FEMA is conducting an engagement campaign to discuss ideas for strengthening public participation in emergency management and homeland security. Over the last several months, they have engaged a diverse range of people, organizations, and professions from across the Nation.
FEMA's goal is to learn what works well in local communities before an incident occurs and to connect these successful activities, networks, assets, and processes to preparations to withstand, respond, mitigate, and recover from emergencies. This paper explores how governments can better engage with the public to increase locally-organized disaster resilience and empower citizens and local institutions to take an active role in protecting themselves and their communities.
The document (see attachment) describes how emergency response needs to move away from the Cold War idea of Command-And-Control (which places uniformed emergency responders at the core of disaster response) to a model where community organizations (some of which will only emerge during the disaster) take the lead in both response and recovery efforts. FEMA and others have learned from previous disasters that communities will bypass overwhelmed agencies during disasters and develop their own infrastructure. Rather than fighting against this irresistible force, FEMA seems to be inclined to empower these emergent organizations so that they can actually take the lead and liaise with federal, state and local government agencies as and when needed.
FEMA seems to be busy implementing some of the lessons learned, for example through its new arrangement with the Girl Scouts of America.
| File | Description | File size |
|---|---|---|
 FEMA - Whitepaper Community Resilience | 222 Kb |
