A Guide for Public-Sector Resilience Bond Sponsorship

Governments are typically “insurers of last resort.” When disaster strikes, vulnerable communities turn to government agencies for support and recovery assistance. More recently, as the frequency and severity of different types of disasters have grown, the gap between insured losses and total economic losses has also grown. As a result, many local, state, and national government agencies have found themselves struggling to meet existing needs with current taxpayer dollars, and unable to fund unpredictable crises. This report provides assistance to local stakeholders to improve communities’ physical and financial resilience to natural disasters; specifically, the examples and recommendations in this report are designed to help public officials explore how resilience bonds can support their financial priorities, mobilize capital for diverse on-the-ground risk reduction projects, and enable government agencies to leverage both public funds and private finance for new resilience solutions.