LISC Hampton Roads and RISE, supported by Sentara Well being, are launching the Group Resilience Innovation Problem to establish the core social, financial, and environmental vulnerabilities confronted by underserved coastal communities and develop sensible options to deal with these wants.
Coastal communities within the U.S. are residence to 128 million individuals. It helps about 66 million jobs, creates US$ 3.4 trillion in wages, and contributes almost 45% of the nation’s GDP. Nevertheless, these communities additionally grapple with amplified financial, social, and environmental challenges attributable to urbanization and local weather change.
The heaviest burden typically falls on underserved and marginalized residents, who’re disproportionately uncovered to flooding and concrete warmth islands, together with the compounding threats of job insecurity, inadequate or outdated housing, restricted availability of wholesome meals and transportation choices, and inaccessibility to healthcare. All of those elements mixed create a higher unfavourable impression on their well being, well-being, and livelihood.
What’s the LISC/RISE Group Resilience Innovation Problem?
A really resilient neighborhood requires greater than an efficient response to emergencies. It additionally incorporates a robust well being infrastructure, financial and job safety, inexpensive housing choices, and techniques to deal with environmental hazards.
The aim of the Problem is to supply options that deal with instant wants but in addition take into account the broader spectrum of things affecting neighborhood resilience. By understanding and measuring these elements, the LISC/RISE Problem goals to empower neighborhood leaders and stakeholders to make knowledgeable selections, prioritize investments, and implement the simplest methods for long-term resilience.
The Problem will make the most of well-established metrics and knowledge sources that assist in figuring out and prioritizing areas of want together with the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and the Local weather and Financial Justice Screening Device (CEJST).
Key Focus Areas of the Group Resilience Innovation Problem
The Group Resilience Innovation Problem welcomes progressive options that may be utilized and commercialized with demonstrated potential for social and financial impression throughout the next key matter areas:
Well being, Wellness and Security
In underserved communities, particularly in coastal areas dealing with environmental threats, entry to each bodily and behavioral healthcare is important. Individuals in these areas typically have problem discovering high quality well being providers, wholesome meals, and secure employment. These circumstances form well being behaviors and contribute to main well being issues, leading to increased illness charges and decrease life expectancy.
LISC, RISE, and Sentara are devoted to fostering more healthy communities and enhancing the standard of life for these in want in Virginia. Potential options for this Problem embody cellular well being clinics, residence healthcare providers, inexpensive childcare applications, progressive insurance coverage fashions, meals safety options, and extra.
Reasonably priced Housing
Reasonably priced housing is important in communities the place excessive residing prices outpace residents’ incomes. In these areas, a scarcity of inexpensive housing can result in overcrowding and, in some circumstances, homelessness. Furthermore, the shortage of inexpensive housing choices could compel residents to reside removed from their work, creating important transportation limitations.
Compounding this challenge is the prevalence of the “Not in My Again Yard” (NIMBY) mentality, the place native communities resist new developments attributable to considerations over altering neighborhood dynamics and potential decreases in property values.
This reluctance, coupled with insufficient native funding, ineffective housing insurance policies, and rising property values attributable to city improvement, creates substantial limitations to progress. In coastal underserved communities, environmental threats add an additional layer of problem, disproportionately impacting the economically and socially susceptible.
Potential answer areas embody expedited building, repurposed housing stock, improved entry for owners and renters, new financing fashions, and extra.
Financial & Job Safety
Understanding the essential function of financial and job safety in neighborhood resilience is crucial. Secure jobs and economies allow communities to resist shocks and stresses like monetary crises or pure disasters, improve particular person well-being, and supply social cohesion.
This Problem seeks new and progressive concepts that strengthen financial and job safety and availability, contributing to the creation of vibrant, sustainable communities. In case your proposal has a further concentrate on local weather resilience, it’s going to rating further factors within the analysis. Examples of options embody enterprise improvement and entrepreneurship, monetary literacy and administration, neighborhood funding, and profit-sharing, amongst others.
Environmental Resilience
Coastal communities are sometimes the primary to expertise the direct impacts of local weather change, together with sea-level rise, larger and extra intense storms, and coastal erosion. Traditionally, underserved communities have been disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and local weather change.
Enhancing environmental resilience in these areas is not only about defending the setting; it’s about safeguarding the well being, livelihoods, and way forward for the communities residing there, which in flip makes these communities stand up to climate-related impacts.
This Problem is in search of proposals that not solely deal with the instant challenges posed by environmental modifications but in addition contribute to the long-term sustainability and resilience of those communities. Options could vary from local weather adaptation and sustainable useful resource administration to renewable power tasks and catastrophe preparedness applications.
Some instance options embody catastrophe preparedness and response, the event of inexperienced areas for flood and warmth resilience, resilience-based financial improvement, and inexperienced job creation.
As soon as chosen, Problem winners pilot their options within the residing lab of the higher Hampton Roads area. This may present a possibility for the winners to reveal the real-world worth and efficacy essential for companies to develop and scale their next-generation merchandise and applied sciences. As well as, winners can even obtain the next advantages:
- As much as US$ 300,000 in non-dilutive grant funding
- Actual-world pilot websites in higher Hampton Roads, Virginia
- Insights and suggestions from pilot companions
- Personalized enterprise accelerator curriculum
- Professional mentorship from authorities, technical, and enterprise leaders
- PR alternatives and media visibility
- Introductions to potential traders and clients
Vital Dates & Timeline of the Problem
Functions are actually open!
- 06.06.2024: Software submission deadline.
- 02.08.2024: Finalists introduced. Finalists shall be required to submit extra documentation, together with technical particulars of your answer, a piece plan, and monetary projections.
- Mid-August, 2024: Finalists’ pitch displays to the Choice Committee
- 01.09.2024: Winners and funding ranges introduced
Concerning the Problem Organizers
LISC Hampton Roads is an area department of the Native Initiatives Assist Company, a nationwide nonprofit group that works to rework distressed city and rural communities into wholesome and sustainable locations. LISC offers funding, technical help, and different sources to assist communities deal with the challenges they face.
RISE is a nonprofit group that works to construct neighborhood resilience within the face of local weather change and different threats. RISE works with communities, companies, and different organizations to develop progressive options that promote sustainability, fairness, and resilience.
Sentara Well being is dedicated to creating more healthy communities. It’s in search of new concepts and options that may assist this aim and align with present applications or assist efforts to create more healthy communities.
Able to be a neighborhood & resilience solutions-builder? Apply at this time!
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