Non-Government Resources in a Disaster

Risk, Resilience and Preparedness Podcast - Inside My Canoehead

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We exist in a dependant culture, one where we collectively expect and believe there is an entitlement to public sector support in times of disaster. We fund governments through taxation and the social contract dictates that services are afforded to the public in support of continued societal operations. There is much debate over the current state of public sector disaster organizations, with many voices calling for fundamental changes, myself included.

The public sector is limited to the resources provided through taxation, which in many localities is marginal at best. If EM is responsible for the allocation of scarce resources and it only has authority over the limited capital available within the local system, then accessing the greater community capital as potential resources in an emergency would be ideal. The challenge has been the how and often it has materialized in requests for services while in-event, based upon lists of names and companies that might - and I mean might - be verified annually. Relationships, built on trust, are the foundation for social capital and facilitate the subsequent flow of other capitals in times of peace and chaos. Establishing positive meaningful connections with the wider community is necessary to facilitate access to their capital. This cannot be done after the event occurs.

The resources to ameliorate suffering and loss, to rebuild society at all but the extreme financial capital levels are likely resident in the affected region. To leverage this is to engage, to build formal relationships with the served community, to understand the resources embedded in the networks, to build trust with the possessors of capital - so that when the balloon goes up, a coordinated response operation occurs, with all four sectors assisting. The public sector has a mandated responsibility for EM, but it cannot be successful without the cooperation - not compliance - of the all societal sectors: private enterprise, not for profit organizations and the residents.

So no, we don’t need new organizations, we need local engagement and partnerships, to build community.

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