Abstract
Resilient organizations and people can anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to disruptions. In addition to recurring natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding, Puerto Rico recently has faced the most damaging earthquakes in a hundred years, as well as COVID-19 and a financial crisis. Sea-level rise and intensifying storms from climate change compound future threats. National and territorial government responses have been inconsistent, and so a public-private initiative has been teaching small and medium-sized Puerto Rican enterprises to anticipate stresses and shocks and leverage them to emerge stronger and better adapted to the “new normal.” The goal is not just to “bounce back,” but to “be prepared to bounce forward better.” This can benefit individual businesses, while helping to make communities more resilient and sustainable. Resilience has three components: cultural—is the organization willing to keep fighting when under stress; operational—do communications and coordination channels keep functioning; and infrastructural—are critical services like power, water, etc. available? This paper presents a practical approach, informed by theory. It draws on lessons to be learned from a project beginning in May in Puerto Rico as a collaborative effort between the Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities at George Mason University, and the Puerto Rico Science and Technology Research Trust. The project is designed to build local capacity so that results can sustained indigenously. Long-term objectives are aligned with the SDGs. Lessons learned are developed into a more general model for use in other cultures and communities.
Presenters
Linton Wells IiExecutive Advisor, Center for Resilient and Sustainable Communities, George Mason University, Virginia, United States Annie Mustafa - Ramos
Program Manager, Resiliency & Business Innovation, a program at the PR Science Technology & Research Trust, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Sustainability, Resilience, Business, Bottom-up, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Small and Medium-Sized
