CoPe EAGER: Collaborative Research: Evaluating Coastal Community Resilience Bonds to Facilitate Community Recovery

Missouri University Of Science And Technology, Rolla MO

Investigators

Abstract

This project evaluates the use of a new type of bond, a coastal community resilience bond (CCRB), that has the potential to assist coastal communities to recover more quickly and become more resilient following a disaster. If effective, this new bond mechanism can be extended to other communities. This new type of bond integrates social assets and physical infrastructure in its development to enable investment in community resilience. The two goals of this resilience bond are to: (1) achieve equitable recovery of both physical and social systems and institutions; and (2) reduce the resilience gap between different types of communities. The resilience bond development includes not only the repair of the physical systems in a community, but also valuation and investment that enable timely recovery of social institutions, bridging a gap in current disaster resilience bonds. As part of this research graduate students will receive cross-disciplinary training where the fields of urban planning, engineering, and finance overlap. To test this new type of bond, the research team considers two case study communities in Mississippi and South Carolina each having different resilience planning capacities, but both identifying needs in resilience investment. Community level modeling with a portfolio of options to achieve these goals and objectives will consider metrics identified as part of the engagement process combined with what is achievable. A resilience bond pricing methodology will be developed through a series of interviews and consultation with insurance and finance industry experts. Pricing will be discussed with community stakeholders to determine if it is within the acceptable range. The primary outcomes of this research are: (1) the development of a coastal community resilience bond which not only includes the repair of the physical systems in a community, but also provides valuation and investment to enable timely recovery of social institutions, bridging a gap in current disaster resilience bonds; (2) a high-fidelity loss model integrated with a community-level model to enable decision-making based on community needs; and (3) development of a coastal community resilience bond development methodology that is adaptive to varying capacities for resilience investment and planning in a variety of communities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.