Is FEMA Fit For Purpose?

Risk, Resilience and Preparedness Podcast - Inside My Canoehead

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Whenever the deliverable from a public sector agency fails to meet expectations, there are two general causes. First, is the most likely, that the expectation of the target audience was outsized or inconsistent with the actual legislated and funded mission. We see this in ad hoc interviews and formal press conferences, where a resident or mayor states they thought the response would be X, but it was Y. It is often simply an unrealistic and uninformed expectation as to the capabilities and capacity of public sector EM that leads the call for change. The second, less likely rationale is that there was a failing within the system, that while it was established and funded to execute a mission, they failed to meet the expected standards. These are harder to identify and longer to investigate, as one quality of public sector agency leadership is that it is uncomfortable with dirty laundry being publicized.

FEMA was constructed with the best on intentions, undergoing multiple changes over its near 50 year reign as the global leader in EM bureaucracy. The level of education courses, application or management systems and governance structures is indeed, awe inspiring. Many often joke that it would be a challenge to make it more complex, not impossible, but difficult.

It is an easy target to simple say a massive beast of administration failed. Intellectually grounded discussions demand a more precise discussion. One to evaluate is whether FEMA, as currently constructed, funded and governed, is the best known methodology and structure - is it “fit for purpose”. There are no shortage of experts, academics, practitioners and interested parties that believe they know there is a better way. I intentionally avoid the use of that word, “better”. It connotes that the current methodological approach is flawed. I prefer “different”, to pose the question to informed parties, if you designed a government agency to delivery X to Y population with Z budget, how would you do that?
I argue that debating the viable options alongside the current construct is the only roadmap to answering the question whether it is fit for purpose. At this juncture in FEMA within the current political and disaster climate, I know of no greater, more profound time to confirm that we have it right, or that there are adjustments.

Do we have the leadership to consider options for trimming the tree and those for clear cutting the forest? Time will tell.

The answer very well may be we have the most logical system now, but without a comparative analysis, that statement is unsubstantiated.

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