Project Grant 2343972

This National Science Foundation (NSF) project grant, awarded under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), provides $399,999 to North Dakota State University (NDSU) to advance research and methods for improving disaster resilience and recovery among minority- and women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The project aims to: 1) examine if accelerating resilience investments is more effective than reducing recovery duration; 2) explore differences in resilience and recovery between women/minority-owned SMEs and SMEs more broadly; 3) identify unique social, cultural, and public sector challenges faced by women/minority-owned SMEs; and 4) analyze how disaster characteristics affect SMEs' ability to implement dynamic resilience tactics. The project will extend microeconomic production theory to dynamic economic resilience and apply novel data analysis techniques. The research outcomes are expected to improve equity, social justice, and disaster assistance disbursement for underrepresented business groups. This binational US-Japan collaboration runs from June 2024 to May 2026.