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 . 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.)
Analysis framed by defining: effective emergency management as a person-environment fit process in which both person and environment. Thematic analysis of open ended responses [basic coding procedures].
Questionnaire based survey, literature research
EOC ActivationTraining
Combination of closed and open-ended questionsParticipants were instructed at the beginning to answer from the point of view of the organization they worked for.Along with the questionnaire, each participant received a definition sheet explaining key terms used in the questionnaire.
Survey of 48 organizations from New Zealand, Canada, and USA [out of 96 contacted]
Presents exploratory research into how local government emergency operations centers (EOCs) are used during emergency management preparedness activities.
36 out of 73 organizations of New Zealand participated and 12 North American organizations [relatively small sample size]Instances of difference across questions in participants’ answers might be possible due to mis-readings or misinterpretations.
The majority of organizations participated in tabletop, drills, and orientation exercises frequently, at least once a year or more. However, they tended to focus on exercising the incident management structure rather than identifying the competencies needed to put that structure into practice.
Participants were asked if they wished to participate in the online survey.
Objective of survey was to investigate local government organization’s preparedness activities in real emergencies and in and simulations within the operating emergency operations centres (EOC).
 |
De Portfolio of Solutions website is oorspronkelijk in het kader van het DRIVER+-project ontwikkeld worden. Vandaag wordt de dienst door AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, ten behoeve van de Europese crisisbeheersing beheerd . PoS is door het Disaster Competence Network Austria (DCNA) en door de H2020 projecten STAMINA en TeamAware gesteund. |