SCC-CIVIC-PG Track B Strengthening Community Resiliency through Extended Reality (XR): Engaging Small, Under-Resourced Municipalities in Planning & Execution of Government

新冠肺炎大流行导致的远程治理产生了对危机期间有效协作和治理的新方法的需要，特别是对于资源不足的市政当局来说，这些市政当局通常获得新技术的机会有限。拟议的研究旨在确定扩展现实(XR)是否是让资源不足的市政当局参与灾害应对规划和治理的有效技术。通过了解小城市的不同需求和探索XR技术的有效性和潜在限制，本研究旨在开发具有更广泛复制潜力的试点XR工具包。这项工作有可能对XR在有前景的应用、市政治理和灾害规划方面的进展做出有意义的跨部门贡献，以减少未来大流行或其他灾难中治理的中断。虽然XR技术已被部署在备灾和社区规划中，但它主要用于联邦政府和州、县和市。这项工作旨在探索在资源不足的小城市，特别是那些高度分散的城市使用这项新技术的有效性。拟议的研究试点将吸引来自密苏里州北圣路易斯县24个资源不足市政当局的领导人，在流行病或其他灾难期间使用新的XR技术进行治理。具体地说，该项目将介绍XR的技术能力和身临其境的虚拟体验，作为协助规划、促进和维持政府在灾害期间运作的可行工具。方法将包括实施会议和概念图，以确定市政优先事项，以确保根据受新冠肺炎大流行影响最大的社区的投入，专注和开发该技术。第一阶段将汇集政府、行业、非营利组织和学术界的利益相关者，以确定可能影响XR技术接受和采用的社区资产和漏洞，同时共同制定第二阶段研究试点的完整提案。第二阶段将共同探索和测试XR技术在流行病或类似灾害期间进行有效治理的新用途，并确定XR的潜在应用，以减少中断期间政府活动的中断。这项研究旨在确定开发XR工具包的用户要求，该工具包将使小城市能够计划和应对未来的灾难或流行病。XR将使市政当局能够维护城市资产，规划公共工程项目，并实时维护和改善公共卫生和安全。该项目由公民创新挑战计划Track B-Resilience to自然灾害：通过NSF和国土安全部的合作为社区提供更好的准备和应对自然灾害的能力提供支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Remote governing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic creates the need for new approaches to effective collaboration and governance during crisis, particularly for under-resourced municipalities that typically have had limited access to novel technologies. The proposed research aims to determine whether Extended Reality (XR) is an effective technology for engaging under-resourced municipalities in disaster response planning and governing. By understanding the distinct needs of small municipalities and exploring the effectiveness and potential limitations of XR technology, this research aims to develop a pilot XR toolkit with potential for wider replication. This work has the potential to make meaningful cross sector contributions to advances in promising applications of XR, municipal governance, and disaster planning toward reducing disruptions in governance in future pandemics or other disasters.While XR technology has been deployed in disaster preparedness and community planning, it has primarily been used by the federal government and states, counties, and cities. This work aims to explore the effectiveness of using this novel technology in small under resourced municipalities, particularly those with high levels of fragmentation. The proposed research pilot will engage leaders from 24 under-resourced municipalities in North St. Louis County, Missouri in the use of novel XR technologies for governing during pandemics or other disasters. Specifically, this project will introduce the technical capabilities and immersive virtual experiences of XR as a viable tool to assist in planning for, facilitating and maintaining government operations during disasters. Methods will include implementation meetings and concept mapping to determine municipal priorities to ensure the technology is focused and developed based on input of communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stage 1 will bring together government, industry, nonprofit, and academic stakeholders to identify community assets and vulnerabilities that may affect the acceptance and adoption of XR technology while jointly co-developing a full proposal for a Stage 2 research pilot. Stage 2 will jointly explore and test novel uses of XR technologies for effective governance during pandemics or similar disasters and identify potential applications of XR with the potential to reduce interruptions in government activities during times of disruption. This research aims to define the user requirements toward developing an XR tool kit that will allow small municipalities to plan for and respond to future disasters or pandemics. XR will enable municipalities to maintain city assets, plan public works projects, and maintain and improve public health and safety in real time. This project is supported by the CIVIC Innovation Challenge program Track B - Resilience to Natural Disasters: Equipping Communities for Greater Preparedness and Resilience to Natural Disasters through a collaboration between NSF and the Department of Homeland Security.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.