How to Use the Resilience Grand Pathways Framework

How to Use the Resilience Grand Pathways Framework

The Grand Pathways Framework is designed to point the way to science and technology innovation supporting multiple societal dimensions, key functions, and cross-cutting enablers. For example, when considering the impacts of natural hazards and a changing climate on the safety and security of communities and the economy, the framework can help users map out the key functions and crosscutting enablers that are necessary to support those societal dimensions. Users can then explore the vulnerabilities of those key functions and cross-cutting enablers to various threats and hazards, including natural hazards.

Such exploration helps users discover elements common across societal dimensions. For example, users could identify a surface transportation network that is critical to both the community’s economy in steady state and to safety in the event of a disaster (Figure 3). At the same time, they might identify a coastal park that creates ecotourism opportunities in steady state and that provides a buffer against storm surge during hurricanes. Framework users could then look for interdependencies across elements, such as a surface road and adjacent subsurface utility corridor that rely on the coastal park’s wetlands for protection against storm surge and scouring wave action.

With a fuller understanding of commonalities and interdependencies, framework users can then start to identify gaps where new science and technology investments would be most beneficial in building the property of resilience. In spanning multiple societal dimensions and/or cross-cutting enablers, the Grand Pathways Framework has the potential to make a large impact in strengthening a community’s resilience along multiple frontiers. Figure 3 overlays this example on the Grand Pathways Framework structure to show how a science and technology solution could investigate two cross-cutting enablers and one key function, in support of three societal dimensions. The next section explores other uses cases.