or are yet to be
initiated
• Serves as an informal measurement of progress
made towards resilience
Integrated Action Plan, cont.
• Is a flexible tool that is meant to be a “living
document” and to be revised and updated
• Many activities have been completed or are
underway
• Availability of resources and changing stakeholder
priorities based on perceived needs are major factors
governing which activities have been completed, are
ongoing, or yet to be addressed
Enabling Communities to Become
Resilient—Where do we go from here?
Discussion Questions:
• What other needs and activities do you think should
be added to the Integrated Action Strategy?
• What could be done to further develop and sustain
partnerships among stakeholders to improve disaster
resilience?
• How can colleges and other academic institutions
best help to empower and assist communities to
improve disaster resilience?