Regional Resilience Partnership

The Regional Resilience Partnership (RRP) builds the capacity of communities to strengthen resilience and mitigate disaster risk. Initiated following Hurricane Harvey, which caused widespread destruction throughout the Coastal Bend, RRP focuses on the 11 counties encompassing the South Texas Coastal Bend region, though we encourage broader collaboration with Texas and Gulf of Mexico communities.

RRP is administered by the Harte Research Institute (HRI) for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) and the Coastal Bend Council of Governments (CBCOG). We envision communities in the region being resilient to natural disaster events and environmental change, becoming leaders in advancing innovative yet grounded solutions.

To do so, RRP offers the following services to its partners and stakeholders:

• Weekly RRP-News email listserv with training and funding announcements (sign up at RRP@tamucc.edu)
• Targeted training sessions on recovery, mitigation and resilience
• Direct technical support and guidance to local partners on implementing recovery, resilience and risk mitigation measures

As part of the MOU agreement between the CBCOG and TAMU-CC, RRP also pursues funding to help communities build capacity and reach local to regional resilience goals.

RRP Initial Projects

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS):

RRP is leading revision of the CEDS, a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. Housed with CBCOG and overseen by the CEDS Committee, the CEDS is being expanded to build capacity and economic resilience for the Coastal Bend.

Geospatial Economic Resilience Development (GeoRED):

With funding from the Economic Development Administration, as well as additional support from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the RRP is advancing a project to develop and build GeoRED, an open-source GIS platform for resilient economic development. Beginning with seven Coastal Bend counties, GeoRED will:

• Integrate physical data sets with hazard information
• Provide a common online platform to assess risk in a geospatial framework

RRP Training for Resilience:

Earl C. Sams Foundation awarded RRP $10K to implement a training program for local officials and stakeholders that will:

• Provide training on building community recovery and resilience; and
• Work with local partners to build data-informed funding and action strategies.

*All logos, illustrations, and designs related to the Regional Resilience Partnership are copyright of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies and are not to be reproduced without written permission.