The WxEM Project

Wave 4: Emergency Manager Communication and Collaboration

Motivation

  • NWS forecasters communicate with core partners throughout the forecast and warning process to ensure that the information they provide is relevant, understandable, and actionable. Emergency Managers are among the most important partners. They are a core linkage between NWS information and community actions that save lives and protect property.
  • Effective communication with EMs requires accurate and timely information about hazards (forecasts and warnings) and knowledge about types of information that EMs require when making decisions.
  • The WxEM project will provide this information by identifying and talking with a diverse group of EMs who are willing provide routine feedback on new technologies, forecast products, and NWS decision support services.
    • Surveys
    • Experiments
    • Interviews

Wave 4: Emergency Manager Communication and Collaboration

  • Objective: Understand how Emergency Managers share NWS forecast information
    • What do they share?
    • Who do they share it with?
    • What channels do they use?
  • What partner agencies and organizations do EMs work with in the phases of Emergency Management?
    • Preparation Phase
    • Response Phase
    • Recovery Phase
  • These slides provide basic information about the sample and highlight results from the Wave 4 survey
    • Over 300 responses

Survey Results

Geographic distribution of respondents

Survey Results

We know that EMs rely on many different sources (entities/organizations) to obtain forecast information in advance of hazardous weather events. Can you tell us what sources you rely on? Please select all that apply.

Survey Results

EMs also rely on many different channels (tools) to obtain forecast information in advance of hazardous weather events. Can you tell us what channels you rely on? Please select all that apply.

Survey Results

It looks like you get some information from the National Weather Service (NWS). Can you tell us what NWS sources you rely on? Please select all that apply.

Survey Results

How do you obtain information from Local Weather Forecast Office(s)? Please select all that apply.

Survey Results

Do you disseminate (send out) weather forecast information to partners (for example: decision-makers and/or first responders) or members of the public in advance of hazardous weather events?

Survey Results

Who do you disseminate (send out) weather forecast information to in advance of hazardous weather events? Please indicate all that apply.

  • Jurisdictional leadership: elected officials
  • Response partners: stakeholders, decision-makers, first responders, etc.
  • Members of the public
  • Someone else

Survey Results

Does your EM office have any guidelines or written job aids that explain how to disseminate weather forecast information in advance of hazardous weather events? For example: are there written procedures that explain what information to share and who to share it with?

Survey Results

EMs vary in the types of information they disseminate to partners and members of the public in advance of hazardous weather events. Some EMs obtain information from a source and relay that information with little or no modification. Others significantly modify or repackage forecast information before they disseminate it.

Survey Results

How much do you modify forecast information?

To what extent do you modify or repackage information?

  • Minimal Modification: I obtain information and relay it with little or no modification, staying close to the original source.
  • Limited Modification: I make slight adjustments to the information obtained before relaying it to partners or the public.
  • Moderate Modification: I moderately modify or repackage forecast information to better suit the needs of my audience.
  • Significant Modification: I make substantial adjustments to the information, significantly modifying or repackaging it before dissemination.
  • Extensive Modification: I extensively modify or completely repackage forecast information, tailoring it significantly to meet the specific requirements of my audience.

Survey Results

What channels do you use to disseminate forecast information to your partners? Please indicate all that apply.

Survey Results

Now, we have some questions about collaboration more broadly. By collaboration we mean the act of working together with external entities to achieve a common goal or objective. It often involves sharing information, ideas, skills, and/or resources to improve collective outcomes. Sometimes collaboration is formal, with written contracts or agreements between your office and external entities. Other times, it is informal, or more casual and on a case-by-case basis.

Survey Results

In your opinion, how important is collaboration to effective emergency management?

Survey Results

How would you rate your office in terms of collaboration with external entities?

  • Levels of Collaboration
    • Limited: we have limited collaboration with external entities and there’s a clear need for improvement.
    • Moderate: we collaborate with some external entities, but there’s roo for improvement.
    • Strong: we actively foster strong collaboration with external entities and have established robust partnerships.

Survey Results

Effective collaboration with external entities can be challenging. What are the barriers to effective collaboration in your jurisdiction? Please indicate all that apply.

Survey Results

The next few pages will ask you if and how you collaborate with different entities in preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. We will begin with the preparedness phase, where many EMs develop plans and build capabilities to respond to hazardous weather events.

Survey Results

When you engage in preparedness activities, do you collaborate with the following entities? If so, would you describe the collaboration as formal, informal, or a mix of the two?

Survey Results

For the collaborators you indicated above, what are their most valuable contributions during the preparedness phase?

  • “Knowing what resources are available and resources they lack so we know what our capabilities are.”
  • “Representation at meetings and sharing information and their view point. We can’t plan for them we need to plan with them.”
  • “Providing information that our agency may not know”
  • “All the collaborators have varying roles and responsibilities in preparedness. Together, we form a synergy to effectively prepare for any incident or disaster that may impact the area we reside.”
  • “Ensuring public outreach programs are coordinated to reduce duplication of effort.”
  • “Knowing who to contact, what their role is in the preparedness, and how we can help each other.”

Survey Results

To what extent does working with collaborators make you more prepared to manage a hazardous weather event?

Survey Results

We are especially interested in how EMs collaborate with local houses of worship. Can you provide an example or two to explain how you collaborate with local houses of worship when you engage in preparedness activities?

  • “I have an email list that I will distribute information to for each faith-based organization. We conduct summits for them to provide information and solicit assistance for planning purposes. We also have an Emergency Response and Preparedness Support Group to EM that has some faith-based representations. Churches are great resources for EMs, they can provide manpower, critical skills and facilities in times of need and often more than that.”
  • “As times are changing, we are finding that the houses of worship have the ability to shelter in time of need and also account for and assist their members in time of need. They do a great job in helping all citizens before, during and after a disaster.”
  • “My community has a large population where English is their second language. The faith based leaders have the support and trust of those citizens who are fearful of government. We have an established Ministerial Alliance who meet routinely, and whom I collaborate with and can push information to, and they then disseminate. Whether that information is storm shelter or warming shelter related to possible food bank or COVID vaccines.”
  • “It can be difficult to collaborate with houses of worship because they don’t quite understand EM and how it works.”

Survey Results

Do you and/or your office participate in community preparedness exercises like drills or tabletop exercises?

Survey Results

If you think back to the most recent community preparedness exercise, were any of the following entities involved?

Survey Results

Did the NWS provide support/information for the community preparedness exercise?

Survey Results

We have the same questions about the response phase, including the days/hours leading up to and during hazardous weather events.

Survey Results

When you engage in response activities, do you collaborate with the following entities? If so, would you describe the collaboration as formal, informal, or a mix of the two?

Survey Results

For the collaborators you indicated above, what are their most valuable contributions during the response phase?

  • “Information sharing. It allows us to create a better common operating picture and it identifies issues in the community quicker.”
  • “We have a great relationship with all collaborators and we have developed a relationship where we can all respond to a disaster or incident in an efficient manner. We all know each others capabilities and work together to make the response run as smooth as possible - if it is possible.”
  • “First Responders have ideas and response procedures that are not always common or thought of. Out of the box thinkers.”
  • “They provide reminders of their needs and what they can offer.”
  • “Additional resources and conduit to diverse populations.”

Survey Results

To what extent does working with collaborators assist you as you respond to a hazardous weather event (leading up to and during the event)?

Survey Results

Can you provide an example or two to explain how you collaborate with local houses of worship when you engage in response activities?

  • “Houses of worship are either engaged in providing volunteers or facilities that can be used as relocation centers, distribution centers, and family assistance centers.”
  • “They provide us with some support services such as meals for responders.”
  • “We use military chaplains for mental health and family reunification incidents.”
  • “After the winter storms, the American Red Cross did not have a shelter for us. We utilized our houses of worship to shelter individuals and offered transportation to and from the shelters for residents that had no means of transportation. They also did feeding of meals and took donations to help with those in need during the winter storm/power outages.”
  • “We have used them for sheltering as well as helping us collect information about needs.”
  • “I have yet to successfully collaborate directly with a house of worship in response activities.”

Survey Results

Has your office responded to a hazardous weather event in the last few years?

Survey Results

If you think back to the most recent response to a hazardous weather event, were any of the following entities involved?

Survey Results

We have the same questions about the recovery phase, including the days/hours leading up to and during hazardous weather events.

Survey Results

When you engage in recovery activities, do you collaborate with the following entities? If so, would you describe the collaboration as formal, informal, or a mix of the two?

Survey Results

For the collaborators you indicated above, what are their most valuable contributions during the recovery phase?

  • “Filling gaps in the municipalities capabilities”
  • “Financial assistance when needed. Management of donations. Enabling repairs and mitigation.”
  • “joint planning and coordination for rebuilding the community”
  • “Providing volunteers and resources, providing information on unmet needs.”
  • “Staff and volunteers from the NGO sectors. Funding and resources from the govt sector.”
  • “They often times have the bandwidth to see needs that the EM cannot due to the scale and scope of the event. They have a clearer picture of recovery needs within the communities they serve.”
  • “Damage assessment support and making sure we’re supporting and participating in the state-wide process.”

Survey Results

To what extent does working with collaborators make you more capable of engaging in recovery activities following a hazardous weather event?

Survey Results

Can you provide an example or two to explain how you collaborate with local houses of worship when you engage in recovery activities?

  • “Local houses of worship are great at leveraging their people and resources. They have provided manpower, space, funding (occasionally), organization, supervision, child care, and more.”
  • “We utilize local houses of worship for their networking to help us reach people that may be underserved.”
  • “They can assist in messaging for recovery centers, ask for volunteers locally for cleanup activities, and continue grief support for those in their congregations who might still be struggling with the event.”
  • “Of the 26 faith-based organizations in our community, none participate actively in preparedness, response, or recovery activities. It is disappointing they do not wish to be involved.”

Survey Results

Has your office been involved in recovery processes following a hazardous weather event in the last few years?

Survey Results

If you think back to the recovery following the hazardous weather event(s), were any of the following entities involved?

Survey Results

Thank you so much for completing this survey. As you can see, we are very interested in how EMs collaborate with external entities to manage the risks that stem from hazardous weather events. If you have an extra minute or two, we’d really appreciate your insight on these two final questions.

Survey Results

What makes collaborative relationships successful?

  • “All working for to achieve common goals.”
  • “Clear unified goals, regular meetings/touchpoints”
  • “Knowing leadership personnel, capabilities and responsibilities prior to the day of event.”
  • “They need to be cultivated over time. Asking any private institution, from church to school to business, to suddenly support your operation after a blizzard isn’t being smart - all of those conversations need to take place well before the snow flies so there is time for a detailed assessment of their capabilities, inventory of their assets, training of their staffs and the ability to practice on a ‘blue-sky’ day.”
  • “all stakeholder concerns taken into account for decision making and resource allocation.”
  • “Flexibility and Adaptability”

Survey Results

What makes them unsuccessful?

  • “Lack of leadership and purpose”
  • “Goals that don’t align, or having people involved who don’t have the ability to make decisions on behalf of their organization.”
  • “Approaching them from a closed/selfish or transactional point of view. Treating a would-be partner as a subordinate who exists to provide your agency resources or information, instead of a peer.”
  • “Lack of communication, laying blame on others, and ego”
  • “Too much turnover where points of contact change frequently at external partner agencies; It becomes hard to make progress on any initiatives or projects.”
  • “When everyone works in a silo and doesn’t share their resources and capabilities with others.”
  • “Resource and time limitations. Lack of follow through and follow up and lack of consistency in engagement.”