Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
that a pandemic could affect as much as 40% of the workforce.
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This is due to
absenteeism caused by the illness, taking care of children who may be stricken
with the flu, and having to watch children who may be forced to stay home due to
closed schools. Pandemic can also cause shifts in consumers, who may expend their
money on items for infection control, rather than other items. A pandemic flu event
can also cause more people to shop online, rather than visit retailers in the commu-
nity. All of these can negatively affect the local economy. For these types of events,
it is critical to the community that the Emergency Manager and the private sec-
tor entities (including health care providers, utilities, and other critical businesses)
work together to develop plans and contingencies if such a situation were to arise.
This is just one example, but shared interests in planning, training, and exercises
can be found in all disasters. Therefore, it is critical to build PPPs now, rather than
at the time of an emergency or disaster.
As can be seen, there is still a lot of opportunity for Emergency Managers
to develop PPPs within their respective areas of responsibility. Since Hurricane
Katrina, there have been significant efforts toward developing PPPs at the local,
state, and federal levels. However, there is more that needs to be accomplished, and
many more partnerships need to be forged. It must be recognized that development
of future partnerships with our private sector stakeholders will strengthen both
public and private sectors in all phases of Emergency Management.
Traditionally, PPPs in Emergency Management have been mostly limited to
planning, training, or exercise contracts on a fee-for-service basis—based on speci-
fications set forth by the jurisdiction. Some other examples of common PPPs in
Emergency Management include debris management, temporary housing, and
food, water, and ice supplies. However, Emergency Managers in both public and
private sectors must broaden the scope of their PPP initiatives and begin looking to
broaden these partnerships in the future in order to meet the challenges of future
emergencies and disasters.
Challenges in Creating PPPs
As Emergency Managers begin developing additional PPPs, it is important to
understand the challenges while examining potential partnerships (many of which
can be overcome with some education).
Identifying Potential Stakeholders
Identifying a list of potential private sector (should also include volunteer) partners
that could be stakeholders in emergency and disaster prevention, mitigation, pre-
paredness, response, and recovery can be a daunting task. Table 7.1 illustrates some
potential areas of expertise (not all-inclusive) under the Emergency Management
umbrella that one may be able to find potential partnerships.
