**Assessment of Collaboration for Incident Response Preparedness**

**APHIS Suggested Follow up Actions**

**General follow up actions to ensure accountability:**

-   APHIS liaison to track the progress on these recommendations

-   Include time on APHIS/NASDA call every other month to track progress
    collectively

-   Check on progress of collaboration with another but more limited
    survey in two years

**Actions to take on 6 specific recommendations to be addressed
immediately:**

1.  Emerald Ash Borer firewood issue:

    a.  Plant Protection & Quarantine (PPQ) Deputy Administrator ( DA)
        to review issue with PPQ personnel involved

    b.  PPQ DA meet with NASDA members involved

    c.  National bulletin issued on progress or resolution- posted on
        APHIS website or email to Secretaries, Commissioners or
        directors, State Plant Regulatory Officials and APHIS personnel.

    d.  Consider possible formal lessons learned session

2.  Clarify and document roles and responsibilities for:

    a.  Everyday work\--For each community, work is done through an
        acceptable joint effort sponsored by the management team and
        state level organization:

        1.  PPQ Leadership Team (LT) and the National Plant Board

        2.  Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) Leadership Team
            (LT), PPQ LT and the National Plant Board (NPB)

        3.  Veterinary Services (VS) Management Team, Wildlife Services
            (WS) Management Team and the National Assembly of State
            Animal Health Officials (NASAHO)

        4.  WS Management Team and the Association of Fish and Wildlife
            Agencies (AFWA)

        5.  VS Management Team, Animal Care (AC) Management Team and the
            National Alliance of State Animal and Agricultural Emergency
            Programs (NASAAEP).

        6.  NASDA and APHIS Management Team (AMT) help ensure
            consistency and workability.

    b.  General incident response preparedness

        1.  Emergency Management Leadership Council (EMLC) works with
            States to work out plan(s) to clarify and document roles and
            responsibilities and monitor results transparently

        2.  Include NASDA in discussions at appropriate intervals.

    c.  Specifically all hazards work

        1.  EMLC works with States and FEMA, Department of Homeland
            Security to develop and document stating roles and
            responsibilities for federal and state agencies.

        2.  Prioritize work on pet evacuation and rescue

        3.  Include NASDA in discussions at appropriate intervals.

    d.  Keep APHIS-NASDA-States and NASDA-APHIS liaisons informed

3.  Information should be shared simultaneously. (Protocols should be
    developed, documented, shared and implemented uniformly)

    a.  Personnel from each APHIS program and a representative from each
        group of collaborators (NASDA, NPB, NASAHO, AFWA, NASAAEP) meet
        to develop general protocol.

    b.  Develop exceptions/differences for each community as needed

    c.  Share with all stakeholders

    d.  Post on APHIS and State web sites so it can easily be found

4.  Reaffirm the APHIS/COSDA communication protocol[^1] for public
    release of information (notifying states one hour prior) within
    APHIS, States, and USDA.

    a.  Legislative & Public Affairs (LPA) personnel meet to review the
        current protocol and propose updates and modifications

    b.  LPA personnel meet with NASDA and COSDA representatives and
        other appropriate state personnel to iron out final version.
        Propose an addition to the agreement on exceptions and how they
        will be dealt with.

    c.  Ensure that COSDA members, NASDA members, other appropriate
        State personnel and APHIS personnel at headquarters and at the
        state level are aware of the protocol

    d.  Post the protocol on APHIS and NASDA web sites so it can easily
        be found

5.  APHIS and States should discuss what National written guidelines for
    incident response (plant health, animal health, and all hazards) are
    needed. Guidelines should then be developed with input from States
    and shared formally and uniformly with all State counterparts.

    a.  EMLC (Program & Policy Development \[PPD\] helps) discusses with
        State personnel (process to be determined)

    b.  EMLC (PPD helps) develop plan for accomplishing these in
        priority order and a timely way

    c.  Progress on accomplishing plan monitored transparently and
        adjustments made as needed

6.  Create a point of contact or liaison for States to contact with
    issues of concern

    a.  Cindy Smith names interim liaison and announces the appointment
        at the NASDA Meeting on February 9.

    b.  APHIS announces the position and hires a permanent liaison

**Other recommendations should be generally managed by the APHIS liaison
after sufficient progress is being made on the first 6:**

A.  **APHIS and affected States must resolve the Emerald Ash Borer
    firewood issue: [(Part of the recommendations to be addressed
    immediately)]{.mark}**

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1.  Address unanswered questions raised.

2.  Provide regular updates even when nothing changes.

3.  Adopt practices to ensure similar incidents do not occur in future.

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B.  **APHIS and States should clarify and write down roles and
    responsibilities: [(Part of the recommendations to be addressed
    immediately)]{.mark}**

    APHIS, at the National, Regional and State level, and State
    counterparts, including organizations such as NPB, NASAHO, NASDA,
    and AFWA, should clarify and document roles and responsibilities
    for: 1) everyday work; 2) general incident response preparedness;
    and 3) specifically all hazards work especially pertaining to animal
    evacuation and sheltering and the role of the VS Area Emergency
    Coordinator (AEC).

C.  **APHIS and States should institute good organizational practices
    that support collaboration:**

    **To be handled by EMLC with involvement from states (may need more
    specifics from all communities represented)**

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1.  Regularly review positions and structures in plant and animal health
    communities in both APHIS and States to ensure needs are being met
    and hold people accountable.

> ***To be handled by regular review teams (program, PPD and State)***

2.  APHIS and States should discuss what National written guidelines for
    incident response (plant health, animal health, and all hazards) are
    needed. Guidelines should then be developed with input from States
    and shared formally and uniformly with all State counterparts.
    **[(Part of the recommendations to be addressed
    immediately)]{.mark}**

3.  Guidelines for roles and responsibilities grounded in authorities
    and clearly understood by the whole chain of command should be
    developed. Share them uniformly and widely with all APHIS programs
    and State counterparts.

    ***To be handled by EMLC with involvement from states (may need more
    specifics from all communities represented)***

4.  APHIS should develop methods to work with States on response
    plans---direct support and creation of templates, offer approvals to
    existing templates or offer changes and grant approval to existing
    templates.

    ***To be handled by EMLC with involvement from states (may need more
    specifics from all communities represented)***

5.  APHIS and States should continue implementation of sound emergency
    management systems (NIMS). For example: implement incident
    management protocols that support the dual statutory authority in
    both acute and long term responses and improve incident management
    skills at all levels; sponsor and hold test exercise programs; offer
    training to both APHIS and State counterparts; and critique
    responses to real emergencies and make timely recommendations to
    improve the programs.

    ***To be handled by EMLC with involvement from states (may need more
    specifics from all communities represented)***

    D.  **APHIS and States should each have a mechanism for issues to be
        raised, addressed and tracked when additional support is
        needed:**

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1.  APHIS Management Team should create a point of contact or liaison
    for States to contact with issues of concern. The first priority of
    this liaison is to catalog unresolved past issues, assist in
    bringing them to closure, and to document lessons learned. This
    liaison should have direct access to the Management Team members and
    program staffs. **[(Part of the recommendations to be addressed
    immediately)]{.mark}**

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2.  APHIS programs should have a point of contact or liaison for dealing
    with unanswered questions and tracking of requests.

> ***To be handled by each management team with input from state
> organizations (NPB, USAHA National Assembly, AFWA, National Alliance
> of State Animal and Agricultural Programs (NASAAEP))***

3.  NASDA and other organizations should create a mechanism for
    assisting in raising and tracking issues between APHIS and States.

> ***To be handled by NASDA with input from APHIS liaison***

E.  **APHIS and States should develop, document and monitor
    communication principles that support collaboration:**

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1.  Information should be shared simultaneously between APHIS HQ,
    Regions, State-level APHIS personnel, and appropriate State
    counterparts. Protocols should be developed, documented, shared and
    implemented uniformly within and between APHIS and States. **[(Part
    of the recommendations to be addressed immediately)]{.mark}**

2.  Communication should be transparent and consistent among and between
    State agency managers, APHIS State level managers, regional and HQ
    personnel.

> ***To be handled by management teams with follow up from APHIS
> liaison***

3.  Protocols for timely sharing of information between and among APHIS
    and State agencies should be discussed, developed, documented, and
    shared uniformly within and between APHIS and States.

> ***To be handled by management teams with follow up from APHIS
> liaison***

4.  Communication protocols specifically addressing confidential
    business information should be discussed, developed and shared
    between APHIS and States.

> ***To be managed by APHIS liaison***

5.  Needed internal communications policies should be discussed,
    documented, and shared uniformly with APHIS and States.

> ***To be managed by program and APHIS liaisons***

6.  Reaffirm the APHIS/COSDA communication protocol for public release
    of information (notifying states one hour prior) within APHIS,
    States, and USDA. Document it and share uniformly with all parties.
    Include information about exceptions and how to handle them (e.g.,
    APHIS provides additional support for answering media calls).
    **[(Part of the recommendations to be addressed
    immediately)]{.mark}**

7.  Protocols for information sharing related to the laboratory networks
    should be discussed, developed, documented and shared uniformly with
    APHIS and States.

> ***To be developed by each lab network management structure (be sure
> to include states) with follow up by the EMLC***

8.  Evaluate use of joint information centers for information sharing
    during incidents, even long term incidents.

> ***To be done through a LPA/COSDA review***

F.  **APHIS and States should work to create a culture of collaboration
    across all boundaries:**

> ***Management teams lead the way and lower level managers ensure that
> these occur***

1.  Develop policy statements and goals for collaboration between States
    and APHIS from the National level. Explain why collaboration is
    expected of State and APHIS personnel in everyday work and incident
    response. Include principles for collaboration such as trust and
    mutual respect.

> ***APHIS Management Team (AMT) and NASDA work on policy statements***

2.  Include collaboration as part of APHIS and State performance
    management systems to hold personnel accountable and to provide
    incentives for continued successful collaboration.

> ***APHIS and State HR work on performance management systems. APHIS
> and NASDA monitor progress.***

3.  All collaborative endeavors should start with a discussion of
    definitions of common terms and should create a shared understanding
    of what level of collaboration will be used.

> ***Management teams lead the way and lower level managers ensure that
> these occur***

4.  Exploit opportunities to model collaborative behavior. For example,
    include AFWA leadership at APHIS leadership meetings about incident
    response.

> ***Management teams lead the way and lower level managers ensure that
> these occur***

5.  Regularly evaluate the collaboration component of collaborative
    programs.

> ***Management teams lead the way and lower level managers ensure that
> these occur***

6.  Demonstrate sincerity about wanting to improve communication
    collaboration -- Actions not promises.

> ***Management teams lead the way and lower level managers ensure that
> these occur***

[^1]: The current plan is entitled the NASDA COSDA APHIS Emergency
    Communications Plan