In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, federal officials and researchers are emphasizing that local people and institutions are keys to promoting disaster "resilience."

From Sandy to the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo., "before the badges and uniforms show up, it's a fact that family members and community members [are the ones who] respond to one another," said Richard Reed, deputy assistant to the president for homeland security.

Reed spoke during an event Friday hosted by the National Academy of Sciences about launching a national conversation on developing a culture of disaster resilience, as opposed to short-term planning.

During the nearly four-hour discussion, several presenters echoed recommendations from a comprehensive report put together by a National Research Council committee in collaboration with several federal agencies. Among the suggestions in the report are: supporting community resilience coalitions, encouraging public and private groups to work together on planning activities, and asking the federal government to implement resilience as a guiding principle.

"Resiliency" refers to people's ability to prepare for, sustain and bounce back from a disaster. But the term, acknowledged Gene Whitney, a member of the team that developed the report, has "a lot of squishiness."

"In order for us to move forward with a meaningful set of dialogues ... to actions to establish resilience as a core value in our community, we really need to understand better than we do now what resilience means," he said.

On a panel featuring several assistant secretaries, Corey Gruber, assistant administrator of national preparedness at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that his agency's response to Sandy has been "robust." And he highlighted the importance of community involvement in disaster preparedness.

"It takes all of our societal capacity to deal with an event like this," he said.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who was the national incident commander overseeing response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill and led the response to 2005 hurricanes Rita and Katrina as principal federal official, said different entities have different roles to play to prepare for disasters.

"It's not up to the federal government to make a plan and talk to your family about it," he said. "But it is the government's responsibility to act with strategic intent in response to a mandate that's been presented to them."