Boulder, Colorado is nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Like many cities, Boulder had volunteer programs in many of the city agencies – from libraries to parks & recreation. That worked well for the city, or so they thought, until everything changed over the course of one week in September 2013, when Boulder experienced unprecedented rain. The resulting flooding was catastrophic, destroying 1500 homes, rendering roads impassable, and killing eight people. As the rains were still falling, Boulder residents stepped up to volunteer – as did thousands arriving from far off states. But the city was not ready to engage them. As a result, developing a city-wide engagement strategy became an integral part of the city’s resiliency planning.
