11^th^ ANNUAL FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HIGHER EDUCATION CONFERENCE

JUNE 2-5, 2008

COLLABORATION AND MISSION INTEGRATION: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES FOR
STENGTHENING PREPAREDNESS

(1^st^ Breakout Session of Thursday, June 5, 2008)

**Panel**

Douglas E. Himberger, Ph.D.

Himberger_doug@bah.com

Vice President

Booz Allen Hamilton

David Sulek

Sulek_david@bah.com

Principal

Booz Allen Hamilton

Emily C. Ohland

Ohland_emily@bah.com

Senior Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

COLLABORATION AND MISSION INTEGRATION: INNOVATIVE APPROACHES FOR
STENGTHENING PREPAREDNESS

Prepared by:

Robert W. Ellis

<B1Ellis@hotmail.com>

Emergency Management Student

American Military University

**[Megacommunities]{.underline}**

Our world is becoming more globalized and interconnected each day, and
is driven by an evolving set of threats including terrorist groups,
health epidemics, natural disasters and financial shocks. These types of
issues threaten national, homeland, and economic security and represent
problems that are too large for any one authority to solve alone. The
situation calls for a new type of tri-sector leadership in which
business, government, and nonprofits work together in a state of
permanent negotiation and interaction. In order to achieve collaborative
success, tomorrow\'s leaders will need to reach across traditional
sector divisions to form a collaborative megacommunity around issues of
overlapping vital interest.

Many of today\'s issues are much more complex and on a larger scale than
in the past. In an era of global networks and interdependence,
unilateral approaches are no longer adequate. These large-scale issues,
and the complexity they represent, offer both critical problems as well
as significant opportunities for stakeholders. Key elements include
complex network structures; uncertainty in decision making; extended
enterprises and partnerships; extremely high decision velocity; and more
demand for connectivity among and between stakeholders. The critical
question becomes *how can leaders contribute to confronting these
challenges*?

It has become obvious that the old ways of approaching challenges are no
longer successful. Several quotes from national and global leaders
represent the need for a shift in paradigm:

> \" . . . everybody is frozen . . . What has not kept pace in the
> business world is an understanding of how the uncertainty of the
> geopolitical environment has impacted business\" (Kenneth Chenault,
> Chairman and CEO, American Express).
>
> \"In the past, corporations could depend on the fact that government
> defined the answers \[but now, business leaders are afraid that\]
> government doesn\'t even understand the questions\" (Stephen Merrill,
> former Governor of New Hampshire and current President of Bingham
> Consulting Group LLP).
>
> \"We\'ve had blinders on . . . We need to change course, to become
> more of a partner and a player; more knowledgeable about the large
> systems that exist and the role we play in them\" (Paul Leonard,
> former CEO, Habitat for Humanity International).

What has this meant? What we have begun to see is a shift in how
organizations address larger and more complex issues. In the past,
industry focused on maximizing profits; today this has shifted to a
focus on optimizing results. It is very difficult to optimize results
alone, there needs to be a collective effort. In a comparison of the
traditional approach versus the new emerging approach we see:

**Traditional Approach** **Emerging Approach**

o\) Operate from a single perspective o) Mobilize around shared issue

o\) Maximize objectives o) Optimize system

o\) Stay within organizational boundaries o) Transcend traditional
boundaries

o\) Limit openness, trust, and collaboration o) Remain independent while
working across sectors on common interest

Booz-Allen-Hamilton has spent the last five years researching and
developing the megacommunities concept. The basis of megacommunity
thinking is that it recognizes the necessity and power of business,
government, and civil society working together on complex issues. This
tri-sector engagement relies on the dynamic tension that exists among
all three sectors. \"We are caught in an inescapable network of
mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one
directly, affects all indirectly\" (Martin Luther King, Jr.). It is
important to understand that tension represent a positive affect in this
collaboration; *there is no traction without friction* applies within
megacommunities. To date, research suggests that megacommunities
practice has been leading the development of its theory.

It is also important to understand what megacommunities not: they are
not an advanced form of public-private partnerships; are not another
name for corporate social responsibility; are not another
international/intergovernmental forum; are not really big communities of
interest; and are not a collection of like-minded actors.
Megacommunities provide a fresh, solutions-oriented perspective to
address seemingly intractable problems. They provide a public sphere; a
forum where organizations and people deliberately join together around a
compelling issue of mutual importance; and follow a set of practices and
principles that will make it easier for participating organizations to
achieve desired results.

Megacommunities are determined by the existence of five elements (the
first two are conditions, the last three are features). Each of these
elements are building blocks that help toward achieving a megacommunity:

1)  Tri-sector engagement - do we have everyone affected with an
    interest in the issue involved?

2)  Overlapping vital interest - are we all focused on the same thing
    and is it the right thing?

3)  Convergence - are we all driving toward the same outcome?

4)  Structure - are we connected in a way that benefits all with an
    interest in the issue?

5)  Adaptability - do we have the ability to evolve in response to
    changes?

**Magacommunities Within Preparedness and Response**

Preparedness and response represents a challenge that is increasing in
complexity and scope. Research has shown that no single authority can
prepare for or respond to major disasters as effectively as a
megacommunity. Today\'s potential disasters represent a need for
multi-sector involvement; collaboration through networks of
organizations; and the need to act together in a sustained partnership.
Analysis has shown three important facts: 1) preparedness is not new; 2)
national preparedness needs are evolving; and 3) successful preparedness
programs will require collaboration. Key guideposts within these
findings are that collaboration must empower stakeholders; be an
initiator to action; embrace interdependence; allow for ambiguity;
reward collaboration; and strengthen social networks. History has shown
that when this type of megacommunity collaboration has existed there
have been rewards, and when it has not, there have been failures. After
Hurricane Katrina the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
received blame from some critics. Perhaps it was not FEMA, perhaps it
was the fact that no megacommunity existed to ensure success.

Although our society tends to view every disaster as unique, many times
the same issues transcend time. When comparing the Johnstown Flood of
1889 it was discovered that many of the same issues and responses that
occurred then, also occurred following Hurricane Katrina, over one
hundred years later. There also seems to be some underlying themes
within the disaster community. These include: \"America doesn\'t pay for
preparedness; we can\'t adequately prepare without using the resources
of the military; America always fights the last war; federalism prevents
effective response; and technology can solve many of these problems.\"
If we are to advance our collaborative efforts within emergency
management we will need to break these old paradigms.

The studies of Booz-Allen-Hamilton are based upon four closely related
assumptions that must be made when discussing the future of disaster
preparedness and response:

1)  Successful preparedness programs will be more \"flat,\" open,
    community-based, multi-stakeholder, and capability (not resource)
    intensive and where technology will be an enabler, but not the
    driver.

2)  Post Katrina, a dichotomy emerged pitting the \"imperial impulse\"
    centered on centralized, hierarchical control versus coalitions,
    collaborations, and compacts (decentralized and flat) at the State,
    local, and regional levels. We believe decentralized will win out.

3)  We are in the midst of a period of intense, substantive governmental
    reform with preparedness at its core.

4)  The \"power\" of funding will gradually and increasingly flow out of
    Washington, D.C. toward the regions and the States.

We have seen more and more examples of this megacommunity approach that
illustrates the fact that no single organization can adequately address
issues that are as complex and far-reaching as disasters. Research has
found that after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, the State of
Florida developed a comprehensive, collaborative approach. Studies also
illustrate that after Hurricane Katrina the rebuilding of east Biloxi
clearly demonstrated the success of the megacommunity approach.

**East Biloxi As Example**

There are six guidepost to success as mentioned earlier: 1) identify and
empower stakeholders; 2) be an initiator; 3) embrace interdependence; 4)
allow for ambiguity; 5) reward collaboration; and 6) strengthen your
social networks. All of these took place in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina as East Biloxi undertook the monumental task of recovery and
rebuilding.

After Hurricane Katrina, countless government, private, non-governmental
organizations descended upon East Biloxi with the well intentioned goal
of supporting the city's rebuilding efforts. As local residents
attempted to navigate this myriad of assistance, and as organizations
began to notice the frequency with which their activities were
intersecting, the Hope Coordination Center was formed. The Center
evolved into the focal point for harmonizing and negotiating efforts
across the three sectors and ultimately optimizing the assistance the
residents received. The Center brings together a variety of
organizations with different capabilities, forms of authority, and
access to expertise. The result has been a tax base that is higher today
than before Katrina; innovative home designs that will make the area
more resilient in the nest storm; in any given week there are 30 new
homes being constructed and 60 being repaired; and the community has
returned and re-emerged from the disaster.

**The Future of Megacommunities**

This discussion of megacommunities is only the beginning. The hope is to
create a dialogue that will recognize the need for future research,
testing and case study analysis. By its very nature any discussion of
megacommunities recognizes that it is multi-disciplinary. Six areas of
potential research have been identified:

1)  Social Network Theory - how does one continuously enhance, sustain,
    and scale a social network?

2)  Case Studies - why do some of the megacommunities naturally form and
    succeed? Why do others fail?

3)  Cultural Behaviors and Norms - how does one create incentives to
    promote desired behaviors in a megacommunity? What happens when
    behaviors start to deviate from the norm? Does the network structure
    fundamentally change, smartly adapt, or a \"deviants\" ostracized?

4)  Leadership Development - how do you develop leaders who can serve as
    effective initiators of megacommunities?

5)  Measuring Success - how can you measure the success of a
    megacommunity? How do you determine whether one is flourishing, is
    viable but needs renewal, or has outlived its purpose?

6)  Communications - how do methods of communication (type, frequency,
    formality) differ in a collaborative environment from one that is
    considered non-collaborative or competitive?

As our preparedness and response to disasters continues to evolve, we
are hopeful that so will this discussion of megacommunities and their
potential for positive influence on disaster response and recovery.