Calming the Storms: Collaborative Public Management, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and Emergency Resp

1
Calming the StormsCollaborative Public
Management,Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and
Emergency Response
Alisa Hicklin University of Oklahoma
Laurence J. OToole, Jr. University of Georgia

• Scott E. Robinson
• University of Texas at Dallas

Kenneth J. Meier Texas AM University Cardiff
University
2
Collaboration in Emergency Response

• Literature on collaboration and performance
  rarely considers emergency response.
• Hurricanes offer a natural experiment in what
  factors drive collaboration.

3
Determinants of Collaboration

• Research on the determinants of collaboration as
  key issue.
• One often-asserted driver of collaboration
  complexity in service delivery - wicked
  problems
• Exploration of problem severity/complexity as
  stimulus to collaboration

4
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

• Fall 2005
• Influx of displaced children filtering across
  state lines into Texas school districts
• Students with needs extending considerably beyond
  usual education concerns
• What explains the variation in the extent of
  post-hurricane collaboration?

5
Hypothesis OneComplexity Drives Collaboration

• Collaboration is largely a problem-specific
  response, triggered by external events that
  increase complexity in service delivery.
• More evacuees More collaboration

6
Hypothesis TwoCollaboration is Problem-Specific

• Would predict that post-hurricane collaboration
  would be unrelated to pre-hurricane collaboration
• Networkingt-1 Collaborationt

7
Hypothesis ThreeEfficiency in Collaboration

• Studies of networks point to substantial
  transaction costs in building collaborative
  relationships.
• In times of crisis, managers may collaborate
  primarily with those with whom they have
  established relationships.
• Pre-hurricane networking with particular
  organizations post-hurricane collaborations
  with same types of organizations

8
Hypothesis FourCollaboration as Management Style

• Collaboration driven by a managers overall
  propensity to engage in networking
• Collaboration not necessarily targeted at
  organizations with established relationships
• Overall networkingt-1 Collaborationt with
  individual organizations

9
Data

• Surveys
• Spring 2005 Managerial Survey
• Fall 2005 Hurricane Response Survey
• Other data from Texas Education Agency

10
Data

• Dependent Variable Total Collaboration
• Police, fire, and first responders
• Non-profit and relief organizations
• Other school districts
• Government relief and welfare organizations
• Business organizations
• Local, community, and religious organizations
• Number of evacuees Number of students taken in,
  as a percentage of the regular student body
• Control for administrative capacity
• District size Logged enrollment

11
Data and Methods

• Networking (factor score)
• Teacher associations
• Parent groups
• Local business leaders
• Other school districts
• Federal education officials
• State legislators
• Texas Education Agency
• Methods
• OLS
• Ordered Logit
• Poisson Regression

12

• Table Two Collaboration in Response to Influx
  of Displaced Students
• Dependent Variable Extent of Collaboration (0 to
  6)
• Independent Variables OLS Ordered Logit
  Poisson
• Number of Evacuees 0.276 0.287
  0.077
• (3.79) (3.57) (3.36)
• District Size 0.477 0.510
  0.160
• (9.28) (8.63) (9.05)
• Constant -0.850 -0.222
• (2.31) (1.67)
• N 508 508 508
• R2 0.2
• Psuedo R2 0.06 0.06

13

• Table Three Does Non-Crisis Networking Predict
  Collaboration in Crisis Times?
• Dependent Variable Extent of Collaboration (0 to
  6)
• Independent Variables OLS Ordered Logit
  Poisson
• Networking 0.448 0.516 0.156
• (4.08) (4.27) (4.00)
• Number of Evacuees 0.273 0.300
  0.077
• (3.14) (3.13) (2.76)
• District Size 0.441 0.474
  0.147
• (7.29) (6.85) (7.09)
• Constant -0.630 -0.148
• (1.44) (0.94)

14

• Table Four Are Managers Strategic in
  Collaboration to Lower Transaction Costs?
• Dependent Variable Collaboration with Business
  Orgs / Other School Districts
• Independent Variables Business
  Organizations Other School Districts
• Previous Networking 0.175 0.120
• (with that organization) (1.34) (1.02)
• Number of Evacuees 0.341 0.265
• (2.70) (2.32)
• District Size 0.584 0.192
• (5.88) (2.51)
• Constant -6.679 -2.160
• (7.31) (2.72)

15

• Table Five Is a General Inclination to Network
  Driving Collaboration?
• Dependent Variable Collaboration with Business
  Orgs / Other School Districts
• Independent Variables Business
  Organizations Other School Districts
• Composite Networking 0.681 0.297
• (Before Hurricane) (3.10) (1.69)
• Previous Networking -0.126 -0.033
• (with that organization) (0.75) (0.22)
• Number of Evacuees 0.353 0.282
• (2.73) (2.43)
• District Size 0.598 0.163
• (5.89) (2.04)

16
Conclusions

• Empirical support for the relationship between
  complex demands and collaboration
• Management matters in emergency response
• Individual managers matter in collaboration