The Blue Ridge Regional Resilience Challenge 2026 is a competitive innovation program launched by RISE to identify, fund, and pilot solutions that address multi-hazard resilience in real community settings.
Rather than treating disasters as isolated events, the Challenge is designed to support solutions that:
- Work across multiple hazards and phases (preparedness, response, recovery)
- Strengthen regional coordination and shared situational awareness
- Operate under limited staffing, connectivity, and resource constraints
- Deliver measurable economic, social, and environmental value
Building on insights from RISE’s 2024 and 2025 Riverine Community Resilience Challenges, this year’s program moves solutions from application to action, ensuring that funded innovations are tested where they matter most — on the ground.
Why Community Resilience Matters in the Blue Ridge Region
Communities across Virginia’s Blue Ridge region are increasingly exposed to compound hazards — where flooding, extreme rainfall, landslides, debris flows, heat, and wind occur together rather than in isolation.
Recent storm and flood events in Southwest Virginia have highlighted how these overlapping risks can overwhelm local infrastructure, strain emergency response capacity, and complicate long-term recovery.
These challenges are intensified by real-world constraints faced by many rural and mountain communities, including:
- Limited staffing and emergency management capacity
- Aging infrastructure and fragmented tools
- Degraded communications during disaster events
- Complex coordination across agencies and jurisdictions
As climate risks grow in frequency and severity, resilience must go beyond single-hazard responses and instead focus on integrated, system-level solutions that help communities function under pressure — before, during, and after disasters.
Why Should You Apply?
Selected teams from the Blue Ridge Regional Resilience Challenge will pilot their solutions in real Blue Ridge communities, working directly with regional partners and stakeholders. Beyond funding, the Challenge provides a rare opportunity to validate solutions under real-world conditions.
Benefits for selected teams include:
- Non-dilutive funding from a $500K pool
- Participation in the Resilience Innovation Accelerator
- Real-world pilot deployments in community testbeds
- Hands-on regulatory, permitting, and technical support
- Continuous feedback from practitioners and community partners
RISE may fund multiple teams based on solution quality and relevance, with potential for additional support at later stages.
Key Focus Areas of the Challenge
RISE is seeking solutions that can be piloted, validated, and scaled across the Blue Ridge region. Applicants may address one or more of the following priority areas:
1. Resilience Recovery After an Event
After floods, landslides, and wind events, communities face urgent needs related to debris removal, slope stabilization, and landscape remediation. Delays or inefficiencies in recovery can increase future risk and prolong economic disruption.
Solutions may include:
- Safe and efficient debris removal systems
- Landscape remediation and slope stabilization technologies
- Debris-flow mitigation approaches
- Recovery logistics and post-event remediation tools
2. Integrated Resilience Solutions
Fragmented data, tools, and communications can severely limit response effectiveness during compound hazard events. RISE is looking for integrated platforms and systems that enhance coordination across agencies and jurisdictions.
Solution areas include:
- Situational awareness and decision-support platforms
- Integrated data, communications, and operational tools
- Systems that function during degraded connectivity
- Cross-agency coordination and response technologies
3. The Regional Resilience Value Case
Resilience investments are often evaluated narrowly through avoided losses. This Challenge also seeks frameworks that capture the broader economic, social, and environmental value of resilience.
Potential solutions include:
- Resilience value and ROI frameworks
- Metrics that support smarter planning and funding decisions
- Tools that link resilience investments to long-term community benefits
Challenge Timeline and Key Dates
The Blue Ridge Regional Resilience Challenge follows a structured, multi-stage pathway from application to real-world implementation:
- January 30, 2026: Challenge Launch & Opening of Applications
- March 20, 2026 (2 PM EDT): Application Submission Deadline
- April 6, 2026: Semifinalist Selection Announcement
- April 20, 2026: Semifinalist Documentation Submission Deadline (technical details, implementation plan, and financial information)
- April 27, 2026: Semifinalist Pitch Presentations to the Selection Committee
- May 4, 2026: Finalist Selection Announcement
- June 3, 2026: Execution of Finalist Award Agreements
- July 2026: Launch of the Resilience Innovation Accelerator & Project Implementation Phase
- Mid-September 2026: Finalist Progress & Implementation Pitch Presentations
- October 2026: Winner Announcement & Award Allocation
Building on a Successful Track Record
Founded in 2016, RISE Resilience Innovations works to identify, fund, and scale solutions to the most pressing challenges facing flood-prone and disaster-impacted communities.
To date, RISE has:
- Awarded more than $10 million in funding
- Received 400+ submissions from innovators in 30 countries
- Supported 45+ real-world pilot projects
- Helped companies raise over $48 million and create 180+ jobs
RISE’s work centers on practical innovation, community partnership, and solutions that deliver measurable resilience outcomes.
Ready to Pilot Your Resilience Solution?
If you’re building a solution that can operate under real constraints, strengthen regional coordination, and deliver value before, during, and after disasters, the Blue Ridge Regional Resilience Challenge 2026 is your opportunity to move from concept to community impact.
Ready to bring about real change in communities where it matters the most? Check all details and apply today!
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