Collaboration

Since the 1940s, crisis management has been evolving from a top-down bureaucratic model toward a more collaborative system. One important feature is that, instead of a command or control system, collaboration brings a more dynamic and flexible network model that facilitates multiorganizational, intergovernmental, and intersectoral cooperation. Dynamic and efficient strategies have been adopted in the field of crisis management to replace hierarchy and standard procedures. Another feature is the changed relationship between government, nonprofit organizations. and the private sector. Calls for open communication and broad cooperation dispel the authoritarian air that long hung over the field of crisis management. Nonprofit organizations and the private sector take shared partnership and responsibility along with the government. They support, coordinate, and interact with each other; they also provide and receive information and all types of assistance from each other before, during, and after a disaster.

Collaboration is essential in addressing both natural and human-made disasters. In the management and coordination of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, governments need to work closely with nonprofit organizations and the private sector. Citizens should also be included in the entire process. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) of the United States 1600 and the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) standards define emergency management programs as “a jurisdiction-wide system that provides for management and coordination of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and response and recovery activities for all hazards”(EMAP Standard 3.3.3). The standard also requires an advisory committee to “ensure that the program is developed and maintained in collaboration with program stakeholders, both from policy and operational levels” (EMAP Standard 4.3.2). The president; Congress; federal, state, local agencies; nonprofit organizations; the private sector; and individual citizens are all stakeholders of emergency programs in practice.

Generally, intergovernmental collaboration, public-nonprofit collaboration, and public-private collaboration are the three most usual patterns of collaboration.