For Immediate Release: September 21, 2011
Contact: Tom Thieding, 608-267-9661 tom.thieding@wisconsin.gov
Gail Towers MacAskill, 608-438-5891 gail.towers@wisconsin.gov
MADISON – The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) today released the Community Economic Recovery Guidebook to assist economic development organizations, businesses and community leaders in preparation of economic recovery from a disaster.
The economic recovery guidebook is a framework for local businesses, community leaders and economic development organizations to develop an economic recovery strategy for their communities. Using real situations and national best practices, the guide connects disaster management functions with economic development principles to identify strategies and suggests action steps for before and after a disaster.
“The Community Economic Recovery Guidebook provides a framework of discussion to help local leaders speed disaster recovery by addressing key economic stabilization and recovery issues before a disaster occurs,” said Gail Towers MacAskill, Economic Development Specialist with WEDC.
“This guide is a framework of discussion to help develop an economic recovery strategy for communities. It provides tools for greater local awareness and coordination between economic stakeholders in supporting whole community recovery,” said MacAskill.
The guide recommends communities develop a Local Economic Advisory Recovery Network (LEARN) to ensure the lines of communication among community leaders, businesses and economic development support organizations are established before an emergency.
The manual helps guide planning in four areas: preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation from a disaster. Each area of planning focuses on building relationships, planning and logistics, communicating and financing.
Steps taken by local civic leaders in the first critical weeks can make a significant difference in offsetting direct impacts and side effects of a disaster. A key factor, for whole community recovery, is having an economic strategy in place for post-disaster business survival and a willingness to adapt strategically for long term recovery.
The guide resulted from a three-year study on maximizing economic recovery, and was funded by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and implemented in partnership with various state and local government agencies. Obtain a copy of the Community Economic Recovery Guidebook at http://bit.ly/wirecovery.