Colorado’s Resiliency Dashboard

The  Colorado Resiliency Framework  analyzed statewide risks and vulnerabilities and set specific strategies that will strengthen the State’s capacity to adapt and support local communities on their path toward resiliency. The Framework was first drafted in 2015 in the wake of the 2012-13 wildfires and floods, and has evolved with the 2020 Framework Update during a year of unprecedented wildfires and a global pandemic. Taking a resilient and proactive approach to mitigate and recover from disasters and other disruptions is becoming increasingly important as communities face an increasing number of shocks and stressors. With this increased focus on resilience comes the need to understand what makes a place more resilient.

The adage “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” reflects this need to understand what actions are having the most impact in building a more resilient community. The following Resiliency Dashboard is intended to help answer the following questions: 

• What makes a community more resilient?
• What resilience indicators are important to my community? 
• How are we tracking progress around resilience strategies as a State and as local governments? 

The text below also provides examples of actions that can be taken to improve your community’s resilience (and hence the data in these indicators). A more thorough  Colorado Community Resilience Assessments and Actions Guide  (pictured right) goes beyond the Dashboard by providing approximately 50 indicators and over 100 actions that can be tracked as your community works towards a more resilient future.

To view the following Resiliency Dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here . Note that when you scroll through this StoryMap the individual risk indicator sections (ex. Economic Resiliency) may have subsections where you are required to scroll through before moving onto the next risk indicator section. If you wish to skip forward to the next section, select the specific section on the navigation bar at the top of the page.

Economic resiliency is the capacity of an economy to resist shocks and to recover rapidly. In our dashboard, economic resiliency is represented by a number of indicators: high school graduation rate, high school degree attainment by race, bachelor’s degree attainment by race, industry diversity, and labor force participation. Below is a description of each of these individual indicators and how they relate to economic resiliency.

The high school graduation rate shows the percent of the most recent year’s high school seniors that graduated and collected their high school diploma. High school graduation rates have been connected to improvements in health, employment, income stability, and future economic mobility -all factors that contribute to a community’s resilience. Students who do not finish high school “ are far more likely to spend their lives periodically unemployed, on government assistance, or cycling in and out of the prison system ”. Investing in education and educational support will help your community become more resilient.

High school degree attainment shows the proportion of the population in an area that has obtained a high school diploma or GED. Bachelor’s degree attainment shows the proportion of the population in an area that has obtained a bachelor’s degree.

Educational attainment is an indicator of future economic mobility, as well as an  indicator of future homeownership . Assessing this data by race can indicate demographic groups that may be left behind in the education system. At the local level, you can compare educational attainment with industry and occupation diversity to identify opportunities to amplify skills-based training to help create a more resilient workforce and local economy. If your community is home to a college or university, this may indicate an area for collaboration to help expand opportunities for any groups that are currently underrepresented in the higher education system. On the other hand, if your community does not depend on professional services as a significant part of your local economy, the bachelor degree attainment metric may not be a relevant indicator of your community’s resilience.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .

The labor force participation rate is a measure of a region’s active workforce.  The rate estimates  the sum of all workers who are employed or actively seeking employment compared to the total noninstitutionalized, civilian, working-age population in the economy. 

Increasing labor force participation and the employment rate indicates the increasing ability for Coloradans to secure income to meet their individual needs, prepare for the future, and even support community needs. Promoting workforce training and development programs can help support active job seekers enter career pathways, and are examples of ways to strengthen labor force participation and employment. Improving access to childcare is another example; during the coronavirus pandemic, a drop in women’s labor participation rate reflected female workers leaving jobs to care for children, resulting in a loss in wages and economic activity.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .

Housing cost burden is a commonly used indicator of housing affordability. Households that spend 30% or more of their income on housing and utilities are commonly referred to as cost-burdened; households that spend 50% or more of their income on housing and utilities are commonly referred to as severely cost-burdened.

Cost-burdened households face more resiliency challenges in that they may be unable to afford unexpected expenses, may struggle to pay for other basic needs, and may have fewer housing choices than non-cost-burdened households. Strategies to increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing, reduce utility costs, and increase household impact can help reduce housing cost burden. The dashboard shows the housing cost burden for both renter households and owned households.

Factors such as overall household income, household size, and spending patterns are not directly reflected within this indicator, so it is important to focus on the housing cost burden of low- and moderate-income households, not high-income households since high-income households with a high housing cost burden may not face the same financial resiliency challenges.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .

Our dashboard uses two indicators for assessing technical connectivity. First, the Colorado Broadband Map reflects the amount of broadband infrastructure and the speed of the internet that is available in a region. Second, measuring the number of households with a computer further indicates that the population not only has access to broadband infrastructure, but also has the means to afford internet access in their home.

Access to broadband internet improves social connectivity, which is key to resilience for families and communities. Access to high-speed broadband internet can also create new jobs and attract new industries, expand markets for new and existing businesses, enable better access to educational opportunities and resources, facilitate the delivery of healthcare services, and support public safety. Often rural communities lack broadband access and therefore access to critical information exchange, such as with their healthcare provider or their children’s teachers during remote learning. Lack of internet access may also hinder those who are looking for a job, as many positions are only posted online at this time, and this will impact their ability to be an active member of the local community and economy. Expanding the availability of computers and the deployment of broadband infrastructure and services will improve both rural and urban household resilience and support the state’s economic resilience.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .

In our dashboard, we measure poverty as a combination of the percentage of the population in poverty and the percentage of the population using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Below is a detailed description of both indicators.

The poverty rate measures the percentage of the population in a given area with family income below federally designated thresholds. Populations living in poverty often face disproportionate and structural inequities that exacerbate risk and make it more difficult to access resources such as healthy food, housing, and jobs. As well, in the event of a natural disaster, those in poverty may struggle to prepare for, evacuate, or recover from the event. 

Strategies to advance equitable hiring and modern benefits, increase workforce development and education opportunities, increase jobs with livable wages, and support affordable housing development are examples of how to help support and help raise people out of poverty.

The poverty rate can be used to compare communities within the state, as well as compare different demographic groups within your community or neighboring communities to understand which populations face structural barriers to resiliency.

Maximizing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation by eligible households is a critical strategy to improving food security, which is defined as  access by all people at all times to enough food for an active healthy life . Food insecure households are unable to provide enough food and measuring SNAP participation by eligible households indicates how well the state is connecting available support to residents in need. 

Food insecurity is a resiliency issue because it means that those households are making tough choices regarding their wellbeing and are likely struggling to be full participants in the economy. Strategies that include partnership with community organizations, outreach tailored to community characteristics, and improving ease of participation can help increase SNAP participation by eligible households.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .

The  U.S. Drought Monitor  (USDM) is a map that is updated each Thursday to show the location and intensity of drought across the country. The USDM uses a five-category system to label drought by intensity with D0 as the least intense and D4 as the most intense. Drought categories show experts’ assessments of conditions related to dryness and drought including observations of how much water is available in streams, lakes, and soils compared to averages for the same time of year.

Drought affects water supply, energy production, agriculture output, public health, and wildfire risk--all of which relate to a region’s resiliency. Drought is a slow-moving hazard, but losses from drought are as substantial as those from tornadoes and other faster-moving disasters. Integrating stream, watershed, and other resource management planning efforts can help develop strategies to reduce risk from drought and provide resources to communities suffering from drought.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .

A Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) identifies communities that experience external stressors on human health and well-being. Stressors may include natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks. The SVI helps measure a community’s ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in a disaster. Social vulnerability factors may include poverty, age, and physical ability. Strategies to address social vulnerability include developing plans for social services, housing, and other resources to assist socially vulnerable populations at the time of a disaster.

In our dashboard, we use a combination of socioeconomic, household composition, minority/language, and housing/transportation data to compute Colorado’s SVI. Click around the different tabs on our dashboard to see what the data shows about your community for both the individual components and the overall SVI. Each tab includes subsets of the factors used to measure social vulnerability and is measured down to the census-tract level.

To view the following dashboard in a separate tab or window,  click here .