Resilient Nation Partnership Network

Who We Are

What We Do

Why Join the RNPN

Partner Perspectives

Partner Activities

How to Join

The Resilient Nation Partnership Network (RNPN) is a unique network of organizations and individuals united to help communities take action and become more resilient. Our mission is to inform, educate, and motivate communities to protect themselves from the loss of life, property, and prosperity as a result of natural hazards.

September 30 from 3:00pm – 4:00pm EST

Please join the RNPN, National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, and State Representative of Hawaii District 34 Gregg Takayama as we discuss Advancing State Resilience While Adapting to Fiscal and Capacity Constraints. For more information or to register, please visit the event page.

Every Wednesday in October, the RNPN will host the “Alliances for Equity” Virtual Forum series in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Throughout the month, more than 30 speakers from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors will come together to discuss current challenges and actionable steps toward prioritizing and building a more equitable future.

Dr. Atyia Martin, CEO and Founder of All Aces, Inc., will deliver keynote remarks at the kickoff event on October 7. Speakers will represent a diversity of organizations and perspectives, including the William Averette Anderson Fund, the Institute for Sustainable Communities, the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management, the National League of Cities, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the American Association of Retired Persons, the Passamaquoddy Tribal Government, the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and many more.

For questions or more information, please contact FEMA-ResilientNation@fema.dhs.gov.

Who We Are

The RNPN consists of organizations and individuals representing a variety of fields, industries, populations, and communities with a vested interest in strong, resilient communities. To date, the RNPN includes over 200 organizations across all sectors. Current partners represent community planning, floodplain management, insurance, emergency management, building and infrastructure, environment and sustainability, academia, other Federal agencies, and State and local governments. FEMA welcomes new and diverse organizations to join.

What We Do

The RNPN was established to encourage nationwide collaborations among a wide spectrum of industries invested in reducing the risk of disasters. By bringing a variety of voices to the table, the RNPN works together to find ways to inform, educate, and motivate communities to protect themselves from the loss of life and property. RNPN stakeholders address a wide range of challenges in resilience such as social equity, financial preparedness, communicating risk, and more. Partnership success stories can be found below.

Why Join the RNPN

The RNPN is founded on community and knowledge sharing. Partners receive access to a wide network of professionals in the resilience field, as well as information, data, tools, training, and speaking opportunities. The RNPN fosters opportunities for an open dialogue with peers and thought leaders and helps connect partners to fuel action at the national, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. Examples of actionable changes achieved across the country through RNPN collaboration efforts include:

“Big Build” Community Day: The RNPN developed an interactive exhibit for the National Building Museum’s (NBM) Big Build Community Day in October 2019 to engage children and families on the subject of resilience and flood risk. NBM, a member of the RNPN since 2015, hosts the annual event each fall to introduce youth to a wide range of building skills, including planning, design, architecture, and construction.

Due to the wide breadth of expertise represented, partners often leverage the RNPN to identify thought leaders and subject matter experts for national conferences, events, and meetings. In June 2020, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation leveraged the RNPN to connect with thought leaders across equity to speak at the 9th Annual Building Resilience through Private-Public Partnerships Conference. Leaders from Texas A&M University, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National League of Cities (NLC), and the Bill Anderson Fund were introduced to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and invited to lead important conversations around inequities in disaster preparedness and response.  

“Through its vast network of partners, the Resilient Nation Partnership Network (RNPN) was able to collaborate with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation by lining up thought leaders to participate at its esteemed Building Resilience through Public Partnerships Conference, July 14-16, 2020. Through the coordination of both the U.S. Chamber Foundation and the RNPN, four esteemed and expert voices representing three diverse sectors were brought to the table, adding tremendous value to this important dialogue.” – U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation

At the American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference in 2018, the RNPN was the catalyst for three organizations, the Georgetown Climate Center, Rebuild by Design, and FEMA, to collaboratively lead a session exploring how language is used in reducing long-term risk to natural hazards. The three organizations focused on the following areas based on their individual area of expertise: resilience, climate adaptation, and hazard planning.

In 2018, FEMA’s Region III team helped establish the Lackawanna County Flood Risk Coalition (LCFRC) to aid community members in understanding mapping updates and changes to flood risk. This local working group leaned on participation from local organizations and the support of RNPN partners to establish its core membership base, convene local expertise, build credibility with the community, and expand awareness of flood risk. The LCFRC is in its second year of operation and was essential in increasing community-wide awareness and participation at public meetings and Open Houses at the end of 2019 and early 2020.

Following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017, the RNPN developed three response and recovery social media toolkits that contained information and resources to aid communities impacted by the events. The toolkits included information on rebuilding, recovery, insurance, and mitigation, and were shared with partners alongside social media posts to further disseminate the information among respective stakeholders and conferences. Additionally, the RNPN hosted two hurricane coordination calls with Risk Management Directorate (RMD) leadership to discuss how the organizations can better work together during these critical moments.

Partner Activities

We stay in touch through various means of communication and engagement, including:

Quarterly Calls

Quarterly calls are held once a quarter following the government’s fiscal year calendar, except the quarter when the Partnership Forum is held. Calls focus on a specific topic or theme and feature a variety of speakers to reflect diverse perspectives. Prior calls have focused on coastal resilience (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]), insurance and resilience (Willis Towers Watson and the Center for NYC Neighborhoods), and vulnerable and underrepresented populations (Enterprise Community Partners, FEMA).

The Resilience Exchange

These learning sessions are held on a monthly/bi-monthly basis and provide a platform for a partner to go in depth on a particular subject or topic, promoting an “exchange” of knowledge with others in the RNPN. They are held both in person and virtually. Past speakers have included: 

• D.C. Office of Planning
• International Code Council
• NOAA
• National Institute of Building Sciences
• Anthropocene Alliance
• Habitat for Humanity
• and many others

The Resilient Nation Roundup

This newsletter is sent monthly to partners, FEMA, and stakeholders, and features a diversity of content provided from partners, for partners. Partnering organizations may submit updates, announcements, and links for submission. Click here to join our mailing list. To learn more about how to submit content please contact FEMA-ResilientNation@fema.dhs.gov.

• July 2020 Resilient Nation Roundup
• June 2020 Resilient Nation Roundup

The Annual Partnership Forum is hosted by the RNPN, FEMA, and a different partner organization each year. It is an all-day event providing opportunities for partners to engage in thought leadership, knowledge exchange, networking, and action-oriented discussion around a specific topic. Past Forums include:

•  “Resilient Together” | Co-host: The World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
• “Innovation in Resilience” | Co-host: The Pew Charitable Trusts
• “The Future of Resilience” | Co-host: The American Institute of Architects
• Inaugural Forum with the NBM

The 2020 Partnership Forum, “Alliances for Equity,” was scheduled to take place on March 19, 2020, at the NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, but was postponed due to travel and public gathering concerns related to COVID-19. A rescheduled date is pending.

How to Join

Interested in joining or learning more? The RNPN is an opt-in, peer to peer, network founded on community and knowledge sharing. All we ask of our members is their time and commitment to collaboratively advancing action and conversations that help a diverse array of communities and stakeholders be more resilient against natural hazards.