Immediately following the start of the 2008 flooding and severe storms in Iowa, the State hired Witt Associates to help them manage the planning and coordination effort for long-term recovery.  A team of experts was deployed within days, and recommended the establishment of the Rebuild Iowa Office ("RIO"), a State agency created by Executive Order charged with the mission of ensuring that the State of Iowa rebuilt safer, stronger and smarter than before through: 

• The implementation of a community-based recovery planning initiative, including development and implementation of a comprehensive economic redevelopment effort;
• The coordination of all state activities concerning the rebuilding effort;
• Securing funding and other resources needed for the recovery;
• Establishing priorities for the recovery and for the use of any supplemental appropriations;
• Formulating a federal and state legislative agendas associated with the recovery effort;
• Establishing principles and policies for redevelopment;
• Establishing timelines and benchmarks associated with the recovery effort;
• Providing opportunities for public and business input;
• Ensuring transparency in the recovery process; and
• Speaking with one voice on behalf of all of the State of Iowa.

Witt Associates provided core staff support for the RIO and it's Advisory body, the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission, and helped develop and implement a community-based recovery planning initiative that provided heavy emphasis on identifying and prioritizing the impacts of the 2008 disaster on housing, businesses and area economies, infrastructure, and other key areas.  The effort then focused on determining how best to address those impacts through sound planning, policy changes, and targeted investment (governmental and non-governmental).  Over 500 Iowans participated in the planning effort, including community representatives, elected officials, business leaders (large and small), economic development planning districts / Councils of Government, and citizens.  These efforts have produced substantial consensus among participants, and resulted in a variety of policy changes at the state and local levels, as well as the establishment of the State's widely-praised "Jumpstart" initiative that has been providing grants and forgivable loans to businesses and homeowners to support their recovery.