A team of University of Illinois Springfield faculty members received $20,000 from the University of Illinois System to support an international research project examining climate change-related disaster response in Illinois and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The project, “Rio Grande do Sul and Illinois Climate Change Resilience Network: Joint Disaster Response Planning (BRASILLINOIS-RESILIENT),” brings together researchers from UIS and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) to identify strategies for strengthening climate resilience and disaster preparedness in both regions.

The UIS team includes Megan Styles, professor in the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health; Suyang Yu, assistant professor in the School of Public Management and Policy; and Brandon Derman, associate professor in the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health. The Brazilian team, led by Nelson Guilherme Machado Pinto, also received $20,000 from the Brazilian government. This is part of a joint call for research proposals from the University of Illinois System faculty and the Brazilian National Council to State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) as part of the Brasillinois Initiative.

"Although located in different countries, our regions share many challenges related to the ongoing and anticipated effects of climate change,” Styles said. “We are excited to collaborate to understand and enhance the ways that public managers in Illinois and Rio Grande do Sul respond to disasters proactively. We have much to learn from one another." 

The project is expected to produce practical knowledge that can help communities better prepare for and respond to the growing challenges associated with climate change. Brazilian partners will gain insight into coordinating disaster planning in the United States, while Illinois partners will learn from approaches to resilience and recovery developed in resource-limited settings.