HIGHLIGHTS

• The NIST Planning Guide 

was used in Nashua’s 

FEMA Hazard Mitigation 

Plan update to get buy-in 

from the community.

• The planning team

completed the first steps 

in parallel rather than 

sequentially.

• Nashua is using Hazus

to determine the 

built environment's 

anticipated performance.

NIST COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

PLANNING GUIDE SUCCESS STORY

Nashua, New Hampshire, faces a variety of potential hazards, including earthquakes, 

hurricanes, flooding, blizzards, and infrastructure failures. In addition to riverine 

flooding, Nashua regularly experiences flooding due to an overwhelmed stormwater 

infrastructure and impervious cover such as roadways, parking lots, rooftops, and 

sidewalks. Making the flooding more concerning, a recent report projects average 

annual precipitation will increase 17 to 20 percent by 2100. The failure of difficultto-maintain infrastructure typically results in “band-aid” fixes instead of creative and 

economically feasible techniques to manage these assets long-term.

Residents and the broader community, including government, increasingly share the 

vision of achieving a more resilient city by better managing and mitigating the City’s 

risks. Community leaders are addressing the City’s climate resilience and hazard 

mitigation portfolio through proactive planning, rather than reactive responses. 

Partnering with the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), and others, Nashua is making its first attempt to develop a 

proactive and integrated plan that addresses shocks and stressors ranging from natural 

disasters to adverse socio-economic trends. Through Resilient Nashua, the City is 

engaging with diverse community stakeholders. Nashua is using the six-step planning 

process in NIST’s Community Resilience Planning Guide to assist in its initiative. To date, 

the community has completed Steps 1 and 2 and is in the middle stages of Steps 3 

and 4. Nashua’s planning process followed NIST’s first three steps, with some iteration 

between steps. Efforts to understand the situation and some aspects of determining 

goals and objectives were under way prior to formation of the collaborative planning 

team, which was set up in three layers. Nashua has developed its performance goals 

and is in the process of using Hazus to determine the anticipated performance of its 

buildings. 

Nashua’s 2018 planning confirmed five previously identified resilience focus areas: 

(1) aging infrastructure; (2) climate change and adaptation; (3) services for an 

increasingly diversified population; (4) resiliency as a culture; and (5) community health. 

In 2019, the City’s resilience planning efforts will culminate in a combined updated 

Hazard Mitigation Plan and a first-time Community Resilience Strategy. The document 

will contain required FEMA hazard mitigation components and also present a strategy 

for community resilience-oriented preparedness, continuity of operations, and social 

programs.

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

SITUATION

PROCESS

RESULTS

STAKEHOLDER QUOTE

“The performance goals were the 

number one thing we got out of 

using the NIST Guide. They kept 

conversations anchored." 

- Justin Kates, Director of 

Emergency Management, 

City of Nashua

NASHUA
CONTACT INFO/RESOURCES

Community Contact

Justin Kates

Director of Emergency Management, City of Nashua

Resilient Nashua Initiative

https://www.livablenashua.org/resilient-nashua-initiative

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. 

• Identifying a central goal toward which the planning team was 

working was critical. Nashua’s resilience efforts have focused on 

updating its FEMA-required Hazard Mitigation Plan and developing a 

complementary, first-time resilience strategy.

• Prior to applying the Guide, Nashua used the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Coastal Resilience Center’s Plan Integration for Resilience 

Scorecard Process, to better align existing community plans and 

activities.

• Collaboration with partners at many levels has been critical to 

successful development of Nashua’s Resilience Strategy, and a diverse 

and engaged multi-layered collaborative planning team has been very 

helpful.

• The City’s resilience leadership recognized that it is essential to engage 

the community at large, bringing residents along in real time through the 

various steps of the planning process. This experience has reinforced 

that engagement needs to take different forms since not everyone will 

attend a meeting. For example, social media was an important way 

to share information about the planning process and to encourage 

community participation in Nashua.

• Nashua found that steps 1 to 4 took more time than officials had 

anticipated, and the process was not linear. Progressing through steps 

2 to 4 in parallel has advantages, including keeping stakeholders 

engaged.

• The NIST Guide’s performance goals were its number one contribution. 

Using these goals helped Nashua to organize and ground the 

discussion and to eliminate time-consuming exploration on topics that 

were less realistic. 

• Nashua would have benefitted from a streamlined process to determine 

anticipated performance, and improved links to the Hazus tool.

Nashua’s planning process is ongoing. In 2019, the City plans to engage 

in additional resilience-related activities. Nashua will seek ways to fund and 

update the City’s Master/Comprehensive Plan. Additionally, the City would 

like to obtain the resources—including funds, time, and expertise—to analyze 

the benefits and costs of the various proposed resilience projects. Nashua is 

investigating the possibility of using NIST’s EDGe$ (Economic Decision Guide 

Software) to assist in that analysis.

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