RAPID/Collaborative Research: Field Study of Volunteer Convergence in Post-Disaster Relief

对哈维飓风的紧急反应不仅涉及传统的救济机构，而且涉及许多普通公民和小团体，他们感到有必要帮助许多居民，他们发现自己被困在不断上涨的洪水沃茨中。 许多志愿者带来了个人船只，并沿着被洪水淹没的街道和海湾组织救援任务。 其他团体，如宗教组织、小企业和服务组织，则敞开大门，作为非正式的避难所，由教会或组织成员担任志愿者，为流离失所者提供食物和住所。这些自发的志愿者代表了宝贵的劳动力来源，但对中央应急计划人员来说，这是一个重大的后勤挑战。 自发的志愿劳动力在很大程度上是不可预测的，可以随意进出，并拥有各种有用的技能。 此外，虽然个人志愿服务的意图可能是好的，但他们在应急方面基本上没有受过训练，可能给自己和他人带来危险。 该奖项将使人们更好地了解志愿人员自发反应的动态，并应提高反应规划人员有效地将公民志愿人员纳入救灾工作的能力。 一名研究生和一名本科生将参与这项工作，并将通过从事这项研究项目获得宝贵的经验。 该奖项将为德克萨斯州休斯顿在飓风哈维之后的数据收集工作提供支持，并考虑到几个研究目标：（1）了解与志愿者招募和分配相关的组织动态;（2）创建和验证志愿者招募和服务时间的分析模型;（3）了解自发志愿者成功参与灾害应急的障碍。 PI将从参与救援工作的许多团体收集数据，包括宗教组织、当地企业、特设团体和传统救援机构。 PI将观察积极救援行动的活动，采访救援人员和志愿者，收集和分析志愿者日志和灾害管理系统。 这些数据将为志愿者融合的预测模型提供有价值的输入。

The emergency response to Hurricane Harvey involved not only traditional relief agencies but many ordinary citizens and small groups who felt compelled to assist the many residents who found themselves stranded in the face of rising flood waters. Many volunteers brought personal watercraft and organized rescue missions along flooded streets and bayous. Other groups, such as religious organizations, small businesses, and service organizations, opened their doors as informal shelters, with the congregations or organization members serving as volunteers and providing food and shelter for displaced individuals. These spontaneous volunteers represent a valuable source of labor but present significant logistical challenges for central response planners. The spontaneous volunteer labor force is largely unpredictable, may enter and leave at will, and possess a variety of useful skills. Moreover, while individuals may have good intentions in volunteering, they are largely untrained in emergency response and may present dangers to themselves and to others. This RAPID award will provide a better understanding of the dynamics of spontaneous volunteer response and should improve the ability of response planners to effectively incorporate citizen volunteers in disaster relief efforts. A graduate student and undergraduate students will be involved in this effort and will be provided valuable experience by working on this research project. This award will provide support for data collection efforts in Houston, Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey with several research objectives in mind: (1) to understand the organizational dynamics associated with volunteer intake and assignment; (2) to create and validate analytical models for volunteer intake and service length; (3) to understand the barriers to successful incorporation of spontaneous volunteers into the emergency response to disasters. The PIs will collect data from a number of groups involved in the relief effort, including religious organizations, local businesses, ad-hoc groups, and traditional relief agencies. The PIs will observe activities in active relief operations, interview relief staff and volunteers, and collect and analyze volunteer logs and disaster management systems. These data will provide valuable input for predictive models for volunteer convergence.