What is Adaptive Capacity?

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Adaptive capacity plays a critical role in the resilience equation because of its ability to advance a system’s baseline resilience more naturally and in alignment with its mission, methods of operating, and social capital. But what is adaptive capacity and how exactly does it differ from the risk management and standby capabilities variables? First, I discuss the goal of adaptive capacity and how it differs from the other variables. Then, I describe the four types…

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The Resilience Equation and the Missing Variable: Adaptive Capacity

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Resilience has been a hot topic for the last decade as the public and private sectors have worked to incorporate it within their organizations and communities. In addition, there has been much research conducted, best practices and lessons learned developed, and initiatives launched to support these efforts. For example, in 2013, the Rockefeller Foundation launched the 100 Resilient Cities initiative that helped place Chief Resilience Officers in 100 of the largest cities worldwide and subsequently develop a supporting program to help sustain their efforts. However, I continue to question the ultimate outcomes achieved when implementing resilience in practice and evaluating its success.

One of the primary concerns is the trend toward…

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