Local Emergency Management Program Assessment Tool

Benchmarking where your program is as opposed to others of like size and capabilities is a game we all play, at least in our heads. Another more formal way to figure out where you are programmatically is to do a written self-assessment.

One of the outcomes of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant that the City of Seattle received was the development of a Local Emergency Management Assessment Tool While there are plenty of other standards out there from NFPA 1600 to the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), most of us don’t have the time or the wherewithal to do that level of an assessment.

What’s nice about this new tool is its simplicity, the way it follows other national standards (and, Washington State law for emergency management programs), and the spreadsheet that is included to record your assessment.

Diane Newman developed this as part of the grant. Her experience as an EMAP assessor was helpful in developing the tool. She is a very operationally focused person and practical in her approach to things.