HIGHLIGHTS

• Collaborative Planning 

Team engaged over 40 

stakeholder groups to 

identify dependencies 

and understand 

hazards.

• RRAP Team delivered 

a dependency mapping 

tool to Fort Collins 

that demonstrates 

how failures will have 

consequences in other 

parts of the community.

• RRAP Team provided 

set of options to the 

city to become more 

resilient.

NIST COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

PLANNING GUIDE SUCCESS STORY

The Fort Collins area has experienced multiple significant hazard events. In 1997, 10 

to 14 inches of rain over 31 hours resulted in over $200 million in flood damage. The 

High Park Fire in June 2012 burned 87,284 acres, exacerbating flood risks. Colorado’s 

Front Range experienced a September 2013 extreme rainfall event and subsequent 

flooding, causing nearly $4 billion in damage across 24 counties. the City and Larimer 

County collaborated to address key hazards identified by community stakeholders: 

flooding, wildfires, train derailments/chemical spills, and long duration power outages.

The City and County collaborated to implement the first four steps in the NIST Guide as 

part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Regional Resilience Assessment 

Program (RRAP), with support from Idaho National Laboratory. A collaborative planning 

team was led by an Emergency Management Coordinator from Larimer County and 

supported by the Emergency Management Director of Fort Collins. 

The effort engaged community stakeholders from eight Social Functions identified in 

the NIST Guide (economy, education, health, family, government, religious and cultural 

beliefs, media, community service) and four Utility Groups (water, wastewater, power, 

communications). INL mapped dependencies and the RRAP team evaluated the 

impact of flooding and wildland-urban interface as the primary hazards, and developed 

performance goals and determined anticipated performance by developing dependency 

maps to evaluate system level response and identify areas where gaps existed. 

The RRAP team determined Fort Collins’ anticipated performance by developing 

detailed dependency maps. These maps allowed the team to evaluate system level 

response and identify areas where there were gaps that, if addressed, could lead to 

improved resilience. 

The RRAP team provided Fort Collins with a set of options to improve resilience. Since 

Fort Collins is active in planning, these options were presented such that they can be 

incorporated into other plans for implementation. The RRAP team provided the city with 

a dependency mapping tool, implemented in ArcGIS, that will allow the city to consider 

dependencies when considering future projects. 

FORT COLLINS, COLORADO

SITUATION

PROCESS

RESULTS

STAKEHOLDER QUOTE

“Actions to improve resilience can 

offer immediate dividends beyond 

resiliency. That’s why we are planning now and moving forward in 

ways that reflect our community’s 

priorities. The NIST Guide is a very 

helpful tool for doing just that.”

- Gerry Horak,

Ft. Collins Mayor Pro Tem

FORT COLLINS
CONTACT INFO/RESOURCES

Community Contact

Gerry Horak

Mayor Pro Tem

Fort Collins Resilience Planning

https://citiesspeak.org/2016/07/18/how-the-city-of-fort-collins-is-making-community-resiliency-a-reality/

NIST Community Resilience Program

https://www.nist.gov/topics/community-resilience

NIST Contact

resilience@nist.gov

When communities decide to become 

more resilient, they need an approach 

that helps them identify and prioritize 

options consistent with their goals. 

The National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) Community Resilience 

Planning Guide for Buildings and Physical 

Infrastructure Systems helps communities 

do that, by focusing on the role of the built 

environment in enabling the community to 

rapidly recover from disruption. It provides 

a clear process for communities to better 

prepare for the future. 

Step 1

• The collaborative planning team should consist of local

representatives who understand and accept the value of community

resilience planning, are committed to the process, and are able to

champion resilience and engage the relevant stakeholders.

• It is important to socialize the resilience planning concept ahead

of time to build support.

• Endorsement by elected leadership is essential.

• It is important for the collaborative planning team to receive

periodic updates on the analysis when external organizations are

performing the analysis.

Step 2

• It is important to identify the lifeline service providers and contacts

for the region as soon as possible once the project begins.

• Addressing concerns about information exchange and security with 

lifeline service providers is critical to their participation.

• For each social function identified in the NIST Guide, the Collaborative 

Planning Team should have a point of contact who can

assist with detailed understanding of that function and the associated

local attributes and dependencies.

Step 3

• Use the existing data and information from other plans to determine 

priorities for building and infrastructure performance.

• Local GIS resources can be especially helpful to resilience planning efforts, 

particularly when it comes to understanding and interpreting data.

Step 4

• Incorporating proposed actions to improve resilience into existing

city planning processes for implementation is valuable.

The RRAP team delivered a dependency mapping tool to Fort Collins that 

depicts the dependencies and the consequences of failure that allow 

stakeholders to see and understand how these dependencies could impact 

their ability to deliver services following a hazard event. The RRAP team also 

provided a set of options to the city to improve resilience. These options 

will be considered for implementation by the city. The dependency mapping 

tool will be used by the city to consider dependencies when planning future 

infrastructure projects.

WHAT’S NEXT?

NIST PLANNING GUIDE LESSONS LEARNED

FORM A

COLLABORATIVE 

PLANNING 

TEAM

UNDERSTAND 

THE 

SITUATION

DETERMINE 

GOALS & 

OBJECTIVES

PLAN 

DEVELOPMENT 

PLAN

PREPARATION,

REVIEW &

APPROVAL

PLAN 

IMPLEMENTATION 

& MAINTENANCE

1

2

4

6

3

5

FEBRUARY 2019

SIX-STEP PLANNING PROCESS