To answer that question, both the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) have sought to quantify what is being done. Trust me, I’ve participated in the process of trying to show a program’s worth. I read the book, We Don't Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government From Radically Improving.
The challenge I see is that we should be measuring outcomes and not just outputs. Outputs are things like number of brochures distributed, people trained in the Incident Command System (ICS) and the like. It is something we can quantify — but did it change behaviors? How many people who got a disaster preparedness brochure or attended a disaster preparedness presentation took the next steps to actually do something to become better prepared?
I fully expect that the presidents of IAEM and NEMA will trot on up to Congress and appear before multiple committees to report on what is being done in the nation by state and local emergency management agencies to become a more disaster resilient community. They will repeat many of the “outputs” listed below as justification for the money that has been allocated in the past for these purposes.
It appears that is the best we can hope for at this stage of our development as a profession. Perhaps in the future as artificial intelligence (AI) begins to dominate, we can digitally collect more information that is truly indicative of how we have measurably become more disaster resilient.
Until then, see below for what the IAEM recently released.
“Today, the annual report on EMPG is being released. Each year, IAEM and NEMA join forces to complete an exhaustive survey on how our members utilize the Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG). The resulting report highlights how these funds are utilized. This year’s version includes some data on the CARES Act funding and covers other issues such as:
- In FY 20, while there were 228 disasters requiring a major or emergency declaration, state, local, and territorial governments managed an additional 19,752 events without additional federal expenditures.
- There were 16,978 statewide and local preparedness outreach campaigns reaching 115 million residents.
- 4,020 state and local exercises reached 138,821 responders.
- 5,316 training classes provided 75,954 personnel advanced levels of knowledge.
- 4,960 state and local mutual aid agreements were created minimizing the need for immediate federal support.
“Questions may be directed to IAEM Government Affairs Director Thad Huguley.”
