Description:

With the increasing impacts of climate change at present and in the upcoming decades, one of the most pressing challenges facing society today is the application of environmental data to develop new, creative, and effective ways to mitigate the risks posed by natural hazards. The ability to effectively coordinate information and resources across inter-organizational networks is critical to the successful implementation of these mitigation solutions. The steps between initial data collection by federal agencies or research institutions to actionable information that can be leveraged by on-the-ground partners must be streamlined to ensure that changes can be made in a timely manner. This data life cycle involves many different players - government at all levels, private businesses, academia, nonprofits, and others - who all have different capabilities, assumptions, and expectations that impact how they perform their roles. Understanding these capabilities, assumptions, and expectations across organizations can help break down information silos, and ultimately make research more actionable. Dissecting what makes a successful community of practice in the field of risk management and natural hazards resilience - and how environmental data play a key role in this - is crucial for ensuring a sustainable future. We invite those with previous experience or who are currently working to bridge these inter-organizational gaps to share their successes, challenges, and insights in this session.