Leadership: Community Plan
Managing emergency preparedness at the Community Level are the key leaders of your Emergency Preparedness Partnership:
Anytown Prepares—Executive Director
Local Government—Emergency Manager
Fire Department—Fire Chief
These leaders, who make up your Management Team, are supported by five additional Teams:
Access & Functional Needs Team
Business Continuity Team
Damage Assessment Team
Logistics Team
Outreach Team
Together, the Management Team and Management Support teams, are responsible for 12 key leadership functions:
Agreements, Contracts, and Memoranda of Understanding: To make sure details of agreements are in writing.
Back Office: All other management functions not specified.
Business Continuity: Helping businesses and organizations prepare for and recover from disaster.
Damage Assessment: Calculating damage to local infrastructure to support requests for a declaration or emergency and requests for funding and determine whether the infrastructure can be used, must be repaired, or is damaged beyond repair.
Equity: Ensuring that preparedness, response, and recovery efforts reach all populations.
Funding/Grants: Financial support for Anytown Prepares and preparedness efforts.
Insurance/Liability: Ensuring legal protection for volunteers and Anytown Prepares.
Logistics: Managing resources, including supplies, gear, equipment, stored food and water, and volunteers.
Outreach: Communicating internally and externally with stakeholders.
Planning: Establishing procedures and creating response protocols.
Program Management: overseeing all program offerings.
Volunteer Administration: Ensuring all volunteers get a background check, are credentialed, receive IDs, track their hours, and maintain their training and certification.
The Management Team provides oversight of these functions before and post disaster. Note that the Fire Chief and Emergency Manager also have additional ongoing responsibilities not necessarily related to the partnership. Also note that the Emergency Manager will manage your local community’s interactions with Municipal, County, State, and Federal disaster response agencies.
Step 1. Form a partnership that includes the Executive Director of your Anytown Prepares organization, your local Emergency Manager and Police Chief or your county Emergency Manager and Sheriff, and your Fire Chief. This is your Management Team.
Step 2. If you don’t already have one, begin to develop an Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Step 3. The Management Team will be supported by your Anytown Prepares’ Outreach Team Lead, Business Continuity Team Lead, Damage Assessment Team Lead, Logistics Team Lead, and Access & Functional Needs Team Lead. These five team leaders will work independently on their respective areas of focus but should be convened for annual Management meetings and regular meetings with your Anytown Prepares’ Executive Director. Their functions are as follows.
Access & Functional Needs
Work with the Emergency Manager to develop protocols for ensuring equity in disaster preparation and community disaster response.
Work with the Outreach Team Lead to ensure equity in messaging.
Work with the Logistics Team Lead to ensure equity in resource distribution.
Work with the Business Continuity Team Lead to ensure equity in business and organizational resilience.
Work with the Damage Assessment Team Lead to ensure equity in post-disaster damage assessment and recovery.
Business Continuity
Meet regularly with local business owners and organization leaders about emergency preparation and organizational continuity.
Work with local businesses and organizations to establish business continuity plans.
Participate in developing agreements between the Partnership and business leaders for post-disaster resource distribution and disaster facility use.
Damage Assessment
Work with the Emergency Manager and Fire Chief to develop a post-disaster damage assessment protocol.
Establish standards for reopening infrastructure and buildings.
Create Standard Operating Procedures for the Damage Assessment Team.
Logistics
Work with the Emergency Manager and Police Chief to establish post-disaster resource distribution protocols for Disaster Hubs, Community-Level Meeting Places, and the general public.
Create Standard Operating Procedures for the Logistics Team.
In cooperation with the Emergency Manager, develop and implement a system of resource management including tracking and resupplying.
Outreach
Develop a logo for the Anytown prepares organization.
Create a branding kit and style guide.
Build a website.
Establish a social media presence.
Educate the public on preparedness, Ready Your Street, and Disaster Hubs.
Support messaging from the partnership.
Train with the Community Public Information Officer to serve in the Emergency Operations center after a disaster.
Step 4. Develop disaster plans and standard operating procedures for the Anytown Prepares organization and the partnership.
Step 5. Recruit volunteers or hire personnel to manage your Anytown Prepares’ budget, nonprofit status, business filings, and legal standing.
Step 6. Seek funding through donations and grants for your Anytown Prepares organization. Enlist the help of experienced volunteers or hire professionals.
Step 7. Work with your Community government and Emergency Manager to get insurance coverage for your Anytown Prepares organization and its volunteers.
Step 8. Develop a volunteer administration management system. You might work with the Logistics Team Lead to develop this system. The system should track background checks, training requirements and certifications, issue ID badges, and volunteer hours per county and state operations regulations and for purposes of ensuring insurance coverage.
Step 9. Work closely with the Outreach Team Lead to ensure coherent, thorough, and effective messaging to the public, with organizational volunteers and leadership, and with donors.
Step 10. Work with your local government legal representation and the Business Continuity Team Lead to develop legal agreements and memoranda of understanding with building owners for Disaster Hubs and with owners of food supplies (like grocery stores) and fuel supplies (like gas stations) regarding emergency commandeering of resources.
Step 11. Provide emergency education training for volunteers (Community Emergency Response Team and Wilderness First responder/Aid) and education programs (First Aid, Stop the Bleed) for residents.
Step 12. Reach out to local organizations to offer your team support for their events. For example, the Medical Reserve Corps can offer First Aid for community runs and music events. Supporting events provides your teams with practice opportunities.