Directors’ welcome

A transformative year to scale up impact

There is no better time than now to talk about transitions. As we face what it means to recover from a lingering global shock, we are individually and collectively redefining “normal.” This transition period is not only a time of profound shock, grief and change, but also one of relief and opportunity. Many of us are making our way back to work and back to school and adapting our lives in ways that may have been unthinkable just a couple of years ago.

For the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at ASU, this period coincides with our planned transition from Phase I to Phase II. In Phase I, we began piloting knowledge mechanisms, designing activities, and building relationships to implement our work in Maricopa County. In Phase II, we are now scaling up our efforts and expanding our impact on sustained, equitable community resilience.

Our organizational transition offers an opportunity for real transformation. This requires reflection, purpose and a thorough, systematic remaking of the character of our work. This year we are transforming KER in the following ways.

• Evolving our mission and vision for the future to expand and deepen the impact of the work we built and piloted with many of you, as our partners and associates, around the intersection of our FUSE themes. FUSE refers to how we connect heat resilience to secure Food, energy and water; Urban heat resilience and health; Shelter, home and the built environment; and the Economy and a resilient workforce - keeping in mind the need for equitable solutions across all of these themes. In this report, you’ll see this thematic framework solidified as our vision for building community resilience through our work.

Read about our vision of resilience for Maricopa County on page 5.

• Setting in place a robust structure for how to implement our work in innovative ways, taking into account what we have shared and discovered along the way. This means that some of our experiments are ending, some of our activities will become signature, and some new gaps will be filled. It also means that our team and their roles have been clarified and empowered. In this year’s report, you’ll see how we have elevated the leadership of our Associate Directors and how that fits with a new Blueprint of Action, which will help us to scale up our impact.

Read about our Blueprint of Action and Associate Directors on page 7.

KER moves into the newly constructed Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7 in December 2021.

• Scaling up: There are many ways to define scale, and we are doing so in this transition with a strategic approach. For instance, we are positioned to be the “gold standard” for heat resilience not just for Maricopa County, but for the United States and the world. We are also positioned to lead from experience in building researchbacked, action-oriented, and equity-minded community resilience interventions. From our home in the Global Futures Laboratory, we will be working to become an innovative example that inspires broader strategic action. We have made a good start with the recognition this year that ASU is #1 in Resilience and in Innovation.

Learn about the role of innovation in resilience on page 30.

• Expanding our impact: A purposeful transition refocuses us on asking, who benefits from the work we do, and how might we amplify these outcomes? For KER, this means mobilizing existing and new collaborators within our multi-sector network to invest in community resilience, and promoting allocation of human and financial resources for systems transformation. In this report, you will read about how we are measuring the impact of our research and partnerships.

Read more about how we measure our impact on page 37.

As we collectively transition to a “new normal,” and as we embark on our next phase of action at KER, we consider this a transformative opportunity, a moment that resonates with the chance to “build back better.” It reminds us of the urgency to adapt and build resilience together.

Elizabeth Wentz

Director and Principal Investigator

wentz@asu.edu

Patricia Solís

Executive Director

patricia.solis@asu.edu