Advancing Human Resilience: The Role of Digital Transformation and Informatics
In an increasingly volatile world, populations face mounting threats from natural disasters, biohazards, and environmental stressors that disrupt systems and exacerbate existing health challenges. Strengthening resilience, the ability of individuals, households, and systems to anticipate, adapt to, and recover from these disruptions, is essential to protecting public health and ensuring long-term well-being. Resilience research identifies evidence-based strategies, tools, and technologies that strengthen preparedness and speed recovery. At the intersection of this work lies resilience informatics, a rapidly evolving field that applies data science, digital technologies, and systems thinking to promote adaptability, guide decision-making, and support sustainable responses to environmental and societal stressors.
Definitions for resilience based on population level or specific threats or risks include:
Individual human resilience: our brain’s ability to adapt (a.k.a. neuroplasticity) and the protective factors that help us stay healthy and recover from challenges or diseases
Community resilience: the resources, services, and social connections (e.g., governance, volunteer groups, and disaster response) that support communities during a crisis.
Resilience to risks and exposures: the plans and protections in place to reduce harm from environmental threats and exposures.
Resilience to national security threats: the infrastructure, readiness, and coordination needed at local, state, and national levels to defend against security threats.
The Importance of Immediate Action
We are at a critical juncture where public, private, and philanthropic sectors are aligned to fund resilience efforts.
National initiatives, including the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, promote employment opportunities and lower energy costs. Whereas agencies such as FEMA, the Department of Energy, and state and local governments have awarded significant funding to support disaster preparedness and response efforts. While political changes may impact federal commitment, the District of Columbia have established legislative targets for reducing environmental stressors, and thirty-three states have released or are developing comprehensive plans to promote resilience, with additional policies emerging regularly.
The White House also prioritizes increasing mitigation of severe weather events at the state and local levels leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), predictive modeling and mapping, and optimization of resources. For example, AI-driven tools are being integrated into wildfire management systems to identify areas prone to fires and streamline evacuation planning. The CDC has consolidated disaster response frameworks to address biohazards and water resource challenges more effectively.
The private sector has followed suit with investments expected to mitigate environmental stressors such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme weather events. Private companies are leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) to forecast risks, identify exposures, and inform preparedness and response efforts. However, the coordination between public and private funding streams remains a critical challenge for advancing large-scale resilience projects. 
EMI Advisors’ Role
EMI’s mission is to harness information technology in the design and build of solutions that improve the well-being of individuals, communities, societies, and our planet. We have strengthened our foundation by expanding our team to advance our pioneering efforts in building resilient healthcare systems and communities, understanding the impact of exposures or national threats, and addressing environmental drivers of health.
Our past work includes:
Environmental and Human Services Data Interoperability: we collaborate with federal and state health agencies to develop use cases and data standards for seamless collection, exchange, and use of clinical and non-clinical risk factors impacting whole-person care. Recognizing the disproportionate impact of climate factors on individuals with complex chronic conditions, we apply digital transformation and human-centered systems-thinking approaches to bridge environmental and health data gaps and guide the use of innovative tools for screening, diagnosis, treatment or intervention, and additional insights for leadership decision-making to safeguard Americans’ health.
Data Modeling and Data Analytics: we support the U.S. Department of the Navy (DON) in understanding its data on energy usage and performance by creating baseline datasets that harmonize multiple data sources across the agency. By applying data modeling and predictive analytics and presenting the information in a visual interactive dashboard, we help the DON identify efficiency and cost savings opportunities. Our analytical capabilities can measure the stability and quality of power, predicting grid instability during natural disasters or extreme weather events. This information informs adaptation plans that avoid damage and costs and reduce wait times for grid repairs, ensuring continuous electricity for millions of homes. This tool helps decision-makers address challenges such as power grid instability during wildfires, hurricanes, or other natural disasters. By predicting grid stress points and prioritizing adaptive measures, our solutions minimize operational downtime, accelerate recovery efforts, and ensure uninterrupted energy access for critical infrastructure and surrounding communities.
EMI heeds this call to action to work with our partners to drive transformation for individual and community health resilience through:
Development of standards for environmental health impacts and seamless data exchange: currently neither healthcare providers nor environmental agencies can document the health impacts of environmental exposures and risks using standardized codes. We recommend policy, data standards, and implementation guidance to support these efforts.
Harmonization of disparate data sources across sectors: this includes synchronizing information timing, reporting cadence, and presentation through analytics and data visualizations. By bringing data together in a centralized database with modeling and analytics capabilities, we can better understand the complete picture of how mitigation of environmental threats may lead to increased resilience.
Alignment of policy, payment and reimbursement structures, and federal programs: to support digital transformation at the national, state, and local levels to include social care integration with healthcare and environmental data. This whole-of-government approach can help close the gaps between environmental health and health by utilizing health information technology.
Application of AI: for early detection and prevention of environmental risks and disasters. In leveraging these novel technologies, we seek to ensure the data centers they rely upon use cleaner sources of energy. We also optimize usage based on the types of AI we apply, i.e. analytical versus generative, to lower our footprint.
Human Centered design for Resilient Communities: we engage community-based organizations, populations at greater risk of effects from environmental stressors, and stakeholders to leverage funding sources through human-centered design. By centering on communities disproportionately impacted by systemic challenges, we create accessible systems and action plans. We apply nudge theory principles to simplify resource access, lower barriers to resilience, and promote adaptive behaviors—enhancing preparedness while reducing strain on health and social care systems.
The Path Forward
EMI is dedicated to driving transformation through human-centered systems thinking, connecting environmental, social, and health-related risks. As environmental risk factors increase, so must our systems. Thoughtful systems transformation will enhance our adaptability and resilience. To learn how EMI Advisors can support your data transformation strategy, contact hello@emiadvisors.net.
References
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Applying Neurobiological Insights on Stress to Foster Resilience Across the Lifespan: A Workshop. National Academies of Medicine. Accessed on August 22, 2025, from https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/applying-neurobiological-insights-on-stress-to-foster-resilience-across-the-lifespan-a-workshop.
The intersection of resilience and neuroplasticity: Rewiring the mind for wellness. Mental Health America. Accessed on August 25, 2025, from https://mhanational.org/blog/resilience-and-neuroplasticity/.
Climate Defense as a Business Imperative: How Innovation Can Turn Resilience Into Profit. Innovation Zero. Accessed on August 28, 2025, from https://www.innovationzero.com/zeroin/climate-defense-business-imperative-innovation-turn-resilience-profit?utm_campaign=135876812-Zero%20In&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--i-1eGQ6mU80jyx8wNaGpmgrgdcLVPJSl5YJkkXX3FSN-FxR92nPhgTntvC7Lv5flplN-ivQf4MVRPgTtjBKR4DuZNOdQ6skcynGg0_xF0TqnDJAI&_hsmi=116226613&utm_content=116226613&utm_source=hs_email.
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Resilience Informatics Workshop Fosters Collaboration to Meet Climate-Driven Health Challenges. University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. Accessed on August 22, 2025, from https://publichealth.arizona.edu/news/2024/resilience-informatics-workshop-fosters-collaboration-meet-climate-driven-health.
Adapting to Heat. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Access on August 25, 2025, from https://www.epa.gov/heatislands/adapting-heat.
Heat Resilience Initiative. University of Arizona. Access on August 22, 2025, from https://heat.arizona.edu/.
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Access on August 25, 2025, from https://toolkit.climate.gov/.
