FEMA/EMI’s New "Principles of Emergency Management"

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Management Roundtable, a panel of twelve emergency management (EM) practitioners and academicians, released its set of "Principles of Emergency Management" on September 11, 2007. B. Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., project manager, Emergency Management Higher Education Program, Emergency Management Institute, Emmitsburg, Maryland, convened the EM experts on March 5-6, 2007 at the direction of his boss, EMI Superintendent Cortez Lawrence, Ph.D., J.D.

The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is the direct descendent of the Civil Defense Staff College founded in 1954 in Battle Creek, Michigan, under the auspices of the Civil Defense Program run out of the U.S. Department of Defense. In 1979, the Civil Defense Staff College changed its name to EMI when Congress appropriated funds for its movement from the U.S. Department of Defense to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), famously created by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. The name Emergency Management Institute reflected the center's new and much broader mission to train and educate the emergency management community.

I. Brief Bios: FEMA's Emergency Management Roundtable Participants

The twelve March 2007 Emergency Management Roundtable participants were Dr. Blanchard, Lucien G. Canton. Carol L. Cwiak, J.D., Kay C. Goss, David A. McEntire, Ph.D., Lee Newsome, Michael D. Selves, Eric A. Sorchik, Kim Stenson, James E. Turner III, Dr. William L. Waugh, Jr., and Dewayne West. Immediately below are brief biographies of the twelve participants and Dr. Lawrence.

Dr. Cortez Lawrence. Source: http://www.govtech.com ; accessed November 7, 2008.		Cortez Lawrence, Ph.D., J.D., is a former U.S. Army infantry officer who served in Vietnam and Europe and retired from the U.S. Army Reserves as a major in 1989. His 22-year service in the fire service, mostly in the southeastern U.S., included stints as fire chief, LaGrange, Georgia in the late 1970s (population 26,000, 2000 census); deputy director, public safety department, Auburn, Alabama (population 54,000, 2007 census); fire marshal for the U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.; and director of the National Fire Programs division of the U.S. Fire Administration (2001-2006). He holds a doctorate in public policy and administration from Auburn University and is a graduate of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Fellows Program for State and Local Government Executives. In 2006, FEMA appointed him superintendent of EMI. On November 15, 2007, he acquired the position of director, Center for Domestic Preparedness, in Anniston, Alabama, where he had been serving as acting director since July 2007. (1)
Dr. B. Wayne Blanchard. Source: http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu; accessed November 7, 2008.		Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D. earned a bachelor's degree in political science with honors from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a master's degree in international affairs from the University of Virginia, and his doctorate degree in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He has a minor in philosophy from Mount St. Mary's College where he is completing graduate work in theology (Mount St. Mary's Seminary). Dr. Blanchard joined FEMA in 1980, only one year after its founding. He worked on civil defense programs in the then National Protectorate Directorate. He then transferred to the State and Local Programs Support Directorate where he served as the training coordinator for the Office of Emergency Management and as the staff officer in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Civil Defense Committee. He also worked for a short time in the Office of Emergency and Public Information where he continued to manage the Family Protection Program. In 1993, Dr. Blanchard was the first Federal employee in the first class of applicants to receive a Certified Emergency Manager certification from the National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management (now the International Association of Emergency Managers or IAEM). Later, Dr. Blanchard served for eight years as FEMA's commissioner to the Certified Emergency Manager Commission. Dr. Blanchard has served in various capacities in a number of disasters over the years. For example, in the immediate aftermath of the January 1994 Northridge earthquake, he served as manager of the North Hollywood American Red Cross shelter for three weeks. He then transferred to the federal disaster field office in Pasadena where "he developed and managed a citizen disaster preparedness campaign, which produced approximately 50 videotaped public service announcements using the donated time of more than 24 Hollywood celebrities. (2)
Lucien G. Canton. Source: http://www.talglobal.com; accessed November 7, 2008.		Lucien G. Canton, M.B.A. is a former soldier in the U.S. Army who served in Germany 1975-1980 and worked in the private security industry in the US and abroad 1980-1990. He served as an emergency management specialist with FEMA 1990-1996, publishing in 1995 Guard Force Management, a textbook about management of proprietary guard programs (new edition, 2003). After leaving FEMA, Mr. Canton served as director of emergency services in San Francisco (city/county) 1996-2004. In 2004, he opened his own consulting firm, and in 2005 joined TAL Global International Security Management Corporation in San Jose, California as managing director, emergency preparedness. Mr. Canton earned a B.S. (biology) from the University of San Francisco and a master of business administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. In 2006, he published Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs, in which he advocates a "change in the role of the emergency management, from that of a technical expert who is responsible for everything vaguely related to disasters, to that of a program manager who coordinates the community's management of risk." (p. xi) (3)
Carol L. Cwiak. Source: http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu; accessed November 7, 2008.		Carol L. Cwiak, J.D., a faculty member in the emergency management program at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota (population 91,000, 2000 census), has taught at least six emergency management courses, including "Business Continuity and Crisis Management" and "Emergency Management Law and Ethics" since 2004. She is currently working on her doctorate in emergency management. She has published a number of papers available elsewhere that explore attitudes and demographics of academicians, practitioners, and consultants in the field of emergency management. (4)
Kay C. Goss. Source: http://www.emforum.org; accessed November 7, 2008.		Native Arkansan Kay C. Goss, M.A. has served since 2007 as director of emergency management and crisis communications for Systems and Research Applications International (SRA), a global provider of technology and managed services to clients in national security, civil government, and health care/public health markets. Previously, she served as a senior advisor for public safety and security at global technology company Electronic Data Systems Corporation. From 1994 to 2001, she was associate FEMA director in charge of the Preparedness Directorate under FEMA director James Lee Witt (1993-2001). Between 1982 and 1993, she was a senior assistant for Intergovernmental Relations for Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. Ms. Goss holds a B.A. and M.A. in political science and public administration from the University of Arkansas. She completed courses but not her dissertation for her doctorate in public administration. She is currently participating in a doctorate program at American University's Presidential Studies, specializing in the administration of Clinton and other presidents. Ms. Goss is active in the William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Foundation, the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, and Bill Clinton Political Items Collectors, among other organizations. (5)
Dr. David McEntire. Source: http://www.unt.edu; accessed November 7, 2008.		David McEntire, Ph.D., received his B.A. in international relations and Spanish at Brigham Young University in 1991. He then moved to the University of Denver where he earned his M.A. in 1995 (Thesis: "Disasters, the developing world and the weaknesses of the international relief and mitigation community") and his Ph.D. in 2000 (Thesis: "From sustainability to invulnerable development: Justifications for a modified disaster reduction concept and policy guide."). Since 1999, the University of North Texas in Denton (population 80,000, 2000 census) has employed him as an associate professor and the undergraduate program coordinator for the emergency administration and planning program in the department of public administration. A list of his prolific publications, some with veteran EM researcher Thomas E. Drabek, is available elsewhere. (6)
Lee Newsome. Source: http://www.erecinc.coml; accessed November 7, 2008.		Lee Newsome has 20 years experience in the fire service, including management positions in a municipal fire department; in emergency management where he served for two years as an area coordinator for the Florida Division of Emergency Management; and in the private sector as president of Emergency Response Educators and Consultants, EREC, Ocala, Florida), a responder training organization he founded in 1996. Since 2000, he has provided subject matter expertise to, and has a vote on, the National Fire Protection Agency 1600 Business Continuity Committee, which writes the Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs. (7)
Michael D. Selves. Photo credit: M. O’Leary, November 2008.		Native Kansan Michael D. Selves, M.S. graduated from Emporia State University with a B.S. in education in 1967. He then earned the M.S. degree in management from the University of Arkansas in 1974. He completed course work but not his dissertation for a doctorate in higher education and business at the University of Denver. After graduating from college, Mr. Selves joined the U.S. Air Force where he served 1967-1987 as a communications and war plans officer. Upon re-entering the private sector in 1988, Mr. Selves joined the Kansas Division of Emergency Management in Topeka, Kansas as emergency operations coordinator for local emergency management programs. Mr. Selves worked 1995-2007 at the local emergency management level as director of Johnson County Emergency Management and Homeland Security in Olathe, Kansas. He also served in a number of voluntary professional membership societies, including the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) as president, 2006-2007. Mr. Selves is principal of MDS-EM Consulting and Advocacy. (8)
Eric Sorchik. Source: http://www.plumsted.org/; accessed November 7, 2008.		Eric A. Sorchik, M.A. is a recently (2004) retired lieutenant in the New Jersey State Police where he served for 26 years as emergency management training officer in the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. He supervised the research, development, and administration of all emergency management, hazardous materials, rescue, and other associated training programs conducted by the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. He was involved in the response to 9/11 and many scheduled special events, such as 1985 and 2000 Tall Ships, 1994 World Cup Soccer, and 2000 Republican National Convention. He is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, Quantico, Virginia. In 2006, Lt. Sorchik accepted appointment as deputy emergency management coordinator for Plumsted Township, N.J. He is an adjunct professor in the School of Administrative Science at Fairleigh-Dickinson University. (9-10)
South Carolina Emergency Management Division headquarters. Source: http://www.scemd.orgl; accessed November 7, 2008.		Kim Stenson is chief of staff in the director's office, South Carolina Emergency Management Division in West Columbia, South Carolina. He represented the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) in his role with the Emergency Management Roundtable in March 2007. (11)
James Turner III. Source: http://dshs.delaware.gov; accessed November 7, 2008.		James E. Turner III became director, Delaware Emergency Management Agency, in 2002 after serving as executive secretary of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association, 2001-2002. He served for 24 years as an emergency service-training administrator at the Delaware State Fire School in Dover, Delaware. From 1969 to 1976, he was a communications specialist with the Delaware State Police. He has been a member of the Clayton Fire Company since 1966, serving for a time as deputy chief (population 1,273, 2000 census). Mr. Turner also represented the National Emergency Management Association on FEMA's Emergency Management Roundtable. (12)
Dr. William Waugh, Jr. Source: http://aysps.gsu.edu; accessed November 7, 2008.		William L. Waugh, Jr., Ph.D., a professor of public administration, urban studies and political science at Georgia State University (since 1985), teaches courses in public policy, organizational behavior and disaster management, among other topics. Dr. Waugh received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Mississippi, an M.A. from Auburn University, and an A.B. in political science and European history from the University of North Alabama. He grew up on military bases in the U.S. and West Germany and served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army in South Korea from 1970-1971. Before moving to Georgia State University in 1985, he taught at Mississippi State University and Kansas State University. He has written prolifically during his professional career (books, chapters in books, articles), including his most recent book Living with Hazards Dealing Disasters: an Introduction to Disaster Management (2000). Dr. Waugh is a research associate in the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure, and Emergency Management based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Jackson State University. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Emergency Management. (13)
Dewayne West. Source: http://www.21cbtv1.com; accessed November 7, 2008.		Dewayne West is the retired director of the Johnston County (North Carolina) Office of Emergency Services, which encompasses emergency management, emergency medical services, and the fire marshal's office. He served on the board of directors of the National Association of Counties and is a past president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, 2005-2006. (14)

II. Origin of the Idea for Set of Principles of Emergency Management

Dr. Blanchard recalls the sequence of events leading to the Emergency Management Roundtable in his 40-page "Background 'Think Piece'" available elsewhere. (15) In summer 2006, he emailed several colleagues seeking input for a December 2006 EMI staff meeting on "the future of training and education at EMI." (15) Mr. Selves (for biography, see above) returned the following email to Dr. Blanchard:

Wayne, I don't know how receptive the "powers that be" in DHS/FEMA [Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency] would be to this, but it seems to me that the single most helpful thing EMI could do in conjunction with the academic and practitioner E.M. communities would be to revive the concept of emergency management principles (integrated, comprehensive, all-hazard, coordination, linked to research, etc.). This should be developed, not by a "beltway bandit" contractor, but by a task force of academics and practitioners. The purpose of this exercise would be to set forth the basic underpinnings upon which all courses (EMI, collegiate, etc.) in E.M. theory and practice would be based. Our current problems with FEMA and the role of emergency management in the federal structure stems, in my humble opinion, almost entirely from the lack of any generally understanding or acceptance of these basics. One use of this concept would be the creation of a short course on emergency management for all DHS and FEMA employees. We are requiring NIMS training of virtually everyone in the country, what good is NIMS training if you don't understand the context within which NIMS must operate. The current screw up of preparedness and response concepts at the Federal level is due to this problem of defining everything using an "emergency services" first responder framework. Our efforts on Capitol Hill have only born any fruit at all because we are finally getting some key members and staffers to understand this bigger picture. The system is not failing because first responders need more attention, it is failing because the coordinators and decision-makers need more attention. (July 10, 2006 email) (15)

Dr. Blanchard shared the email with Dr. Lawrence, who asked Dr. Blanchard "to set up a meeting with Mike [Selves, then president of IAEM] and a small working group of other stakeholders to discuss what could be done about the situation he described in his communication." Dr. Blanchard recalls his intellectual journey to organize "background contexts, principles, and the practice of emergency management...There is not an established 'Emergency Management Doctrine' to clear all this up," he lamented. (16)

On researching the meaning of the term "principle," he learned that one definition (there are many) is "a fundamental truth, law, doctrine, or motivating force, upon which others are based" (Webster's New World Dictionary). He further learned from two academicians (Dr. David Etkin and Dr. Ian Davis) at a June 2, 2006 conference in Toronto, Canada, that "principles guide people's decisions and actions and procedures developed by organizations, and laws and doctrines of political entities." (16-18)

On December 14, 2006, Dr. Lawrence requested that Dr. Blanchard speak briefly on "Emergency Management Doctrine" at the December 19, 2006m EMI "All Hands" staff meeting. "While I had used the word 'doctrine' in communicating with him [Dr. Lawrence] on what we might do to improve upon the situation Mike Selves described, and while I had recently received a communication from an old boss, Dr. John Brinkerhoff [U.S. Army colonel and former acting associate director of FEMA's National Preparedness Directorate 1981-1983 under President Reagan], on the topic of the need for an emergency management doctrine, I had not really come to grips with trying to focus my thoughts on the identification of specific components of an emergency management doctrine. Like the word 'Principles,' the word 'Doctrine' can be difficult to grapple with," wrote Dr. Blanchard. (19) He continued,

After several attempts to develop a conception of an Emergency Management Doctrine document, though-one different than an Emergency Management Principles document-I gave up, deciding that 'Doctrine' was more of an organizational-specific and operationally-oriented task than the guiding 'Principles' of a profession and academic discipline. It appears to me that 'Principles' should be formulated prior to the formulation of 'Doctrine.' Thus I decided to focus on first things first.

Dr. Blanchard obtained the raw response data from a survey of EM academicians, practitioners, and consultants conducted by Carol L. Cwiak (see below), organized it, and then used it to draft an EM definition, mission, and set of principles, which he shared with Emergency Management Roundtable participants. Dr. Blanchard's earliest draft of this work is available elsewhere. (20)

III. Survey Conducted on Emergency Management Professionals' Perceptions of Principles of Emergency Management

In parallel with his communications with Emergency Management Roundtable participants, Dr. Blanchard worked with Ms. Cwiak (see biography above) in a survey of 60 "specially selected" emergency management professionals, divided into three groups: academicians, practitioners, and consultants. One purpose of the survey was to solicit their ideas on the "fundamental principles of emergency management," among other issues of identity and purpose in the field of emergency management. Dr. Blanchard was disappointed to learn that there was no clear agreement on the fundamental principles of emergency management, said Ms. Cwiak. (21) Highlights of her work are available elsewhere. (22) Dr. Blanchard generated a "themed consolidation of Phase I narrative responses" of Cwiak's survey (see Appendix C of her report) in March 2007 in time to draft an EM definition, mission, and set of principles, which he shared with the Emergency Management Roundtable on March 5-6, 2007.

IV. Principles Generated at the Emergency Management Roundtable March 5-6, 2007

By the end of the two-day meeting, the participants had reacted to Dr. Blanchard's drafts for an EM definition, mission, and set of principles and generated a revised draft, which was made available in June 2007 at FEMA's Emergency Management Higher Education Conference. (23) Mr. Selves spoke for an hour on the new set of principles at the conference. The March 5-6, 2007 draft is available in Appendix D of Cwiak's survey report. (24)

V. The Final Set of Eight Emergency Management Principles

On February 13, 2008, Mr. Selves presented via the EIIP (Emergency Information Infrastructure Partnership) Virtual Forum Presentation a talk titled, "Principles of Emergency Management and the Emergency Management Roundtable." (25) He said,

In March of 2007, Dr. Wayne Blanchard of FEMA's Emergency Management Higher Education Project, at the direction of Dr. Cortez Lawrence, Superintendent of FEMA's Emergency Management Institute, convened a working group of emergency management practitioners and academics to consider principles of emergency management. This group became known as the Principles of Emergency Management (POEM) Roundtable. This project was prompted by the realization that while numerous books, articles and papers referred to "principles of emergency management," nowhere in the vast array of literature on the subject was there an agreed upon definition of what these principles were.

Additionally, the current policy discussions prompted by the catastrophic events along the U.S. Gulf Coast made it clear that a precise and accurate description of the scope and nature of the profession of emergency management was critically needed.

After a good deal of research and "animated" discussion, the group agreed on eight principles that would be used to guide the development of a doctrine of emergency management. In addition, the POEM Roundtable developed a working definition, vision and mission as a prelude to the eight principles.

The one-page Principles document has been endorsed by EMI, IAEM, NEMA, NFPA 1600 Committee, and the EMAP Committee. Formal adoption by the FEMA Administrator is in the process and we anticipate it soon.

VI. Definition of Emergency Management

"Emergency management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters."

VII. Vision for Emergency Management

"Emergency management seeks to promote safer, less vulnerable communities with the capacity to cope with hazards and disasters."

VIII. Mission of Emergency Management

"Emergency management protects communities by coordinating and integrating all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters."

IX. Eight Principles of Emergency Management

Mr. Selves noted that "[e]mergency management must be:

1. Comprehensive - emergency managers consider and take into account all hazards, all phases, all stakeholders and all impacts relevant to disasters.

"All Hazards" within a jurisdiction must be considered as part of a thorough risk assessment and prioritized on the basis of impact and likelihood of occurrence.

"All Phases" -- The Comprehensive Emergency Management Model on which modern emergency management is based defines four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. [For more on the Comprehensive Emergency Management model, see SEMP Biot Report #550: "Comprehensive Emergency Management: The Governor's Perspective." October 27, 2008. Available at http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=550; accessed November 6, 2008.]

"All Impacts" -- Emergencies and disasters cut across a broad spectrum in terms of impact on infrastructure, human services, and the economy. Just as all hazards need to be considered in developing plans and protocols, all impacts or predictable consequences relating to those hazards must also be analyzed and addressed.

"All Stakeholders" -- Effective emergency management requires close working relationships among all levels of government, the private sector, and the general public.

2. Progressive - emergency managers anticipate future disasters and take preventive and preparatory measures to build disaster-resistant and disaster-resilient communities.

Given the escalating risks facing communities, emergency managers must become more progressive and strategic in their thinking. The role of the emergency manager can no longer be that of a technician but must evolve to that of a manager and senior policy advisor who oversees a community-wide program to address all hazards and all phases of the emergency management cycle.

3. Risk-driven - emergency managers use sound risk management principles (hazard identification, risk analysis, and impact analysis) in assigning priorities and resources.

Mitigation strategies, emergency operations plans, continuity of operations plans, and pre- and post-disaster recovery plans should be based upon the specific risks identified and resources should be allocated appropriately to address those risks.

4. Integrated - emergency managers ensure unity of effort among all levels of government and all elements of a community.

Unity of effort is dependent on both vertical and horizontal integration. This means that at the local level, emergency programs must be integrated with other activities of government. For example, department emergency plans must be synchronized with and support the overall emergency operations plan for the community.

In addition, plans at all levels of local government must ultimately be integrated with and support the community's vision and be consistent with its values.

5. Collaborative - emergency managers create and sustain broad and sincere relationships among individuals and organizations to encourage trust, advocate a team atmosphere, build consensus, and facilitate communication.

Collaboration must be viewed as an attitude or an organizational culture that characterizes the degree of unity and cooperation that exists within a community. In essence, collaboration creates the environment in which coordination can function effectively.

In disaster situations, the one factor that is consistently credited with improving the performance of a community is the degree to which there is an open and cooperative relationship among those individuals and agencies involved.

6. Coordinated - emergency managers synchronize the activities of all relevant stakeholders to achieve a common purpose.

In essence, the principle of coordination requires that the emergency manager think strategically, that he or she see the "big picture" and how each stakeholder fits into that mosaic. This type of thinking is the basis for the strategic program plan required under the National Preparedness Standard (NFPA 1600) and the Emergency Management Accreditation Program.

In developing the strategic plan, the emergency manager facilitates the identification of agreed-upon goals and then persuades stakeholders to accept responsibility for specific performance objectives.

7. Flexible - emergency managers use creative and innovative approaches in solving disaster challenges.

Flexibility is a key trait of emergency management and success in the emergency management field is dependent upon it. Being able to provide alternate solutions to stakeholders and then having the flexibility to implement these solutions is a formula for success in emergency management.

8. Professional- emergency managers value a science and knowledge-based approach based on education, training, experience, ethical practice, public stewardship and continuous improvement.

Professionalism in the context of the principles of emergency management pertains not to the personal attributes of the emergency manager but to a commitment to emergency management as a profession." (25)

X. Mr. Selves' Concluding Remarks

Mr. Selves concluded, "As you can see, these principles help to define the profession and to give some basic guidance to both academics and practitioners that there is much more to emergency management than the coordination of emergency services.

The purpose of the principles document, the explanatory document that accompanies it, as well as the doctrinal piece "Concepts and Principles of Emergency Management" which is under development by the POEM Roundtable is to clarify and expand the scope and nature of our profession.

Both the POEM 'one pager' and the Explanatory 'Monograph' are available on the EMI Higher Education web site and on the IAEM website, http://www.iaem.com. I'd be happy to stand for questions, comments, etc." (25)

*A monograph containing the Principles of Emergency Management is available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS230/Principles%20of%20EM.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008. The one-pager of the definition, vision, mission and principles is available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS230/Principles%20of%20EM%20All-Logos%20Flier%20Final%20Draft%20Nov%2007.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008.

XI. Field Reaction to the Eight Principles of Emergency Management

Mr. Steve Harrison (assistant director, emergency preparedness and response programs, Virginia Department of Health) queried, "Mr. Selves, the 'Principles,' while straight-forward and succinctly stated, seem to re-package basic concepts FEMA presented in the Principles of Emergency Management document of March 2003 (IS-230). While not presented as "Eight Principles" in that document, the concepts are intrinsically contained therein. How would you describe the key differences?" [The March 2003 IS-230 is available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/downloads/IS230.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008.] Mr. Selves replied (paraphrased) "This is the first time that a concise, consensus statement has been formulated." A second questioner, Jeff Phillips (New Mexico Department of Health) asked the same question and received a similar reply from Mr. Selves. A review of FEMA's March 2003 IS-230 course does use the term "principles of emergency management," but does not define it.

XII. New Initiatives Relating to the Principles of Emergency Management

Dr. Blanchard noted during the February 13, 2008, EIIP Virtual Forum Presentation, "We are actually working on two projects related to an expansion of the Principles. The EM Roundtable is working on an emergency management "doctrine" kind of document, as Mike [Selves] noted, which will greatly expand on the Principles in terms of emergency management concepts, so that it will be easier to insert material into training courses here at EMI or to develop a new 'Basic Emergency Management' course. We have commissioned the development of a college course on the Concepts and Principles of Emergency Management." (25)

XIII. Comment

The FEMA/EMI Emergency Management Roundtable participants conceived and wrote a plausible emergency management definition, vision, mission, and set of principles, which advance important new directions, such as defining emergency management as a managerial function, not a preparation/response coordination function. The Roundtable has made available an updated, cogent, and uniform EM framework for application by willing and able EM practitioners and educators, among others.

In the absence of statutory regulatory force, however, application in EM units and classrooms of the Roundtable's EM definition, vision, mission and principles remains unenforceable, even if FEMA officials affirm the content matter of the work products.

The Roundtable's work products raise only one concern to this observer. Missing from the Roundtable's work products is commitment to an outcomes-driven performance improvement philosophy, that is, tracking outcomes to assess EM's value to its community. A data-driven outcomes-based performance assessment framework can monitor and measure progress toward meeting a community's EM goals. Such a framework is essential in a continuous improvement model, by which the eighth principle declares EM abides. Performance assessment provides an EM unit with the information it needs to monitor whether it has improved and by how much in meeting and exceeding community expectations.

In sum, Dr. Blanchard, Mr. Selves, Ms. Cwiak, and the other EM professionals who serve on FEMA/EMI's Emergency Management Roundtable have made an important contribution to the EM profession by crisply articulating an updated EM definition, vision, mission, and principles to help guide the thoughts and behavior of EM practitioners and academicians, among others, in an increasingly alarming, complex, and addled world society.

FEMA’s Emergency Management Roundtable (absent: James Turner III). Source: http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu/CarolCwiakPersonalPage.htm; accessed November 7, 2008.

Notes:

1. FEMA: "FEMA Names New Director for Center for Domestic Preparedness," November 14, 2007, Release Number R4-03-07, at http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=41698; accessed November 6, 2008.
2. Biographical information on Dr. Blanchard is available at http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu/BlanchardAward.htm; accessed November 6, 2008.
3. "TAL Global Executive Staff" at http://www.talglobal.com/About/Executive-Staff.asp?i=3#Canton; accessed November 6, 2008.
4. "Carol Cwiak Personal Page" at http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu/CarolCwiakPersonalPage.htm; accessed November 6, 2008.
5. "Kay Goss" at http://www.gccu.us/resources/pdf/bio_goss.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008.
6. "David McEntire Curriculum Vitae" at http://www.unt.edu/eadp/DMvita.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008. See also his biography at http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsmedia/beyond911/speaker_bios.jsp; accessed November 6, 2008.
7. For information on Lee Newsome, enter his name in a search engine and you will be taken to pdf files that recite his biography.
8. Margaret R. O'Leary: "Changing Models of Local Emergency Management: Interview with IAEM Past President Michael D. Selves." Securitas Magazine, Oct/Nov/Dec, Volume 7, Issue 4. Available at http://www.semp.us/publications/securitas_reader.php?SecuritasID=38#Article1; accessed November 6, 2008.
9. Ron Dancer: "Town names Sorchik deputy emergency management coordinator." Marcy 27, 2006. Available at http://www.plumsted.org/towntalk/towntalk060327.htm; accessed November 6, 2008.
10. "Eric Sorchik." Fairleigh Dickinson University. Available at http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=3013; accessed November 6, 2008.
11. Further information on Kim Stenson is pending.
12. "Gov. Minner names longtime Delaware firefighter, instructor and advocate James E. Turner III as the new DEMA director." Tuesday, April 23, 2002. Available at http://governor.delaware.gov/news/2002/04april/042302%20-%20new%20dema%20director.shtml; accessed November 6, 2008.
13. "William L. Waugh, Jr." at http://www2.gsu.edu/~ustwlw/INTRO.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008.
14. "Dewayne West, CEM Testimony before the United States House of Representatives" July 31, 2007. Available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/congress/2007_h/070731-west.pdf; accessed November 6, 2008.
15. B. Wayne Blanchard: Background 'Think Piece' for the Emergency Management Roundtable Meeting, EMI, March 5-6, 2007," p. 2. Available at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/832697/Emergency-Management-Roundtable-Background-Think-Piece---EM-Principles; accessed November 6, 2008.
16. Ibid, p. 3.
17. David Etkin and Ian Davis: "The search for principles of disaster management." May 30, 2007. Available attraining.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/docs/emprinciples/The%20Search%20for%20Principles%20of%20Disas...; accessed November 6, 2008.
18. University of Toronto and York University: "Workshop on the principles of disaster management." Available at https://www.hsdl.org/hslog/?q=node/2747; accessed November 6, 2008.
19. B. Wayne Blanchard: Background 'Think Piece' for the Emergency Management Roundtable Meeting, EMI, March 5-6, 2007," p. 4. Available at http://www.docstoc.com/docs/832697/Emergency-Management-Roundtable-Background-Think-Piece---EM-Principles; accessed November 6, 2008.
20. Ibid, p. 10.
21. Carol L. Cwiak: "Issues, Principles and Attitudes - Oh My! Examining perceptions from select academics, practitioners, and consultants on the subject of emergency management." Available at http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu/CarolCwiakPersonalPage.htm; accessed November 6, 2008.
22. See SEMP Biot Report #557: "Perceptions of Emergency Management by Its Academics, Practitioners, and Consultants." November 8, 2008. Available at http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=557.
23. "10th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Conference, June 4-7, 2007." Available at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/educonference07.asp; accessed November 6, 2008.
24. Carol L. Cwiak: "Issues, Principles and Attitudes - Oh My! Examining perceptions from select academics, practitioners, and consultants on the subject of emergency management," p. 111. Available at http://emgt.ndsu.nodak.edu/CarolCwiakPersonalPage.htm; accessed November 6, 2008.
25. EIIP Virtual Forum Presentation, "Principles of Emergency Management and the Emergency Management Roundtable," Michael D. Selves. Available at www.emforum.org/pub/eiip/lc080213.doc; accessed November 7, 2008.