BMC Public Health 2006, 6:285 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/285 shared objectives, other issues have become apparent. These include concerns about the following: Government procurement regulations Business leaders perceive that procurement regulations force government officials to maintain a defensive posture in order to avoid risking a future conflict of interest, or appearance of conflict of interest. Both may be concerned that collaboration could poison opportunities for future contractual interactions, especially if a business partner is perceived as having unfair insight into government con- tracting opportunities as a result of voluntary collabora- tions. Potential for shifts in government priorities At times, business partners were frustrated by shifts in public health priorities, which some BENS members described as a "flavor of the month" mentality. For example, over the course of the SNS project, public health and other government agencies in Georgia had to divert part or all of their attention to the Group of Eight (G8) summit confer- ence in June 2004, pandemic influenza planning, and other preparedness mandates from CDC and HRSA. While these diversions are understandable, many busi- ness leaders have a "Lets get it done" attitude, they value adherence to timelines, and they are concerned when competing demands on public health officials force project delays. People who work in government are famil- iar with such political realities and have at times been frustrated by the impatience of business partners. In addi- tion, many in business have been surprised to learn that state and local public health agencies lack sufficient staff and resources to manage their multiple preparedness responsibilities simultaneously. As one public health offi- cial noted: "It was hard for business leaders to even imagine that public health was not well funded and did not have the tools we need given our responsibilities...They think we have more money than we do." Anxiety about the timeline for exercises was felt most acutely by some in local public health departments: "BENS wants to do more exercises. We're exercised to death. They don't understand how much work it is for us to put on an exercise." "It's too soon to have another exercise...we needed more time to train...These timelines are crazy. We have other exercises and other responsibilities" Business respondents had a different reaction to delays, but also demonstrated a growing understanding of the constraints affecting their public health partners: "If planning for SNS is delayed, business partners ask, 'What if we have an anthrax attack? If we postpone the exercise then we're postponing our ability to be prepared...'" "Putting on my military hat, you don't back up or postpone. You make it happen. The tendency of public health to shift priorities and postpone projects is frustrating...But public health said 'Slow down' and BENS has to understand that...At least we're moving forward." Different management styles Business leaders observed that company chief executive officers often exercise greater authority than government officials to mandate changes or enforce adherence to pol- icies and standards across locations. Public health manag- ers put greater emphasis on consensus-based decision making, and they value flexibility in adapting programs to local circumstances. This partly reflects the sharing of pub- lic health authority in Georgia between the state health officer (the Director of the Division of Public Health) and directors of the state's 18 local public health districts. As a consequence, public health districts in Georgia are apt to develop SNS dispensing procedures that are more inde- pendent and variable than a company's operations in dif- ferent locations. Occasional but memorable instances of government disorganization The state's experience in responding to Hurricane Katrina, which directly affected nearby states and resulted in evac- uation of affected people to Georgia, was largely viewed as an example of the benefits of positive links between busi- ness and government agencies. There were, however, instances when government officials asked BENS staff to request resources from members, and business leaders responded quickly, only to be told that needs had shifted and their resources were not needed. In another instance, a Georgia BENS member offered to provide a critical serv- ice at no cost to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but FEMA did not have an administrative mechanism to accept the offer. While this episode reflected an interaction with a federal rather than Georgia agency, the perceived lack of flexibility or imagination by a government agency unavoidably shaded perceptions of governments in general, including state government, among some business leaders. Confidentiality of proprietary information Concerns about the confidentiality of information that businesses share with governments and vice versa have been an ongoing challenge, despite progress in clarifying laws and regulations that govern information sharing and access. Much of the critical infrastructure required to sup- port community functioning is privately owned. Main- taining an inventory of these assets is essential to emergency planning, but information about these Page 5 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)