Whole Community Resilience Planning Program

Logo_WHOLE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PLANNING_English

Whole Community Resilience Planning Program

According to the approved Disaster Recovery Action Plan of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program will result in comprehensive community recovery plans, the benefits of which will allow communities to develop policies, planning, and management capacity that best meet their needs.

The Whole Community Resilience Planning Program (WCRP) has two phases which will nurture civic engagement and allow communities to create a resilience plan and increase local capacity in their decision-making processes for future investment opportunities. In the process communities will collaboratively and effectively determine their unique needs, set goals and objectives, identify priorities and request funding for the development of a long-term resilience plan. The program priority will be high-risk communities, which are defined as communities situated in the floodway or floodplain, landslide risk areas, and/or areas of concentrated damage.​

Click here to download the most recent informative presentation about the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program.

The main goal for the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program (WCRP) is to make the most of the planning and resilience capacities that communities, through their own knowledge and experiences, already possess. The WCRP Program encourages increased collaboration among different groups in order to guarantee informed decision making on the path toward creating a Community Resilience Plan for vulnerable communities. In hosting our First Community Resilience Conference, we intend to provide information from several experts and professionals from different backgrounds in order to bolster a discussion of ideas, best practices, and initiatives in resilience focused planning.​

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Social Capital Interactive Maps

This first phase of the project includes multiple interactive maps with information on existing social assets in and around our communities across the 78 municipalities. Each map promotes awareness among residents and visitors about local places and initiatives in their surroundings. The fundamental purpose of this tool is to make this information even more accessible to our citizens and visitors, thus promoting among them the potential to identify the availability of resources at the local level allowing effective, agile and participatory community planning. The maps have been classified into the following focus areas:

  • Health

  • Education

  • Security

  • Communities

  • Community services

We hope this tool will be of great use to everyone. In the coming weeks, we will continue making improvements and updates to this tool to ensure each user has the most optimal experience possible in their navigation and use. Please note, this is a pilot version and currently shows progress on the collection and analysis of data relevant to Puerto Rico. Based on this effort, Foundation for Puerto Rico (FPR) will develop a tool with a higher level of analysis possibilities for users. To access them online, click here.

Disclaimer: This Social Capital Map (SCM) was developed in Spanish with Spanish-speaking users as the primary audience. This manual will detail usage of the tool with instructions in English, but the tool and all its data will remain in Spanish for the near future. An English version of the tool will be available at a later date, as part of an enhanced version of the SCM platform.

Working Groups

Created by Foundation for Puerto Rico, the Working Groups are multisectoral alliances that serve as insight and context providers, to help shape the development of the Whole Community Resilience Planning program. The Working Groups are composed of representatives from Federal and State government agencies, nonprofit organizations, trade groups and professional associations that possess the knowledge and experience required in the areas of economic, educational, infrastructural, health, environmental and housing development.

economic development

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education

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infrastructure

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health

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Environment

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housing

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Working Groups members

Vivienda_es
Comisión+para+la+seguridad+en+el+tránsito
Escuela+Graduada+de+Planificación
Center+for+Creative+Land+Recycling
Untitled+design+(1)
CUNY
Sociedad+Americana+contra+el+cáncer
Centro+Unido+de+Detallista
ASES
ASPPR
AEPPR
NETPR
Consejo+Renal+de+PR
Junta+de+Planificación
Centro+Investigaciones+Educativas+logo
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Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PLANNING PROGRAM (WCRP)?
Per the approved Disaster Recovery Action Plan of the Puerto Rico Department of Housing, the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program (WCRP) will result in comprehensive community recovery plans, the benefits of which will allow communities to develop policies, planning, and management capacity that best meet their needs. The WCRP has two phases which encompass a multi-sectorial collaborative effort and will allow communities to create a resilience plan and increase local capacity in their decision-making processes for future investment opportunities.
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF PHASE 1?
Design phase of the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program

The first step of the design phase includes the following: collaborative working group, Community Outreach Strategy, Notice of Funding Availability (aka NOFA), Request for Qualifications and Community Resilience Web Portal.

FPR will collaborate with a multi-sector Working Group that includes non-profit organizations and government agencies (municipal, estate and federal), academic institutions, and professional associations. From this collaboration, FPR will collect updated data on the strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of the communities within the core areas that WCRP will oversee. These are: infrastructure, housing, health and environment, education and economic development. - Phase 1: Design Phase. (6 to 8 months approximate timeline) - Phase 2: Launch of NOFA and RFQ. (9 to 18 months approximate timeline)
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF PHASE 2?
Launch of Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and the Request for Qualification (RFQ) of the Whole Community Resilience Planning Program

The collection of data process with the Working Group will result in the development of the Community Outreach Strategy, the content of the RFQ, NOFA and the Community Resilience Web Portal. The objective of the Community Outreach Strategy is to create and implement a program that reaches out to communities and municipalities. While the NOFA will define the parameters to participate, solicitation process and caps for grants, the Resilience Web Portal will provide support with information and a directory of pre-qualified professional services (local and out of Puerto Rico), that will be available to the communities during phase 2 of the program.

The NOFA and the RFQ will be published to allow communities to present competitive proposals for the request of funds. All the communities, municipalities and collaborative groups will have access to the same source of information.
AS THIS IS A NEW PROGRAM, WHO IS DESIGNING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PLANNING PROGRAM?
FPR in collaboration with the multisector working group comprised of communities and non-profit organizations, academic organizations, the private sector, professional associations, the government (municipal, state and federal), among others; will help with analysis and development of informational tools
WHO WILL BE PART OF THE MULTISECTORAL WORKING GROUP?
It will include key government agencies, community, and non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico that have the knowledge and experience in the different focus areas of the program, specifically: housing, health and environment, education, infrastructure and economic development. The Multisectoral Working Group will collaborate with communities on developing resilience plans to prevent, prepare and handle emergency situations, including natural disasters.
WHICH NGO'S ARE GOING TO BE IN THE MULTI-SECTORIAL WORKING GROUP?
Currently, the following NGO’s are confirmed to be participating in the WCRP program’s multi-sectorial working group:

1. San Juan Bay National Estuary Program
2. Puerto Rican Society of Planning
3. Institute for Youth Development
4. The Center for Puerto Rican Studies of Hunter College in New York
5. Save the Children
6. University of Puerto Rico - School of Law
7. University of Puerto Rico - School of Planning
8. University of Puerto Rico - School of Architecture
9. Primary Health Care Association of Puerto Rico

FPR is still confirming additional NGO participants.
HOW WILL THE PARTICIPATING COMMUNITIES BE CHOSEN?
All communities are eligible to participate in this program. The program will give priority to the most vulnerable and hazard prone areas, which will be identified by a vulnerability index being developed during the first phase of this program. Per the approved action plan, the overall criteria for participating municipalities is part of the program design process and will be developed by the multisectoral working group. A list of the selected communities will be included shortly on this website.

The program priority will be high-risk communities, which are defined as communities situated in the floodway or floodplain, landslide risk areas: and/or areas of concentrated damage.
WHEN WILL THE CHOSEN COMMUNITIES RECEIVE FUNDS?
Once they have been chosen by the Evaluation Committee and an award determination letter has been issued. The chosen community and/or applicant will receive funding to develop a community resilience plan. The NOFA will include additional details on the grant’s management process.
WHAT WILL BE THE MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT BE PER COMMUNITY?
The maximum grant amount per applicant will be up to $500,000. Additional details and requirements will be included in the NOFA.
WHAT WILL THE OUTCOME OF THE WCRP PROGRAM BE?
At the end of the program, the communities that receive funding allocations will have created their community resilience plans, indicating what type of investments they need to become a resilient community.
FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE PLANS THAT ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, AND PROJECTS IDENTIFIED, HOW DO THE PLANS BECOME ACTIONABLE? WILL THERE BE FUNDING FOR PROJECTS IDENTIFIED IN THE SECOND PHASE?
The scope of work for the WCRP program is solely focused on helping communities complete a final plan. We will provide the chosen communities with information about available resources to implement their plans, once completed, however at that point, it is up to the community to execute on their final plan.
WILL THE WCRP PROGRAM WILL HAVE FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN?
No, the funds from the WCRP will not be used for implementation of final plans. The WCRP program’s purpose is to create a community resilience plan. These plans will include projects identified through a community planning process and potential funding mechanisms for their future implementation.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WERE NOT AWARDED OR SELECTED FOR THE WCRP PROGRAM?
The goal of the program is to make sure that all communities have the opportunity to apply for the WCRP program. In the event a community is not selected for WCRP, they will have the opportunity to submit the proposal for the CDBG-DR action plan and other initiatives managed by COR3 and other Federal programs.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WERE NOT AWARDED OR SELECTED FOR THE WCRP PROGRAM?
The goal of the program is to make sure that all communities have the opportunity to apply for the WCRP program. In the event a community is not selected for WCRP, they will have the opportunity to submit the proposal for the CDBG-DR action plan and other initiatives managed by COR3 and other Federal programs.
HOW DO PEOPLE FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION AND HOW DO THEY CONTACT FOUNDATION FOR PUERTO RICO?
You can find additional information on Foundation for Puerto Rico’s website: www.foundationforpuertorico.org/wcrp or reach out to WCRP@foundationpr.org
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Memorandum of Understanding
Glossary of Terms
Amendment A (SRA)