Do It Yourself (DIY) Emergency Management

Letting go of the wheel and not having total control of what is going to happen or be done is scary for most people when it comes to their programs.  This is the where citizen involvement, social media engagement and "command and control" do not mix.  One my own quotes I like to use is, "Give up some control in order to become more effective."  

 

There is a world of possibility that awaits the organizations and agencies who open their doors to citizen involvement.  See Government Technology Magazine's current issue and the article DIY Government

 

I've written before about the emergent volunteer(s) who is self-organizing at the time of a disaster.  We don't have control over their efforts at the time of the emergency/disaster and we won't gain control either.  Instead our best hope is channel their efforts.  Let them know where best they can contribute and where the need is.

 

Why wait for the disaster to happen to leverage these type of volunteer efforts?  As the article points out there is plenty of talent out there willing to help, if we tell them what we need "now" and then allow them to contribute.  One huge source that we can tap are retirees.  There are currently 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring every day.  After they take their big vacation, go golfing for a few months and paint the house they will be ready to do something constructive for their community.  We can use them.  

 

Sure, there are pitfalls to be avoided:

 

• Not making volunteer management par of someone's job
• Pitting staff against volunteers
• Failing to write a duty description
• Not providing a valuable experience
• Thinking volunteers will save the organization money

 

We all have more work to be done then there is staff or funding to do it.  We can use volunteers and pro bono work from businesses to "augment" our efforts and not replace the work of our employees.  I understand that the line between the two might be fuzzy for some, but with a continuing dialog we should be able to have an appropriate understanding and working relationship.  Why would we shy away from using talents that are ready, willing and able?

 

Emergency management is well known for tapping volunteers to help us in the past and today.  Amateur radio and search and rescue are two prime examples.  There is no reason to limit our efforts to only those two areas.  

 

See also an earlier blog post that links to a column Eric's Corner: Concept of Disaster Volunteers Is Evolving that I wrote last year.