September 2-5, 2003 FEMA EM HiEd Project Activity Report

**(1) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2003 \"Progress Report
for America\'s Infrastructure\":**

September 4, 2003 \-- In March 2001, the ASCE released a *Report Card
for America\'s Infrastructure*, grading at \"a discouraging D+\" 12
infrastructure categories \-- roads, bridges, transit, aviation,
schools, drinking water, wastewater, dams, solid waste, hazardous waste,
navigable waterways, and energy. The ASCE estimated than that \$1.3
trillion was needed to repair an aging infrastructure. This new report,
released today, notes that very little has happened in the last two
years to change their assessment and in fact \"some areas are sliding
toward an F.\" Today the ASCE estimates that \$1.6 trillion is needed.
BWB note: Crumbling infrastructure is a prescription for disaster and
just one more reason that disasters and escalating economic losses are
going to be a growth business. For a copy of the report go to:
http://www.asce.org/reportcard/index.cfm?reaction=full&page=6

**(2) Disaster Response Operations and Management \-- Upper Division
Course Development Project:**

September 5, 2003 \-- Reviewed the 2nd draft of Session 14, \"Search and
Rescue\" and provided review comments to course developer, Dr. David
McEntire at the University of North Texas. From the Scope statement:

> \"In this session, the professor explains why search and rescue (SAR)
> is needed and identifies the different types of SAR operations.
> Attention is also given to people\'s behavior in search and rescue
> operations. The session discusses issues important to search and
> rescue operations and provides a description of FEMA\'s Urban SAR
> teams. A discussion about the merit of professional SAR teams vs.
> volunteer/emergency SAR groups follows. The session concludes by
> exploring the process of SAR provided by CERT teams\"

This 2nd draft was forwarded to the EMI Webmaster for uploading to the
Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses section, Courses Under
Development subsection, of the EM HiEd Project website \--
http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/edu/drom.asp \-- to replace the first
draft session found there.

September 5, 2003 \-- Received for review from Dr. McEntire, Session 16,
\"Mass Fatality Management.\"

**(3) Floodplain Hazard Management \-- Graduate-Level Course Development
Project:**

September 5, 2003 \-- Negotiations between the recommended bidder and
the Procurement Office concluded and a contract is about to be let. As
soon as this is a done deal will establish contact with the course
developer to set up a focus group meeting with stakeholders and the
course development team.

**(4) Hazards Mapping and Modeling \-- Potential Upper Division Course
Development Project:**

September 3, 2003 \-- The Procurement Office informs me that they are
going to advertise this procurement in the CBD, having failed to find a
successful bidder from the GSA contractor list. Will have to jump
through hoops to go through the advertisement, bid, evaluation,
negotiation and award process by September 30.

**(5) Hazards Risk Management \-- Upper Division College Course
Development Project:**

September 4, 2003 \-- Received for review from lead course developer,
Greg Shaw, George Washington University, Session 25, \"Building
Public-Private Partnerships.\"

September 5, 2003 \-- Reviewed Session 10, \"Issues Management,\" and
provided review comments to Greg Shaw. From the Scope statement:

> \"This session is the second of three sessions examining how to
> establish the context for a hazards Risk Management approach\....This
> session will examine issues management. Class discussions and student
> interactions will focus on how and why to get the public involved, how
> to identify stakeholders, and how to identify and define issues. This
> session will also examine the lifecycle of an issue and how to develop
> and implement an issues management program and its role in
> establishing the context for the hazards risk management approach.\"

**(6) Holistic Disaster Recovery: Creating a More Sustainable Future \--
Upper Division Course Development Project:**

September 4, 2003 \-- Received for review from course developer, Dr.
Gavin Smith:

> Session 1: Course Introduction (2nd draft)
>
> Session 2: Defining Sustainable Disaster Recovery
>
> Session 3: Dimensions of Recovery
>
> Session 4: Roles in Recovery

**(7) National Weather Service \"Partnership\" Investigation:**

September 3, 2003 \-- Talked with Dr. Percy Thomas, Director of Training
and Outreach, National Weather Service (DOC/NOAA), concerning an
investigation of mutual interests. Discussed goals, objectives,
activities of the EM HiEd Project, partnerships with the Coastal
Services Center, Charleston (NOAA), and the Corps of Engineers, and
suggested that the potential seemed to exist for a partnership with the
NWS as well. Dr. Thomas agreed and noted that he would have his
Executive Assistant, Meteorologist Richard Lane, get back in touch to
continue the discussion and investigation. I could envision, for
example, a partnership for the development of a college course on
Meteorological Hazards.

September 4, 2003 \-- Talked with Richard Lane at the NWS \-- went over
what the EM HiEd Project is all about and noted a potential partnership
course development idea. Mr. Lane appeared to be very interested in the
Project and investigating ways we might work together. Asked for my
schedule for the next two months (provided) and promised to get back
with me in order to set up a meeting with he, Dr. Thomas (and perhaps
his wife, a faculty member at a nearby college) and me \-- to continue
the dialogue.

**(8) New Directions in Hazards Mitigation: Breaking The Disaster Life
Cycle \-- Graduate Course Development Project:**

September 3, 2003 \-- Received for review from lead course developer,
Dr. David Godschalk, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Session 12, \"Preparing Local Hazard Mitigation Plans,\" by Dr. David
Salvesen, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

September 4, 2003 \-- Reviewed Dr. Godschalk\'s Session 9, \"State
Planning Assistance for Mitigation at the Local Level; Assessing Local
Hazard Mitigation Plans,\" and provided review comments to Dr.
Godschalk. From the Scope statement:

> \"The first part of the session is a lecture on the context for and
> issues involved in state hazard mitigation planning assistance to
> local governments. The instructor identifies the problems of
> developing local hazard mitigation commitment and capacity, in terms
> of using state mandates and incentives to achieve local actions. Then
> the nature of local hazard mitigation plans is discussed, along with
> best practice criteria for evaluating local hazard mitigation plans.
> The second part of the session is an exercise in which teams of
> students assess a local hazard mitigation plan and evaluate its
> ability to implement an effective hazard mitigation program.\"

The draft session was forwarded to the EMI Webmaster for upload to the
EM HiEd Website, Academic Emergency Management and Related Courses
section, Courses Under Development subsection, where it should appear in
a few days, I trust.

September 5, 2003 \-- Dr. Godschalk emails to note that he and Dr.
Salvesen are working on the final course session and Power Points for
the course and should be getting that material to us shortly \-- getting
close to the end of the road on this course. When the final course
session is received and reviewed we will then get from Dr. Godschalk a
complete course package which we will send out for review. Might be
possible to have a final course by the end of the year and place it on
the website.

**(9) Social Dimensions of Disaster, 2nd Edition \-- Upper Division
College Course Revision Project:**

September 5, 2003 \-- Reviewed Session 16, \"Non-Victim Responses to
Disaster,\" and provided review comments to the course developer, Dr.
Thomas Drabek. From the Scope statement:

> \"Students are introduced to empirically based conclusions regarding
> non-victim behavior during disaster responses. Convergence and helping
> behaviors, the concept of the therapeutic community and lessons for
> emergency managers are emphasized.\"

**(10) Textbook Project:**

September 5, 2003 \-- Began, but did not finish, review of the 62-paged
1st Chapter, \"Introduction to Emergency Management,\" for the
*Introduction to Emergency Management* electronic textbook, being
developed by a team led by Dr. Michael Lindell, Texas A&M University.

**(11) U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) Homeland Security Collegiate
Consortium Initiative:**

September 3, 2003 \-- Talked with Dr. Stanley Supinski, Deputy, Training
and Education Branch, NORTHCOM, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado,
concerning his interest in putting together a consortium of educational
institutions providing advanced degrees in homeland security \-- in
partnership with the National Defense University, the Joint Forces Staff
College, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Dr.
Supinski is investigating the development of a small number of core
courses that would be prerequisites for consortium member universities
in their graduate-level homeland security programs, and wanted to
discuss lessons we might have learned in the EM HiEd Project that might
be applicable in the development of the NORTHCOM-supported consortium.
Described the background, history, evolution, current status and
potential future of the EM HiEd Project. Dr. Supinski is interested in
possibly organizing two annual collegiate homeland security conferences,
much like the EM HiEd annual conference \-- one on the west coast and
one on the east coast \-- Spring and Fall. Recommended to him the
inclusion of community colleges and four year colleges, in addition to
the graduate schools in these conferences. Invited Dr. Supinski to
attend the next early-June 2004 EM HiEd Conference. Also recommended
serious consideration be given to the development of service-learning
and internship components to any homeland security program \-- as in
many existing emergency management programs. Finally, made pitch for
finding a way to get into what I presented as the bigger picture of
homeland security within an all hazards emergency management context,
and for the inclusion of the bottom-up perspective (community based
programs, problems, stakeholders) as well as the top-down approach
(national big picture stuff). For additional information, Dr. Supinski
can be reached at Stanley.Supinski@northcom.mil.

**(12) United Tribes Technical College, ND:**

September 3, 2003 \-- Drafted Statement of Work for a work order for
faculty of United Tribes Technical College to draft a course session on
\"The Native American Community and Emergency Management\" for
incorporation into the \"A Social Vulnerability Approach to Disasters\"
upper division college course on the EM HiEd Project website. The
Project Assistant is putting together a Micro-Purchase Work Order
package, incorporating the SOW, to send to UTTC for a cost proposal.