This research is a collaborative undertaking involving investigators from multiple disciplines and institutions in studying the shared governance of risk by the federal and state governments. The character of the response to extreme events is a direct consequence of priorities for addressing various risks, the capabilities of the participating organizations to incorporate discordant information, and the decisions made at multiple levels of government. This research systematically addresses federal influences on state risk priorities, state risk priorities, federal and state organizational response repertoires, and the organizational dynamics of response to discordant information. Research activities include case studies of selected federal and state organizations, empirical study of federal risk policy and programs, empirical study of risk attention in the 50 states, and systems-dynamic simulation of organizational capabilities and responses to extreme events. The research links the systemic-level issues of policy direction and design with the micro-level issues of organizational capabilities and response. A new understanding of organizational choice will be developed that integrates the policy process attention-driven model used to study policy agenda-setting with systems modeling of organizational capabilities and responses for extreme events. The findings will help guide development of more flexible and more responsive intergovernmental approaches to risk management. This includes the design of federal programs, incentives for inducing state activities, and improvement of organizational responses to extreme events. The project engages graduate students and introduces undergraduate students to risk policy and politics.
