| NSF Org: |
SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 20, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | September 4, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1800302 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Brian Humes
SES Division of Social and Economic Sciences SBE Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
| Start Date: | March 15, 2018 |
| End Date: | October 31, 2018 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $71,473.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $71,473.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
701 S NEDDERMAN DR ARLINGTON TX US 76019-9800 (817)272-2105 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
TX US 76019-0539 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Hurricane Harvey 2017 |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.075 |
ABSTRACT
Natural disasters place immense stress on governments and public resources. Following such crises, private and non-profit organizations?including the American Red Cross, food banks, businesses, and religious groups?play a crucial role in filling gaps in the ability of government to provide services. Understanding the actions of such organizations during crisis situations and recovery efforts is critical to preparing for future natural disasters. Nonetheless, there is only limited research into their role and their coordination with federal, state, and local governments. Focusing on the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, this project will address important questions in the field of political science. In particular, it will illuminate how organizations identify gaps in government services, how they coordinate their efforts with government, and why these efforts prove effective or ineffective. The conclusions drawn from this research will contribute to improved coordination between government and private/non-profit organizations during future natural disasters.
The supplementation of state capacity by non-state actors is a recurring, although understudied, phenomenon within the United States. While scholars such as Jacob Hacker have explored the role of non-state entities in providing social welfare benefits, most research on the non-state provision of services has focused on underdeveloped states in the Global South. In this project, we redirect scholarly attention to the role of private providers by addressing two key questions: 1) During times of crisis, how do non-state entities identify and react to gaps in government capacity to respond? 2) How do non-state entities work to coordinate their efforts with those of government, and why do these efforts prove effective or ineffective? We address these questions by conducting three waves of semi- structured, elite interviews in affected areas of both Texas and Florida. Grounded in established political science methods and approaches, our analysis will rely on the coding and computational examination of interview data and the mapping of coordination patterns.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Natural disasters have a massive and important impact on public safety and health. The aftermath of these disasters is shaped by interactions between government and non-governmental entities. This project explored the role of non-governmental entities, meaning non-profits, religious groups, and businesses, in disaster response and relief.
We engaged in extensive fieldwork in areas impacted by hurricanes and wildfires during 2017. We completed 44 hours of on-the-ground and telephone interviews in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Northern California and Southern California with representatives of government agencies and non-governmental entities. In addition, we fielded surveys of 115 non-governmental entities involved in disaster response within these five disaster-impacted areas. Finally, we engaged in secondary data analysis, compiling and analyzing data on the distribution of non-profit assets from the Internal Revenue Service's Business Master Files in affected areas.
The role of non-governmental entities is an important yet understudied topic in political science, with significant real-world applications. In particular, examining the place of non-governmental entities in identifying and attempting to fill in gaps in state capacity has implications for our understanding of American government and the relationship between state and society. In our research, we evaluated the coordination between government and non-governmental entities as well as the effectiveness of collaborative efforts.
We found that non-governmental entities play a crucial role in disaster response and recovery. These entities can act quickly, are highly flexible, and may have the ability to effectively assist marginalized communities after disasters. Nonetheless, they face significant challenges. In particular, it is difficult for them to coordinate with each other and with government. In many areas, meanwhile, we found that non-governmental entities lack the resources necessary to supplement government efforts. Our research suggests the importance of VOADs (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) in furthering the goals of both government and non-governmental entities following disasters.
Last Modified: 03/01/2019
Modified by: Daniel Sledge
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