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

COVID-19大流行导致的远程管理需要在危机期间采取新的有效协作和治理方法，特别是对于通常无法获得新技术的资源不足的城市。拟议的研究旨在确定扩展现实（XR）是否是一种有效的技术，使资源不足的市政当局参与灾害响应规划和治理。通过了解小城市的不同需求，探索XR技术的有效性和潜在局限性，本研究旨在开发一个具有更广泛复制潜力的试点XR工具包。这项工作有可能对有前途的XR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，以减少未来流行病或其他灾害对治理的干扰。虽然XR技术已经部署在灾难准备和社区规划中，但它主要被联邦政府和州、县、市使用。这项工作的目的是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种新技术的有效性。拟议的研究试点将邀请密苏里州北圣路易斯县24个资源不足的市政当局的领导人，在流行病或其他灾害期间使用新型XR技术进行治理。具体来说，该项目将引入XR的技术能力和沉浸式虚拟体验，作为一种可行的工具，帮助规划、促进和维护灾害期间的政府运作。方法将包括召开实施会议和绘制概念图，以确定市政优先事项，确保技术的重点和开发基于受COVID-19大流行影响最严重的社区的投入。第一阶段将汇集政府、行业、非营利组织和学术利益相关者，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工具包的用户需求，该工具包将允许小型城市规划和应对未来的灾害或流行病。XR将使市政当局能够实时维护城市资产，规划公共工程项目，维护和改善公共卫生和安全。该项目由美国国家科学基金会和国土安全部合作的公民创新挑战项目轨道B -自然灾害恢复力：装备社区更好地准备和恢复自然灾害。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.