Back to School for Emergency Managers

The summer 2007 issue of Emergency Management magazine outlined the importance of education programs for emergency managers in Jessica Jones' and Jim McKay's article, Cracking the Books. Although colleges and universities now offer degree programs in emergency management, many of our emergency managers - fire, police and emergency medical service chiefs - have risen from the "front lines." These leaders come to us with tremendous tactical experience in public safety, working under the guidelines of the Incident Command System and National Incident Management System.

But they have varied educational backgrounds, from those who achieved advanced degrees to those who completed only a few college-level courses. Developing executive-education programs for our emergency management leadership is a critical step forward in taking the in-the-field experience and expertise and utilizing it to develop operating procedures, policies and strategies that will ultimately make our emergency management plans stronger and organizations more resilient.


Executive-education programs can be developed by taking advantage of existing courses available at internationally known universities, such as Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, or by partnering with local colleges, universities and state agencies to develop a training program that best meets specific needs and budgetary constraints. Local colleges and universities are often willing to provide seats in courses for state and local emergency managers as a show of good will; it's also a service they can provide local government in lieu of taxes.


These institutions are offering distance-learning courses in leadership and emergency management via a Web-based format that provides the same basic concepts more accessibly and less expensively. And state agencies often provide training at no cost on an as-needed basis, for topics such as grant writing guidance, ethics, legal requirements and human resources.


When developing executive-education programs, I believe you need to match your organization's mission areas with courses that complement those missions, and not try to develop a one-size-fits-all program. Additionally the program must balance one-time-only courses with courses that must be refreshed periodically.


Over the past year, we've been developing an executive-education program for the Boston Fire Department that seeks to take advantage of the items listed above. The program's aim is to give the department's leadership the educational opportunities that will allow them to develop professionally and personally. The city's law department facilitated education on legal responsibilities, and the state ethics commission provided ethics training for senior managers. Working with the John F. Kennedy School of Government, we identified many courses that would best suit our specific needs and then created a program that covers numerous topics - from leadership and strategic management to negotiating collective bargaining agreements, as well as innovative leadership through IT use.


After each course, we get feedback from our students to see if the course met our goals and if it provided training and education that benefits our mission. Over time, we'll add and remove courses to refine our program and provide the best mix of leadership and management training available within our budgetary constraints.


We all recognize that learning is something that doesn't end, and we must ensure that we provide our leaders with the knowledge they need to prosper. An effective executive-education program tailored to your organization's needs will accomplish that goal.