The use of emergency operations centres in local government emergency management.

This paper presents exploratory research into how local government emergency operations centres (EOCs) are used during emergency management preparedness activities, through a questionnaire survey of 48 organisations from New Zealand, Canada, and USA. Analysis was framed by defining effective emergency management as a person-environment fit process in which both person (competence, response management system) and environment (e.g., need for multi-agency response, decision making about complex, evolving emergencies) characteristics should be modelled in training. Each organisation was unique in their approach and the extent their EOC was active during training. Training tended to focus on implementing the structural model (e.g., CIMS) and less on developing the competencies necessary for people to operate effectively at a tactical or coordinating level of emergency management. There was recognition of a need to further develop approaches to training, with 63% of organisations stating that they would like more guidance and advice in emergency management training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]/nCopyright of International Journal of Emergency Management is the property of Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)