[Emergency Management Core Competencies]{.underline}

by

David Etkin\
Coordinator, Emergency Management Program\
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Applied Studies\
School of Administrative Studies\
York University\
4700 Keele St.\
Toronto, Ontario  M3J 1P3\
(416) 736-2100 x44016 work\
416-736-5963 fax\
[[etkin@yorku.ca]{.underline}](mailto:etkin@yorku.ca)

Draft. September 19, 2006 (David Etkin)

**[Differentiating Educational Programs in Emergency
Management]{.underline}**

> **[Core]{.mark} [Critical]{.mark} [Integrated]{.mark}
> [Creative]{.mark}**
>
> **[Competencies]{.mark} [Understandings]{.mark} [Solutions]{.mark}
> [Research]{.mark}**
>
> \[Technicians/Practitioners\] \[Managers\] \[Senior Policy Makers\]
> \[Researchers\]

**Community**

**College** [===================]{.mark}

**University**

**Certificate** [=================================]{.mark}

**BA Degree**
[===================================================]{.mark}

**Masters Degree**
[================================================]{.mark}

**PhD Degree**
[============================================================]{.mark}

**[Suggested Definitions]{.underline}**

**Core Competency**:

-   The fundamental knowledge and basic skill set needed for
    practitioners to perform competently.

**Critical Understandings:**

-   Knowledge of the theoretical underpinnings of the set of core
    competencies, and their limitations in terms of how they should be
    applied.

-   The knowledge and ability to identify gaps in knowledge and
    understanding, and the implications of these gaps.

**Integrated Solutions**:

-   Having the knowledge and ability to put EM issues into a larger
    social and environmental context.

-   Being able to apply this knowledge within a comprehensive emergency
    management framework.

**Creative Research:**

-   Having an in-depth knowledge of the theory and practice of emergency
    management and of research methods.

-   Having the ability to conceptualize research questions and carry out
    research projects designed to test them.

**[Example#1: Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Analysis]{.underline}**

**Core Competency**: Be familiar with and know how to fill out
standardized matrices used to determine risk, based upon hazard
frequency, hazard severity and community vulnerability.

**Critical Understanding:** Have an awareness of deficiencies in the
standard methodologies used for estimating both hazard and
vulnerability. Be familiar with different understandings of risk,
particularly risk as a social construct, and the implications of that
for community emergency and disaster management.

**Integrated Solutions:** When determining community risk as a function
of hazard and vulnerability, incorporate concepts related to sustainable
development, community values, culture, gender and the socio-political
context.

**Creative Research**: Develop new hypotheses of how to understand,
measure and apply hazard, vulnerability and risk within the context of
integrated emergency and disaster management, and conduct theoretical
and applied research to test them.

**[Example#2: Planning]{.underline}**

**Core Competency**:

-   Be familiar with the different components of emergency management
    mitigation, preparedness response and recovery plans and be able to
    write a complete set of plans for a community or organization.

**Critical Understanding:**

-   Have an in depth understanding of how sets of plans must relate to a
    communities particular vulnerabilities, hazards and risks.

-   Be aware of how different organizations and levels of government
    need to relate to each other in the planning process.

-   Be familiar with approaches to take community characteristics into
    account in the planning process.

**Integrated Solutions:**

-   When developing emergency management plans for a community or
    organization, integrate issues of hazard, vulnerability and risk
    into the plans.

-   Incorporate concepts related to sustainable development, community
    values, culture, gender and the socio-political context into the
    planning process.

-   Develop relationships between different organizations and levels of
    government in order to create a more effective set of emergency
    management plans.

**Creative Research**:

-   Develop new hypotheses of how to understand, measure and apply
    hazard, vulnerability and risk within the context of the integrated
    emergency and disaster management planning process

-   Conduct theoretical and applied research designed to test
    hypotheses.