Primary Department: Public Health Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton ─ Executive Director
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Purchase Order
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by Public Health Services for approval to purchase gift cards using grant funds in the amount of $12,000 to provide incentives for participants in community listening sessions conducted as part of the Adaptive Capacities for Transformation (ACT) Planning Grant: Strengthening Community Disaster Planning Capacity in Harris County.
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Background and Discussion:
Harris County Public Health’s Office of Public Health Advancement (OPHA) is leading a 12-month community-centered planning initiative, funded by the National Academies' Gulf Research Program through the Adaptive Capacities for Transformation (ACT) Initiative, to strengthen disaster preparedness capacity in Harris County Precincts 1 and 2. A core component of this project is conducting approximately 8 community listening sessions to understand residents' experiences with disaster preparedness and the social infrastructure that exists, or should exist, to enable effective community response. These listening sessions are designed to create a safe, trusted environment for residents to share honest input on disaster preparedness needs, assets, and gaps in their community. Participant gift card incentives will ensure meaningful participation from a diverse group of Harris County residents, which is essential for gathering critical information to co-design a disaster preparedness toolkit and implementation-ready project plan. Research demonstrates that network mapping surfacing both formal and informal structures is essential for disaster resilience, where informal networks (faith leaders, neighbors, mutual aid groups) are often the first to respond and fill gaps that formal systems miss (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2024). Providing incentives is expected to enhance recruitment efforts, increase response rates, and ensure feedback is representative of the diverse communities across Precincts 1 and 2.
Expected Impact:
Using the ACT Planning Grant funds, the gift card incentives will ensure meaningful participation from a diverse group of Harris County residents during the listening sessions, which will enable OPHA to gather critical community input to co-design a disaster preparedness toolkit and develop an implementation-ready project plan that positions HCPH to compete for a future ACT Implementation Grant.
Alternative Options:
The alternative option would be to not provide gift card incentives, which may result in lower participation rates during community listening sessions. This would inhibit OPHA from gathering the diverse, representative community input needed to co-design an effective disaster preparedness toolkit. Alternative options include reducing incentive amounts or limiting the number of participants, though this would decrease the quality and representativeness of feedback needed to develop effective preparedness strategies for Harris County communities.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 5. Minimize the impact of climate change and disasters.
County Strategic Plan Objective: S: Equitably reduce the health, economic, and other impacts of climate change and disasters.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N1: Improve coordination of public health efforts and campaign delivery among local health agencies and nonprofits.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): R3: Strengthen the County’s emergency response function.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
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Precinct(s): Countywide
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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Anticipated Court Date: 7/9/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 7/9/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Rahbe Simmons, MEd, CPH, Director of the Office for Public Health Advancement, Public Health Services
Attachments (if applicable): N/A