Help Research and Support the Response to Hurricane Irma
We need your help! If you have a few minutes, please read below.
As Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida, hundreds, maybe thousands of organizations are preparing to descend upon the state to support the survivors. It is an effort that takes many different types of people from many different organizations. But who are these groups? How do they find each other?
These questions are the impetus for the Response Roster Project. We want to understand response efforts from the perspective of both the official and unofficial response. Who are the unsung heroes and responders taking time to help in any way they can?
Upcoming Emergency Preparedness Webinars
Webinars are a great way to learn about a new topic. The Safe+Ready Institute is sponsoring a series of great and free webinars over the next few months. I hope you can join!
The Role of Competing Objectives in Exercise Design and Evaluation
As an exercise practitioner with experience in different types and levels of exercises, I question the efficacy of our existing exercise evaluation paradigms (e.g., HSEEP, REPP, CSEPP, etc.). In my experience, they are messy and misaligned with the overarching objectives we are trying to achieve.
This messiness is partly due to the fact that we create dueling objectives such as training and evaluation. For example, if you slow down or modify an exercise to ensure responders understand and can perform their duties (training objective), can you objectively state the system capability they performed was successfully tested (performance objective)? I have a hard time saying this unless the capability's performance...
Redefining Information Requirements for Crisis Response
Developing information requirements for crisis response is a tedious and flawed process filled with many uncertainties about the situation and the response. While we can take an honest stab at knowing what different responders need, when, and how, our unilateral focus on needed information stymies the best of intentions: historical learning is only as good as a similar future, which is rarely the case; and visioning workshops are only as good as the ability to identify the uncertainties that lie ahead, a very difficult task with severe consequences if something is missed.
While decisions can be made without needed information based on expertise and experience, this is far from ideal in a complex adaptive system such as...
[APPLY NOW] Coaching for Tech-Enabled Disaster Management Projects
Last year, I wrote about a similar coaching opportunity with The Governance Lab at NYU. The lab has since moved to the Tandon School of Engineering from the Wagner School of Public Service (my master's alma matter), however, that does not mean they are any less focused on doing good.
This year's coaching program focuses on tech-enabled disaster management. This program is ideal for you if you have specific project in mind or are actively working on a project. You will have access to great mentors and support. While the focus of the program is on developing a solution, you do not have to be technically oriented. In fact, this program works for anyone motivated to solve a real problem in the disaster or humanitarian space. Also, they have instituted...
Building Better Disaster Response and Resilience with Information and Technology
For nearly five years I have been in higher education exploring how information and technology can improve disaster response and resilience. I have explored complex issues in great detail and I have learned a lot about the challenges and opportunities being faced by communities, organizations and people trying to leverage information and technology to better respond to disasters and build resilience.
But as I begin my transition back to the working world in the near future, I am forced to reflect on how I can apply this new knowledge to help address current problems while also preparing for an innovative future beyond what we can imagine today. I find myself writing about my philosophy on leveraging information and technology to improve disaster response and resilience...
Feedback Needed on House Bill Proposing Social Media Research Project with Red Cross
Representative Thompson from Mississippi introduced a bill to the House of Representatives for the American Red Cross (ARC) to conduct a pilot research project to better leverage social media in disasters. The language in the bill is fairly vague, but I gather they want the ARC to implement something tangible and then evaluate its usefulness and performance.
A study like this could be very useful to the wider social media in emergency management (SMEM) community. I particularly like how the bill incorporates the use of social media to help deliver response supplies to affected areas, a form of operational intelligence. And social media for operations and intelligence is the next frontier of social media research that will enable disaster decision makers to make better decisions faster and more accurately.
I will be providing feedback on this bill and am curious about others' thoughts. What other components of SMEM should be researched? Will this be useful to you? How so?
You can track the bill here. Here are the quick and dirty details of the bill:
ISCRAM is Conducting Survey for Masters Degree on EM Information Systems
ISCRAM, the international academic-practitioner group focused on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management is conducting a survey that may be of interest to many people. The survey is looking for input on a Master's level degree in EM with a concentration in information systems.
I like ISCRAM's approach because it is not just about a particular type of technology such as GIS. Information systems for EM is sorely underrepresented in higher education and something I believe should be in included in every degree program. This topic is also near and dear to my heart as I have not only written about information and technology in EM, but is also the subject of my research and future work.
You need not be an expert in information systems, information, or technology to respond to this survey. In fact a non-technical EM expert may provide some great feedback!
National Survey on R&D Priorities related to EOC Technology
I just came across this national survey on EOC technology. The goal of the researcher is to establish research and development priorities. I think this is a great idea and am glad to see it sponsored by some big names such as Harvard, AMTRAK, City of Los Angeles and the Department of Homeland Security. The survey takes about 10 minutes. Respond to the survey by clicking the button below or clicking this link.
Academic Research on Disaster Communications Technology [Survey]
Two great universities, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the Pennsylvania State University’s College of Engineering, are coming together to do some much needed research on disaster communications technology. I am very pleased to see this type of research taking place and hope you can participate by completing this survey.
The researchers are looking for all levels of practitioners involved in emergencies or disasters (e.g., DoD, DHS, Public Safety, private industry, etc.). The survey has 25 questions and should take about 15 minutes.
[APPLY NOW] Free Incubator for Disaster and Humanitarian Innovation!
I just got word of a great FREE coaching program at my master's alma matter. If you have been considering an idea and want to work on it more with great mentors and support, this is a great program for you. While the focus of the program is on developing a solution, you do not have to be technically oriented. In fact, this program works for anyone motivated to solve a real problem in the disaster or humanitarian space. Also, if your idea is disaster related, I might be one of the mentors you have access to as well. Here are the specifics...
The Governance Lab at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service is searching for highly motivated and passionate individuals with good ideas but who may not know how to develop them without help!
Is ICS Organic or Mechanistic? [RESEARCH]
The incident command system is a staple in emergency operations. If you are in emergency services or emergency management, you know ICS because it plays such a role in your operation. It is the way in which we organize ourselves to manage the complexity and craziness with emergencies and disasters.
In recent years, there has been some focused research discussing the relative merits and downsides of the system. In fact, much of our ICS best practices have been based around our intuitive understanding of the system. But more research is still needed to understand the many nuanced strengths and weaknesses of the system.