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

对哈维飓风的紧急响应不仅涉及传统的救援机构，还涉及许多普通公民和小团体，他们感到有必要帮助许多发现自己被困在不断上涨的洪水中的居民。许多志愿者携带个人船只，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，以非正式庇护所的形式开放，会众或组织成员充当志愿者，为流离失所的人提供食物和住所。这些自发的志愿者代表着宝贵的劳动力来源，但也给中央应急规划者带来了重大的后勤挑战。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，尽管个人在志愿服务方面的用意是好的，但他们基本上没有接受过应急方面的培训，可能会给自己和他人带来危险。这一快速奖励将更好地了解自发的志愿人员反应的动态，并应提高反应规划者有效地将公民志愿人员纳入救灾工作的能力。一名研究生和本科生将参与这一努力，并将通过参与这一研究项目提供宝贵的经验。该奖项将为飓风哈维过后德克萨斯州休斯敦的数据收集工作提供支持，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纳入灾难应急响应的障碍。PIS将从参与救援工作的多个团体收集数据，包括宗教组织、当地企业、临时团体和传统救援机构。PIS将观察积极救援行动中的活动，采访救援人员和志愿者，并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宝贵的输入。

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.