This project was undertaken by several USACE Los Angeles District business lines, and was focused on enhancing coordination with regulatory/resource agencies for the purpose of gaining efficiencies during the application process for certain regulated activities. In exploring the need for this project, agencies as well expressed a positive desire to improve collaboration as a means of ultimately ensuring better projects with respect to the resources they oversee. These objectives intersect with the flood risk management (FRM) community’s goal to reduce flood risk.
This was a two-phased project, consisting, in part, of initial stakeholder coordination, assessment and drafting of information needs (related to outreach, training, and program data), and the development of a collaborative approach to address the regulatory component of flood risk management.
This project focused on relationship building as a means to produce collaboration among FRM stakeholders (project applicants) and regulatory/resource agencies. With stakeholder input, the project team developed key issues of local and regional concern and an approach to discuss them in a collaborative, outcome-focused setting. The direct impact of this project includes improved communications on these issues as they pertain to flood risk. Research was accomplished as a means of providing a background and foundational knowledge that can aid in understanding the identified challenges and moving them towards implementable outcomes that achieve multiple objectives.