Disaster Preparedness Coordination

In any professional environment where there is interconnectivity between your organization and any other organization, coordination becomes an important tool. Effective coordination can lead to developing and enhancing relationships that are fruitful for years to come, whereas ineffective coordination can be more than simply opportunity missed. This can cause irrepairable damage to a necessary relationship, and to the reputation of your organization within your community.


In the area of Disaster Preparedness this becomes especially crucial because a failure of interpersonal skills can mean not having a relationship developed before the disaster strikes. In almost every case of effective preparedness there is the existence of positive working relationship in place beforehand. It is almost without exception that the more networked an Emergency Management organization is, the more effective they are in this and all phases of the cycle.


Effective communication in this area can be as simple as sending the right messaging to the right people. For this, create a topology of the people involved in the process that you are working on. Sketch a draft networking chart that not only lists all those involved, but also the level of their involvement. What this should start looking like is a hierarchical spiderweb of people in the right places to receive your message.

After deciding who should receive the message, you should decide how you will disseminate your message. Today, it would probably be best to email it to your audience, but still recognize that not everyone is guaranteed to have internet access. For this step, consider how that audience currently receives input, and adjust your message accordingly.

This might seem like a tedious task, but it will prove very rewarding as your network solidifies.