Discussion paper synopsis: challenges for strategic emergency management

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BushfireTopic: 
Fire Management
Risk Management
TitleDiscussion paper synopsis: challenges for strategic emergency management
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsOwen, C, Bosomworth, K, Brooks, B
AbstractWho is this paper for? This discussion paper is aimed at decision-makers, policy-developers and stakeholders who need to ensure that the strategic emergency management sector is able to meet future challenges which includes supporting communities to better prepare for, manage and recover well from emergency events. What is this paper about? The discussion paper has emerged from research undertaken through the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre examining what enables and constrains effective performance at the strategic level of emergency management. This synopsis contains the highlights. The full paper is available at http://www.bushfirecrc.com/publications/citation/bf-4217. Emergency events that are unprecedented in intensity and geographic spread and have significant impacts on communities are called “out of scale events”. In major out-of-scale emergency events there are a range of emergency management activities performed by people working at operational, tactical and strategic emergency management levels. At an operational level, first responders are working directly on the front line of the fire or incident ground. At a tactical level local incident management teams work at supporting front line responders in containing and mitigating the event – this includes enabling communities to make good decisions. At a strategic level (which may be regional state or national) there is a focus on two elements: oversight of incident management operations and consequence management for longer term recovery.