Evaluating Civic Health During Extreme Events

Evaluating Civic Health During Extreme Events

October 28, 2026

Project Summary

Even though extreme events, such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires, are becoming increasingly common, research about the individuals affected and how civic groups are supporting them is limited. This project will generate actionable evidence that connects civic health and civic capacity building, extreme event modeling, risk communication, and disaster exposure and response by employing innovative methods to collect and distribute information about extreme events and the communities affected by them. We are developing a mobile application to support communities as they experience extreme events to facilitate a better understanding of the social consequences of the event in the form of displacement, acute and long-term health and psychosocial needs, and civic health. The moblie application will also integrate a large language model (LLM) to translate emergency and risk information into clear and actionable guidance for affected individuals, support multilingual communication, and provide information about relevant resources, including shelters, health services, transportation assistance, and disaster relief programs.

The mobile application will assess the civic health of communities during periods when they are facing extreme events. We will compare data collected across communities to strengthen the collection, integration, and analysis of data related to civic health. By piloting the mobile application in collaboration with community partners in a variety of locations, this project will develop a model for assessing civic health during extreme events and identify the factors that impact civic health by comparing responses across communities. Working directly with civic groups in communities affected by extreme events, this project will also help identify gaps and opportunities to capitalize on and build civic capacity in times of crisis. The findings will also identify best practices that can be used to inform policy and practice. Funding from AmeriCorps is supporting Year 1 to focus on extreme heat in up to four locations with the intent to expand locations and types of extreme events in subsequent years.

The project will: 1) Develop and pilot a new mobile application to share personalized, localized information about extreme events timing and civic resources with affected communities and administer surveys in real-time about the impacts, community needs, and use of civic infrastructures during extreme events; 2) Work with locally based civic groups including AmeriCorps partners and grantees to deploy the mobile application in communities; and 3) Assess the civic health of communities that are affected by extreme events and identify factors that impact civic health through survey data collected on the mobile application. In addition to research findings, the project will generate evidence for AmeriCorps, its partners and grantees, and the broader affected communities.

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Project Team

Evaluating Civic Health During Extreme Events