By David Dodd, given during the 2nd TCI Australasian Cluster Conference, Sydney, 16-17 April 2015.

1. Clusters, Disasters, and Global Value Chains
Lessons in Resilience - Katrina and Beyond
David Dodd
17 April 2015

2. Clusters, Disasters, and GlobalValue Chains
Lessons in Resilience-Katrina and Beyond
David A. Dodd, CEcD/FM
DADCO Consulting, Inc.
New Orleans, LA
Some of the places “Preacher Dodd”,
aka “Disaster Dodd”, has performed
disaster recovery or resilience efforts

3. TO SCALE
Satellite
Photo of
Hurricane
Katrina as
it Entered
the Gulf of
Mexico:
Diameter =
668 KM
Katrina—2005—Worst Disaster in U.S. History
• Top wind speed: 155mph (category five, highest category)
• Official death toll: 1,464 direct, 135 missing, estimated 2,500
secondary deaths directly attributable to the storm
• Amount of water estimated in New Orleans flooding: 140
billion gallons; number of houses lost in Louisiana: 204,500
• Estimated financial impact of Katrina alone: $150 billion
• Estimated number of Businesses: 80,000; losses: $5 billion
• Estimated number of job losses after Katrina: 220,000
• Estimated effect of Katrina on US national economic
growth: 0.75 per cent of GDP in last 4 months of 2005
• Total funds allocated by Congress for Katrina: $62.3 billion
• Hurricane Rita, 5 days after Katrina cost another $50 billion
• Total Katrina/Rita losses = $200 billion; twice global average

4. Katrina Economic Recovery Efforts
Multi-Faceted: Business Reinvestment Forum, Small
Business Assistance, and Recovery Authority
Businesses: ATriage Approach

5. Gulf Business Reinvestment Forum
• Held inWashington, D.C.—Leaders from 4 states, Congress, U.S. Cabinet
• Six Working Groups, meeting simultaneously, focusing on core economic
development issues:
• 1. Infrastructure Development for Business/Industry
• 2. Workforce Development
• 3. FinancialTools for Both Small and Large Businesses
• 4. Image Rebuilding and Crafting the Media Message
• 5. Legislative Agenda to Encourage Reinvestment
• 6. Coordination and Implementation
• EachWorking Group developed Strategies, Goals, and Actions to address
their core issue, then presented them for comment and approval
• Report issued 12/05, served as input into the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act

6. GBRF Generated SignificantAttention-But,
lower-profile efforts were also underway
• In 2001, New Orleans Adopted Cluster-based Development:
• A historic city once known more for commerce than as a
tourist attraction
• Population loss, economic stagnation, political corruption
• Leadership recognized need for both new industry and
competitive help for existing
• Organized eight cluster committees
• Brought in consultant to research, activate, and develop
action plans for each
• Included technology, marketing, and workforce development
strategies

7. • Research was conducted to determine concentrations, specializations, and
“gaps” in value chains, including global connections in specific industries
• Each of the eight cluster committees chose leadership, drafted action plans
• Relationships were build in and between clusters as the process unfolded
• Workforce andTechnology strategies for needs/opportunities of the clusters
• Examples:
• IT: Partnering with Maritime on IT issues, filling gaps
• Maritime: Lower MS ports working together for first time in history
• Petrochemical: Identified up/downstream, matched plant production
• Art/Entertainment: Using web 2.0 to promote New Orleans Music, Culture
• Life Sciences: Wet-lab incubator/accelerator, focus on tropical medicine
• Food/Coffee: Collaboration to promote LA seafood, attract decaffinator
New Orleans Clusters—Process, Results Pre-Katrina

8. After Katrina: What Happened
• InformationTechnology and Maritime Clusters
• Met Immediately to work together in restoring communication
• Aided Defense Accounting Facility that was flooded and lost all IT
• IT and Maritime coordinated in restoring transportation on Mississippi
• Arts/Entertainment Cluster
• Immediately produced system to locate stranded/exiled performers
• Produced huge relief benefit with A-list film and music stars
• Food Cluster
• Collaborated extensively to provide food to victims and aid workers
• Petrochemical Cluster
• Provided safety, employee aid, and spare production capacity

9. After Katrina: What Happened
Many, many mistakes were made on all sides in
the aftermath. It was a true disaster in every
sense of the word. But it could have been worse
“The collaborative spirit generated by the
cluster development approach made a
difference”.-Barbara Johnson, former CEO of
Greater New Orleans, Inc. regional E.D. group

10. Other Disaster/Cluster Results
• Oklahoma
• Known as “Disaster Central” of the U.S.-More than any other state
• Tulsa region--Decided to embrace, not avoid, resilience as an economic
development advantage-Tulsa Partners, Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities
• Oklahoma City Region—Developing resilience industry cluster ($75bb/yr)
• State ofYucatan Mexico
• International centre for PPP in resilience/recovery projects (UN PPP ICoE)
• Hopes to attract engineering, design, development firms in PPP cluster
• Someplace north of here where Preacher began his ministry (??)
• Two-thirds of natural disasters occur in “tropical belt”—why not explore?

11. • New Orleans is having a remarkable recovery--However, still a long way to go:
• New Orleans Population still only approximately 80% of pre-Katrina level
Still thousands of abandoned homes and lots in the region
PB Oil Spill severely damaged fishing for a second time (SE La Fisheries
Cluster—another example of interfirm collaboration in action)
• Resilience is about primarily one thing: Capacity to endure adverse events
• Clustering builds capacity
• Clustering works in resilience and recovery
• Questions??
Summary