THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

1
THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

• George Haddow
• The George Washington University
• Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk
  Management
• Washington, DC
• 2005 Emergency Management Higher Education
  Conference
• FEMA Emergency Management Institute
• Emmitsburg, MD - June 7-9, 2005

2
Spring 2003

• We are optimistic that emergency management can
  survive and thrive in the future if it embraces
  the lessons learned from the past and moves
  forward with a progressive agenda that will be
  valued by the American people.

3
Four Lessons

• Maintain an all-hazards approach to emergency
  management.
• The federal response infrastructure, based on the
  Federal Response Plan, works.
• Continue to practice the concepts that
  facilitated the U.S. emergency management system
  becoming the best system in the world.
• Make mitigation the focus of emergency management
  in the United States.

4
Emergency Management Today (2005)

• Terrorism focus
• National Response Plan (NRP)
• Customer focus, partnerships and communications
• Mitigation

5
Five Pressing Issues

• Imbalance of focus between homeland security and
  natural disaster management
• Challenge of involving the public in preparedness
  planning
• Lack of an effective partnership with the
  business community
• Cuts to EM funding
• Questions surrounding the evolving organizational
  structure of the nations emergency management
  system.

6
A History of Imbalance Repeated

• Civil Defense
• Hugo, Loma Prieta, Andrew
• History repeating itself

7
More Public Involvement Needed

• Limited role
• Project Impact, Tulsa, Napa
• Redefining Readiness

8
Public-Private Partnership Effort Failing

• Business Roundtable
• Overall strategy
• Information and planning

9
Emergency Management Funding Cuts

• Natural hazards programs
• First responders and plans
• Homeland security offices

10
Organizational Uncertainty

• Partnership
• Structure
• DHS

11
A New Path for Emergency Management

• Lessons learned
• Single focus
• DHS mission

12
Where does emergency management go from here?

• Community level
• New breed of government official
• Consensus building process
• All-Hazards including terrorism

13
Conclusion