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Abstract Building community resilience has become a national imperative. Substantial uncertainties in dynamic environments of emergencies and crises require real‐time information collection and dissemination based on big data analytics. These, in turn, require networked communities and cross‐sector partnerships to build lasting resilience. This viewpoint article highlights an interdisciplinary approach to building community resilience through community‐engaged research and partnerships. This perspective leverages existing community partnerships and network resources, undertakes an all‐hazard and whole‐community approach, and evaluates the use of state‐of‐the‐art information communication technologies. In doing so, it reinforces the multifaceted intergovernmental and cross‐sector networks through which resilience can be developed and sustained. 

The paper addresses the important role of interorganizational coordination and network governance in implementing disaster response policies facing complex environments of emergencies and crises. The paper analyzes the National Response Framework (NRF) in the U.S. and its role in disaster response coordination. A network perspective is utilized to understand functional coordination based on the emergency support functions (ESFs), and to evaluate the role of the NRF in coordinating disaster response at the federal level. Based on the roles and coordination structures defined by the ESFs, interorganizational networks and affiliation networks are presented in the paper. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper illustrates how the ESFs, especially ESF #7 - Logistics and ESF #8 - Public Health and Medical Services, operated in response to the crisis. 

This study examines the role of non‐established relief groups (NERGs) and their involvement in the response to Hurricane Irma after it struck the state of Florida, United States, in September 2017. Its principal goal is to discover more about the engagement of NERGs in disaster response, as well as their motivations and their coordination with other emergency management agencies. The findings of a review of after‐action reports and the outcomes of interviews with NERGs and other established organisations suggest that these groups often work with previously established networks. Many of the emergent type of NERGs have not worked with any established organisations prior to a disaster; frequently, therefore, they reach out to other emergent groups to acquire information and coordinate relief efforts. Given that emergent actors tend to lack a strict hierarchical structure for decision‐making and coordination, there is a need to enhance communication between NERGs and established response bodies.