Amaryllis Consulting

Asking for and offering aid in disaster

2010-01-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

Remember that requests for and offers of aid in disaster should include:

WHO is requesting/offering - organization and what is their authority?

WHAT is needed/offered - people, supplies, services?

WHEN is it needed/available?

WHERE is it needed/deliverable?

FOR HOW LONG is it needed/available?

Collaboration Partnership Advice

2009-09-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

This came out in a workshop I conducted recently. It's good advice for many, but especially pertinent to the ISCRAM association now our debutante phase, being courted by many:

Define threshold for partnership

No half-baked, meaningless collaborations
Only real, impact-generating partnerships

Define focus, that will define where you partner

What Would You Do?

2009-06-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

This just came across the IAEM mailing list: A simple and very real scenario.

Good Afternoon- as a student and active volunteer I need your opinions. We have no confirmed cases of H1N1 in Aruba, but we have a ship docking on Friday with 3 confirmed cases of H1N1. If it was your island, how would you handle this? Our public health officials are trying to calm the media generated hype. We have cautioned that basic hand washing and not to panic as most cases have been mild. If you were the PIO, how would you approach this? As an EM, beyond the normal concerns, what are your protocols? If you wish, please email me at [deleted, email Susanne if you can help]. I will be talking to our EM soon and wish a spin on this beyond my scope of experience. They say that everything is a lesson-real life schoolroom- but not the way I wanted.

Thank you in advance for your time. Your posts have really helped with my learning.

Regards,
Amy

"The social graph"

2009-06-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

"the social graph" -- Dan Russell (Google) used this phrase in an email talking about using data from social networking technologies.

I find it both telling and fascinating. One of the difficulties I experience personally with the use of social networking tools, and which is a critical obstacle to their use in crisis management, is that they assume a "flat" graph. I need a clustered graph: I do, want and need to compartmentalize most of my interactions, e.g., I'd use Twitter much more if I could target/hear from friends vs ISCRAM board vs ISCRAM community vs Silicon Valley Red Cross vs American Red Cross etc.

(The next step needed for crisis management is the ability to filter and screen interactions based on cluster membership and role.)

Is anyone looking at clustering for identifying and managing social groups meaningfully?

There's no I in power

2009-06-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

In Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver visits Lilliput, where he -- a relative giant -- is overcome by hordes of (relatively) minuscule Lilliputians. Many analogies can (and have been) drawn from this tale; the one I'd like to muse upon here is the power of the collective over the power of the individual.

As both a leader and a manager, there is a temptation to try to solve the problems people bring to us, that is, to be the one with the answer, the "go to" person -- "just bring it to me and I will take care of it." This can be a result of wanting (or needing) to reinforce authority, and it can be a well-intentioned desire to make things easier for the people around us.

Either way, we've all heard that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

When I make myself the center of problem-solving and decision-making, I am laying down an I-shaped brick bottleneck. People have to wait for me to attend to all the other important problems I am handling before I can attend to theirs. And, after they've waited, I can only give them the insights and knowledge of one person: me. In Gulliver's Travels' terms: I am trying to be the Lilliputian with the one big rope that can hold Gulliver down.

Uhm, but, the message was: There is no one big rope that can hold Gulliver down. So, if I want to see the giant held down (and, incidentally, just possibly, maybe, help build a stairway to heaven), I do much better by relaying to, trusting in, relying upon, all the individual threads that we possess. That is, there is greater power in the net than in the rope.

As a leader and manager, I get more authority and make things easier for the people around me when I nurture the net and let us be the center of problem-solving and decision-making. People get answers more quickly, and benefit from the insights and experiences of many individuals -- including, perhaps, just the right one. (Besides, it's a lot less work for me.)

In other words: Engage, delegate, empower. There is we in power but no I.

P.S. Einstein may have stood on the shoulders of giants; me, I stand on the shoulders of hundreds of midgets.

If you're interested in the power of we, I can recommend the book It's Your Ship.

First Silicon Valley ARC Chapter Disaster Volunteer Meeting

2009-01-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

The first meeting of the disaster volunteers from the new Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross took place on Tuesday Jan 27, 2009 with about 70 people in attendance.

It was, in part, a "Meet and Greet" for the volunteers from the two former chapters, but was also intended to seed the new chapter mantra of "Excite, Engage, and Empower." In this case, that meant starting volunteers thinking about preparedness needs, and understanding that they do not have to wait to be told what to do, but should feel able to take initiative and come up with suggestions when they see that actions need to be taken.

Specific attitudes that need to be overcome:

"I don't have the authority to do that"

Well, if not you, then who?
If you don't know, maybe you d0. Find out.

"'They' have to ..."

Sorry, you can't assign action items to others. You can take an action item to ask them if they can and will take it on.

Mistakes were made:

The food was in the center of the room, splitting attendees into two large groups, and leaving speakers talking to the food.
Meeting purpose and process was not made clear from the outset.
It was not made clear up front that this was to be a working rather than an informational meeting.
Lost teaching moment: A public, flat-out answer of "No" was challenged only on the underlying reason, and not on the unacceptability of a "No" response.
Follow-up plan was not clear.

However, a lot of energy, good ideas and momentum were generated. I hope to be able to channel this into an opportunity to develop and experiment with the Participatory Preparedness Planning Process methodology.

Participatory Preparedness Planning (PPP)

2009-01-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

One of the obstacles to effective preparedness is that many planners have little or no actual experience with disaster response, so that considerable amounts of learning may be needed before they can comfortably engage in planning activities. Additionally, disaster preparedness is typically only one of many competing demands on their time.

Participatory Preparedness Planning (PPP) is a preparedness planning methodology that integrates participatory design, training and disaster exercise development in order to provide planning teams with a structure for thinking through realistic scenarios, reviewing response plans, and developing realistic action plans accomplishing preparedness tasks.

The methodology assumes that preparedness is an on-going process of planning and training, and that plans are not documents but individual and institutionalized knowledge. It works through a series of meetings in which participants define desirable outcomes and match them to the actions and resources necessary to achieve those outcomes. Thinking of outcomes, actions and resources is done in the context of specific event scenarios that are based on the hazard and risk analysis of the relevant jurisdiction.

AHM Preparedness Planning Insights

2008-12-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

I've been talking with the folks from All Hazards Management (AHM), a commercial company specializing in supporting disaster preparedness planning. They've done an enormous amount of background research on why most preparedness plans fail when it comes to an actual event:

The vast majority of preparedness efforts rely on individuals with incomplete knowledge and understanding of both preparedness planning and crisis management. Consequently, they vastly underestimate the difficulty and complexity of crisis management, and grossly overestimate existing resources and capabilities, specifically resulting in

Unrealistic assumptions about what the challenges will be
Unrealistic expectations about how people will act
Unrealistic assessments of what resources will be available
Unrealistic scheduling of planning, preparedness and response efforts

Because of the limitations of perspective, most efforts focus on developing tactical plans and purchasing physical resources, neglecting the far more important (and difficult) goals of developing

Strategic plans
Management plans
Crisis leaders

(and, of course, ensure that the three are connected in an actual event).

Simple and obvious, but deeply insightful!

(And, yes, AHM has a comprehensive model for coaching organizations through an effective planning process, along with technologies to support both planning and knowledge transfer.)

Good Design

2008-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

Good design is about identifying and satisfying hidden constraints in
an emotionally satisfying manner.

Change...

2008-11-24T09:22:00.000-08:00

Disconnecting Policy and Practice

2007-03-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

Disconnecting disaster management policy from disaster management practice causes Katrinas.

Of Ladders and Trenches

2006-07-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

It's difficult, when you are in a management position, to maintain a balance between keeping a perspective on the big picture and staying in touch with what is going on in the trenches. I find that, while I need to maintain some contact with the trenches to retain perspective on what it's all about, I cannot get involved in routine trenchwork for two reasons:

1. At some point, it becomes too difficult mentally to have to integrate both details that are significant in the trench but not in the big picture , and details that are significant in the big picture but not in the trench. A friend of mine calls this "spanning too many rungs of the ladder." Obviously, when it becomes too much depends on the size of the ladder, the distance between rungs, and how stretchy you are at any given time.

2. I can't be both peer to and supervisor of my co-workers. While I (think I) can track my role-switches, it's almost impossible for others to do so, which, rightly makes them confused and uncomfortable. This is one of those management aphorisms on whcih all the management trainings agree but that everyone really has to learn for themselves. You have to be equal but separate.

So I think my strategy needs to be the Periodic Royal Pulse Check: hear about/talk to a few example trenches without actually getting involved directly.

Working with Volunteer Organizations

2006-06-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

The active membership of volunteer organizations is constantly changing, so they think and act like perpetual teenagers: Always learning what others take for granted, and always having to be told the same thing over and over again.

When working with a volunteer organization, don't assume that they know what they are doing. Do not be afraid to remind them of what you think they should know. Be patient and lend them a teaching hand when you can. Even if you've already taught them something 10 times. Chances are that you're teaching the 11th person.

Rules, Routines and Respect

2006-06-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

The Red Cross teaches workers that clients, who are in an unfamiliar, uncertain and constantly changing situation, need Rules, Routines and Respect. What they don't mention is that we ourselves (who are also in an uncertain and constantly changing situation) need Rules, Routines and Respect. This is perhaps especially true for upper management, who must not only create and enforce the rules and routines of others, but also of their own.

3 Steps Exactly

2006-06-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

In disaster response, you always have to be thinking three steps ahead. Some people have trouble learning to think three steps ahead. Some people have trouble learning to think only three steps ahead.

Panic Early

2006-06-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

Panic early. It saves time later.

ISCRAM: A Use-Inspired Basic Research (UIBR) Community

2006-06-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

In 1997, Donald E. Stokes published a book that has been critical to my understanding of what I do (and why it's so hard to get to do):

Stokes, D. E. (1997). Pasteur's Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation. Brookings Institution Press.

In this book, Stokes discusses how, for historical and political reasons, the Western world has come to classify research along a linear spectrum ranging from basic to applied research. And how, in the US basic research has come to be the purview of universities and applied research that of industry.

He then argues that this view is wrong, that research, in practice, is driven by two orthogonal dimensions: a drive to achieve fundamental understanding and a drive to solve specific problems. This classification exposes two new categories of research, one of which, "use-inspired basic research," is of particular interest. Use-inspired basic research aims to solve particular problems (e.g., supporting problem-solving and decision-making in disaster management) but seeks to or must develop some more general understanding (e.g., of cognition and information use, and their implications for design of information systems) while doing so.

In my experience, one of the key difficulties to doing use-inspired basic research (UIBR) is that you are working across two domains: a domain of use (applied research) and a domain of fundamental understanding (basic research). This means that you have to understand and gain acceptance in both domains. However, if you present your work in UIBR terms (which is the way you have to think of it while working), the basic researchers don't get it because it's "too applied," while the applied researchers don't get it because it's "too theoretical." (Damned if you do, damned if you don't!) This, typically, means that you can only present half of your work in either type of venue, and, consequently, have to do twice as much work before you can publish any of it. (Unless you are fortunate enough to have a relevant UIBR community available.)

Now, of course, the truth is that many people do UIBR (this is one of Stokes' key points). Where do you think new academic disciplines come from? Bio-informatics is a highly successful recent example, but there are many others, when you think about it. The difficulty is finding a relevant UIBR community -- one where both domain of use and of basic research match your interests.

ISCRAM (Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management) is a UIBR community. Its domain of use is critical situation management (emergency and disaster management, humanitarian aid efforts, etc.). Its domain of basic research is information systems (design, development, deployment and use). Fortunately, for me, by nature a use-inspired basic researcher, this matches my interests exactly!

In the Labyrinth: For a Fellow Red-Crosser

2006-05-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

In the labyrinth, there is only one path. We all share the path, but each walk it alone. Sometimes we must step aside for others, sometimes others step aside for us. Sometimes we step aside and never return, but follow the path a different way.

The path has a beginning, a center and an end. It is the same for us all. Some walk the path quickly, some slowly, some pause, some never look back. Sometimes we are surprised to be on the outside and sometimes on the inside. Most find the center. All find the end; some too suddenly, some too soon. Mike Goth found the end too suddenly and too soon. I was fortunate to have shared a bit of the path with him.

Nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris.

Red Cross SAS Function Critical in Public Health Disaster

2006-05-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Safety and security (SAS) is a new specialization within the Red Cross. I believe the primary responsibilities, at present, include facility security, dealing with unruly individuals (staff and/or public), and, in some instances, badging. It is primarily activated on larger operations. However, I think that it will become essential at all levels as we prepare for a public health disaster involving a transmisssible disease such as an avian flu pandemic.

Two activities will be critical during a public health disaster that would seem to fall under the purview of SAS: Managing and controlling movement of individuals, and managing individual and collective behaviors arising from fear.

Managing and controlling individual movement is necessary to enforce segregation of individuals with different levels of risk (e.g., keeping anyone who may have been exposed to the disease away from those who have not). This may entail formal and voluntary screening and is likely to require checkpoints and other means of traffic control. Similar traffic control measures will be necessary to minimize population density in all areas (simply reducing the number of people in a given space at any given time), including within the chapter house and other facilities operated by the Red Cross.

Managing fear-based behavior is part of the routine responsibilities of SAS. However, the need to minimize inter-personal contact while simultaneously providing groups and individuals with the assurances and comforting they need may well require behavior-management strategies and techniques that are new to the Red Cross. Additionally, if the Red Cross becomes involved in delivery of supplies that are perceived to be of high value (e.g., medical supplies that could be construed as including drugs used for recreational purposes, or ordinary goods of which there is a shortage), the Red Cross will have to develop new security provisions for mobile staff.

Planning for a public health disaster thus requires developing novel plans for space usage, traffic control, behavior management and safety measures. Preparedness will require training of staff in new techniques for enforcing safety measures and protecting the health and safety of SAS staff. This places SAS in a critical role during both preparedness and response.