Resilience engineering: A report on the needs of the stakeholder communities and the prospects for responsive educational programs

Recent natural and man-made disruptions in major urban areas around the globe have over the last decade spurred widespread interest in the improvement of community resilience. We here define “community” in general terms ranging from local neighborhoods to a nation (and beyond). Resilience as articulated in this manner is not easily quantified, standardized, measured, and modeled. Success will require the integration of seemingly disparate disciplines (e.g., behavioral psychology and software engineering), the involvement of widely diverse stakeholders (e.g., power authorities and the insurance industry), and perhaps even the invention of new fields of study (e.g., measurement science). Given the vast scope of this domain, and the numerous activities in the area already planned or underway around the world, it is essential that a careful assessment be conducted with the aim of identifying the applications of Resilience Engineering; the gaps in our ability to understand, communicate and improve community resilience; and the potential need for — and design of — an academic program aimed at the development of resilience professionals. Stevens Institute of Technology has since 1992 been working with Federal, State and local government officials and industry representatives to improve the resiliency of coastal communities to threats posed by natural hazards including tropical and extra-tropical storms, and flooding. These activities have included the development and delivery of a number of different coastal hazards educational programs, some tailored to engineers and planners, others to government and industry decision-makers and policy makers, and still others to the general public. Over the last 8 years, in large part due to Stevens' leadership of the National Center for Maritime Security, our work in hazard mitigation and resiliency has evolved into an All Hazards approach that includes threats posed by both natural hazards and man-made events. Recently, and in partnership with Lloyd's Register Foundation (LRF), Stevens hosted an international workshop to examine the role of Resilience Engineering in improving the resilience of communities and engineered systems in the range of sectors of interest to the LRF. The workshop included the participation of experts from around the world representing a diverse array of disciplines relevant to resiliency. A report summarizing the workshop findings was prepared that identified the research and education areas most needed to effectively enhance community resilience. In the present paper, we are taking this examination to the logical next step — does Resilience Engineering merit consideration as a new field of study? If yes, at what level and in what format should it be delivered in order to ensure the essential multi-disciplinary treatment of this complex topic? We examine a few of the emerging programs elsewhere around the world to provide a framework of possible approaches. Important international initiatives such as the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities are opening doors to the creation of new government positions (e.g., Chief Resilience Officer); the same development has been occurring in private industry for several years. Our experience at Stevens suggests strongly that any such academic program must be tied to research, preferably research that is applications-oriented and impactful. Strong collaboration with government and private sector stakeholders is essential to success.