Building Coalitions

Whole Community. As a member of the FEMA leadership team, I took a whole community approach to all of our emergency management initiatives. This means that I see every individual and organization as a vital part of the emergency management team, and as equal partners – and equally responsible partners – in every phase from preparedness to response and recovery to mitigation. In simplest terms, we are all part of the same team. And the private sector is about 93% of that team.

Collaborative Forum – In 2012, I launched an online collaboration to engage our Private sector partners, promote innovation, and facilitate discussions in the field of emergency management. Contributors are able to submit ideas, comment on others, and participate in conversations meant to generate creative, unique and innovative solutions. Topics ranged from long-term strategic planning to Presidential Policy Directive 8 on National Preparedness to planning for the “What if.” The forum is just one tool, but a very transparent and open one.

Data Sharing – I was instrumental in making FEMA’s data and data feeds publicly accessible, and I succeeded to open up even more data channels between FEMA and its private sector partners.   I also encouraged the private sector, as many are already doing, to share data with FEMA. Sharing data improves situational awareness, informs decision-making, and can save lives. I helped to establish technical assistance available for those who want to share.

“Small Business is Big” Campaign – I also recognize that one of the most essential coalitions I needed to build was small businesses. Currently, there are 27 million small businesses across the nation, of which 17 million are sole proprietorships and an additional 3 million have less than 20 employees.  The remaining 7 million have between 20 – 500 employees and thus needs, available time, and resources vary widely.  Sharing best practices dictate that the best means to reach them is primarily through web-based platforms. So we I dedicated a page for small business resources. As part of this campaign, I included small businesses in our 90-day rotation; posted tools, templates and models; and worked with big businesses to establish a big business – small business mentorship program.