Fostering a ‘Whole Community’ Approach to Emergency Management David J. Kaufman Director, Office of Policy and Program Analysis 8 June 2011

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 What is the underlying philosophy of emergency management?

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 The Future Strategic Environment  Increased empowerment of individuals due to technological innovation: o Speed and access to information and communications  Evolving security environment: o Technological and scientific knowledge can transform terrorist and counterterrorist capabilities  Dramatic demographic shifts: o Older and more diverse population may challenge planning, and recovery  Changes in the manmade and natural environments: o Climate change & infrastructure degradation can challenge emergency management operations

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Implications for Emergency Management  Engagement with the public  Assessment and understanding of risks and opportunities (aging infrastructure, changing climate, technology)  Use of emerging technologies  Planning for changing demographics  A more complex environment  A premium on Resilience

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Simple Truths  Public citizens tend to be the first responders  Communities that recover successfully tend to drive their own recovery  Emergency Management is a social process  The Disaster itself is just one variable in equation

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Disaster Impacts 6 The Broader Picture UnderlyingCommunityConditions

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Public Health “Public health is what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions for people to be healthy” -National Institute of Medicine

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Other Parallels…  Community Oriented Policing  International Development  Counter-Insurgency Strategy

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Advancing ‘Whole Community’ EM FEMA is taking a closer look at how we practice and engage in our field by advancing an approach to emergency management that involves the whole community

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 What does this mean? ‘Whole Community’ Emergency Management – Some Key Principles:  Understanding and meeting the actual needs of the whole community  Engaging all aspects of the community (public, private, and civic) in defining those needs and providing ways to meet them  Strengthening what works well in communities on a daily basis to improve resilience and emergency management outcomes

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Key Principle - 1 Understanding and meeting the actual needs of the whole community  “Understand community DNA” – Learn how communities’ social activity is organized and needs are met on a ‘normal’ basis  “Plan for real” – Plan for what communities will really need should a severe event occur (not for the capabilities we have)  “Recognize community capabilities” – Recognize communities’ capabilities (private and civic) and how they can contribute to better emergency management outcomes

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Key Principle - 2 Engage all parts of the community in defining those needs and providing ways to meet them  “Broaden the team” – Actively engage the whole community (public, private, civic) in the emergency management process – participating in all five phases of the disaster cycle  “Meet people where they are” – Engage communities through the relationships that exist in everyday settings and around issues that already have their attention and drive their interactions  “Empower local action” – Let public participation lead, not follow, in identifying priorities, organizing support, implementing programs, and evaluating outcomes

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Key Principle - 3 Strengthen what works well in communities on a daily basis  “Create space at the table” – Engage with the processes of negotiation, discussion, and decision-making that govern local residents under normal conditions  “Strengthen social infrastructure” – Invest in the social, economic, and political structures that make up daily life and connect them to emergency management apparatus  “Create the conditions for resilience” – Align emergency management activities to support community partnerships and efforts to address underlying conditions

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 A community centric approach for emergency management that focuses on strengthening/adapting what works well in communities on a daily basis offers a more effective path to building societal security and resilience Value Proposition

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 FEMA is taking action to foster this approach in three ways:  Creating a National Dialogue  Working with New Partners  Catastrophic Event Preparedness – Planning for the Maximum of Maximums Actions

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Getting Involved  FEMA seeks to spark expansion and transformation of current community engagement strategies  Identify and learn from examples of whole community engagement in the practice of emergency management  Support the development of guidance, tools, training and educational programs that engage and integrate whole community – strengthening resilience and improving outcomes

Presenter’s Name June 17, 2003 Comments and/or Questions Please share your thoughts and perspectives: For more information: David J. Kaufman, Director Office of Policy and Program Analysis