Center of Excellence

From Conclusion:

The authors of this book have provided a picture of emergency management systems in the United States, Canada, England, Scandinavia, Malawi, Turkey, Korea and China. This concluding chapter examines each country in terms of the nature of hazards and vulnerability, the occurrence of disasters, the historical development of emergency management, the direc tion of disaster policies/organizations/initiatives, and the lessons gleaned from comparative emergency management research.

This material will be sent this week to the EMI web staff to upload to the EM Hi-Ed Program website - Free College Course and Book Materials Section - Books Under Development subsection - Comparative Emergency Management Textbook - where they should be accessible shortly at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/CompEmMgmtBookProject.asp

Information on the ConAgra Food Plant Explosion and other accidents can be found on the CSB website:

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

The Honorable W. Craig Fugate [View PDF], Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Panel 2

Major General Frank Grass, Director of Operations , United States Northern Command

Mr. George Foresman [View PDF] , Advisory Board Co-Chairman, Corporate Crisis Response Officers Association and former DHS Undersecretary for Preparedness and Emergency Response

Mr. Armond Mascelli [View PDF] , Vice President, Disaster Operations, American Red Cross

Ms. Janet Durden [View PDF], President, United Way of Northeast Louisiana

From the Government Accountability Office. Summary …

As the recent outbreak of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus underscores, an influenza pandemic remains a real threat to our nation and to the world. Over the past 3 years, GAO has conducted a body of work to help the nation better prepare for a possible pandemic. In a February 2009 report, GAO synthesized the results of this work, pointing out that while the previous administration had taken a number of actions to plan for a pandemic, including developing a national strategy and implementation plan, much more needs to be done, and many gaps in preparedness and planning still remain. This statement is based on the February 2009 report which synthesized the results of 11 reports and two testimonies covering six thematic areas: (1) leadership, authority, and coordination; (2) detecting threats and managing risks; (3) planning, training, and exercising, (4) capacity to respond and recover; (5) information sharing and communication; and (6) performance and accountability.

More: Influenza Pandemic: Continued Focus on the Nation’s Planning and Preparedness Efforts Remains Essential

From the Congressional Research Service: The 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) ‘Swine Flu’ Outbreak: U.S. Responses to Global Human Cases (pdf).

Scope of Session 9:

This session canvasses the mission and organization of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It describes the organizational evolution of FEMA and the political issues affecting its organization at the outset of the Agency’s creation. It examines in general terms FEMA’s core organization and functions. This session serves to tie the laws, the President, and the Congress (as reviewed in the previous sessions) to an emergency management organizational context. The session also incorporates FEMA and executive branch re-organization first in the months and years after the 9/11 attacks of 2001, and second re- organization that took place after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Post-Hurricane Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2007.

More information here: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/polpolbasis.asp

It’s a widely accepted truism in American politics that an engaged citizenry is the best defense. Yet, when it comes to emergency preparedness, the American public remains incredibly unengaged in the process, largely lacking both the knowledge and the opportunity to participate proactively and constructively.

A report titled Public Role and Engagement In Counterterrorism Efforts: Implications of Israeli Practices for the U.S., prepared for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Science and Technology by the Homeland Security Institute (a federally-funded research and development center which serves as the Department’s think tank) examines both why that is the case, and how study of Israeli citizen involvement in crisis respon se might help US preparedness and “social resilience” improve.

Crisis Preparedness and the Public, published in HS Today.

First is a 12-page chapter entitled “Emergency Management in Turkey: Disasters Experienced, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations for the Future.” The author is Dr. Derin N. Ural, Associate Professor and Founding Director, Center of Excellence for Disaster Management, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak Campus, Istanbul, Turkey.

Next is a chapter entitled “Disaster Management and India: Responding Internally and Simultaneously in Neighboring Countries.” The author is Kailash Gupta, Indian Section, International Association of Emergency Managers.

Will forward this material to the EMI web staff for upload to the EM Hi-Ed Program web site – at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/CompEmMgmtBookProject.asp

Since 9/11, colleges and universities throughout the nation have developed and implemented new courses and degree programs in homeland security and emergency management. A valued learning outcome of these programs, like most university studies in general, is to develop critical thinking skills in students. However, this can be a challenge because the nature of critical thinking and approaches to teaching and assessing it in higher education are debatable. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on critical thinking, and looks at the importance of developing these skills in students of homeland security programs so that they are able to adapt successfully in a rapidly changing environment. Finally, this paper discusses two teaching strategies, guided class discussions and case studies, to develop critical thinking that have been used by the teacher in undergraduate and gradate level courses in homeland security.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Homeland Security and Emergency Management Courses

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a component within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is the lead federal agency responsible for developing a national preparedness system. The system includes policies and plans as well as exercises and assessments of capabilities across many public and private entities. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which FEMA has (1) developed policies and plans that define roles and responsibilities; (2) implemented the National Exercise Program, a key tool for examining preparedness; (3) developed a national capabilities assessment; and (4) developed a strategic plan that integrates these elements of the preparedness system. GAO analyzed program documents, such as after-action reports, and visited six states located in disaster regions. While the results of these visits are not generalizable, they show how select states carry out their efforts.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that FEMA improve national preparedness by, among other things, establishing a program management plan, better ensuring exercises follow program guidance, enhancing its project management plan for assessing capabilities, and developing a strategic plan that integrates system elements. DHS concurred with our recommendations.

National Preparedness: FEMA Has Made Progress, but Needs to Complete and Integrate Planning, Exercise, and Assessment Efforts

“HSC, NSC, NSS: This is how sausage is made.”

From Homeland Security Watch, May 28, 2009.

http://www.hlswatch.com/

Received today for review and comment, Session 1, “Course Introduction,” for the “Leadership in Emergency Management” college course “treatment” development project. This approximately 3 hour session is being developed by Dr. Jane Kushma, Associate Professor, Institute for Emergency Preparedness, Jacksonville State University, Anniston, Al. From Session 1 material received today:

Course Purpose:

“… the purpose of this course is to present a variety of perspectives on leadership that help to inform professional practice and the personal development of the emergency management student. In addition to more traditional or classic notions of leadership students will be introduced to contemporary models including collaborative, transformational, and servant leadership. The special demands of crisis leadership will also be explored. Finally … students … will have an opportunity to assess their individual leadership capabilities and explore leadership development within the context of an “emotional intelligence” framework throughout the duration of the course.

Course Objectives

1. Review/critique theoretical perspectives of leadership as applied to emer. management

2. To compare and contrast traditional and emerging paradigms.

3. To examine the demands and requirements of crisis leadership.

4. To apply theoretical perspectives to case situations.

5. Understand emotional intelligence framework and contribution to effective leadership.

6. Assess personal characteristics associated with various leadership styles in self/others.

7. Identify leadership and collaboration skills needed by emergency management personnel

Session 1 will be forwarded to the EMI web staff for upload – for review and comment – to the EM Hi-Ed Program website – Free College Course Materials section – Course Treatments subsection — Leadership in Emergency Management (Kushma). While there, one might also want to take a look at: Leadership in Emergency Manageme nt (Willett). Dr. Kushma’s material should be accessible in about one-week at:

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/coursetreat.asp

The National Infrastructure Protection Plan provides the unifying structure for the integration of a wide range of efforts for the enhanced protection and resiliency of the nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) into a single national program.

The overarching goal of the NIPP is to build a safer, more secure, and more resilient America by preventing, deterring, neutralizing, or mitigating the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorists to destroy, incapacitate, or exploit elements of our nation’s CIKR and to strengthen national preparedness, timely response, and rapid recovery of CIKR in the event of an attack, natural disaster, or other emergency.

Read more here: National Infrastructure Protection Plan: Partnering to Enhance Protection and Resiliency

Concerns over emergency response plans at nuclear power plants around the country have led the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to propose changes to some federal regulations. One of the changes, if approved, would require that emergency planners incorporate “hostile actions” into biennial drills.

Read more here: NRC, FEMA Eye Disaster Plan Changes

From the ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel.

On February 3-4, 2009, the ANSI-HSSP convened a Workshop on Emergency Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs, bringing together over 100 key stakeholders from standards developing organizations (SDOs), federal agencies, and disability advocacy groups. The event, co-chaired by Mr. Allan Fraser, Senior Building Code Specialist, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Ms. Hilary Styron,

Director, National Organization on Disability, Emergency Preparedness Initiative (NOD/EPI), explored the need for standards-based solutions for more effective emergency preparedness for the community of persons with disabilities and special needs.

Emergency Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs (PDF)