Question

What does the fact that differences in households and families exist in a community mean to an emergency manager?

Answer 1

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The effects of natural and manmade disasters have become more frequent, far-reaching, and

widespread. As a result, preserving the safety, security, and prosperity of all parts of our society

is becoming more challenging. Our Nation’s traditional approach to managing the risks

associated with these disasters relies heavily on the government. However, today’s changing

reality is affecting all levels of government in their efforts to improve our Nation’s resilience

while grappling with the limitations of their capabilities.1 Even in small- and medium-sized

disasters, which the government is generally effective at managing, significant access and service

gaps still exist. In large-scale disasters or catastrophes, government resources and capabilities

can be overwhelmed.

The scale and severity of disasters are

growing and will likely pose systemic

threats.2 Accelerating changes in

demographic trends and technology are

making the effects of disasters more

complex to manage. One future trend

affecting emergency needs is continued

population shifts into vulnerable areas

(e.g., hurricane-prone coastlines). The

economic development that accompanies

these shifts also intensifies the pressure

on coastal floodplains, barrier islands,

and the ecosystems that support food

production, the tourism industry, and

suburban housing growth. Other

demographic changes will affect disaster

management activities, such as a growing population of people with disabilities living in

communities instead of institutions, as well as people living with chronic conditions (e.g.,

obesity and asthma). Also, communities are facing a growing senior population due to the Baby

Boom generation entering this demographic group. Consequently, changes in transportation

systems and even housing styles may follow to accommodate the lifestyles of these residents. If

immigration trends continue as predicted, cities and suburbs will be more diverse ethnically and

linguistically. Employment trends, when combined with new technologies, will shift the ways in

which local residents plan their home-to-work commuting patterns as well as their leisure time.

All of these trends will affect the ways in which residents organize and identify with community-

based associations and will influence how they prepare for and respond to emergenciesThis document presents a foundation for increasing individual preparedness and engaging with

members of the community as vital partners in enhancing the resiliency and security of our

Nation through a Whole Community approach. It is intended to promote greater understanding of

the approach and to provide a strategic framework to guide all members of the emergency

management community as they determine how to integrate Whole Community concepts into

their daily practices. This document is not intended to be all-encompassing or focused on any

specific phase of emergency management or level of government, nor does it offer specific,

prescriptive actions that require communities or emergency managers to adopt certain protocols.

Rather, it provides an overview of core principles, key themes, and pathways for action that have

been synthesized from a year-long national dialogue around practices already used in the field.

While this is not a guide or a “how-to” document, it provides a starting point for those learning

about the approach or looking for ways to expand existing practices and to begin more

operational-based discussions on further implementation of Whole Community principles.

National Dialogue on a Whole Community Approach to Emergency

Management

In a congressional testimony, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA), Craig Fugate, described today’s reality as follows: “Government can and will continue

to serve disaster survivors. However, we fully recognize that a government-centric approach to

disaster management will not be enough to meet the challenges posed by a catastrophic incident.

That is why we must fully engage our entire societal capacity....”4 To that end, FEMA initiated a

national dialogue on a Whole Community approach to emergency management, an approach that

many communities have used for years with great success, and one which has been gathering

strength in jurisdictions across the Nation.

The national dialogue was designed to foster collective learning from communities’ experiences

across the country. It occurred in various settings, such as organized conference sessions,

research seminars, professional association meetings, practitioner gatherings, and official

government meetings. The various settings created opportunities to listen to those who work in

local neighborhoods, have survived disasters, and are actively engaged in community

development. Participants in this dialogue included a broad range of emergency management

partners, including representatives from the private and nonprofit sectors, academia, local

residents, and government leaders. The conversations with the various stakeholders focused on

how communities are motivated and engaged, how they understand risk, and what their

experiences are with resilience following a disaster. In addition, international and historical

resiliency efforts, such as FEMA’s Project Impact, were explored to gather lessons learned and

best practices.5

FEMA also brought together diverse members from across the country to comprise a core

working group. The working group reviewed and validated emerging Whole Community

principles and themes, gathered examples of the Whole Community approach from the field, andidentified people, organizations, and communities with promising local experiences. They

participated in various meetings and conferences and, in some cases, provided the examples

included in this document.

In addition to the national dialogue, this document was created concurrently with a larger effort

to build an integrated, layered, all-of-Nation approach to preparedness, as called for by

Presidential Policy Directive (PPD-8): National Preparedness.6 As such, the Whole Community

approach is being incorporated into all PPD-8 deliverables, including the National Preparedness

Goal, National Preparedness System description, National Planning Frameworks, and the

campaign to build and sustain preparedness nationwide, as well as leverage the approach in their

development.7 In support of these efforts, FEMA seeks to spark exploration into community

engagement strategies to promote further discussion on approaches that position local residents

for leadership roles in planning, organizing, and sharing accountability for the success of local

disaster management efforts, and which enhance our Nation’s security and resilience.

Whole Community Defined

As a concept, Whole Community is a means by which residents, emergency management

practitioners, organizational and community leaders, and government officials can collectively

understand and assess the needs of their respective communities and determine the best ways to

organize and strengthen their assets, capacities, and interests. By doing so, a more effective path

to societal security and resilience is built. In a sense, Whole Community is a philosophical

approach on how to think about conducting emergency management.

There are many different kinds of communities,

including communities of place, interest, belief, and

circumstance, which can exist both geographically

and virtually (e.g., online forums). A Whole

Community approach attempts to engage the full

capacity of the private and nonprofit sectors,

including businesses, faith-based and disability

organizations, and the general public, in conjunction

with the participation of local, tribal, state, territorial,

and Federal governmental partners. This engagement

means different things to different groups. In an all-

hazards environment, individuals and institutions will

make different decisions on how to prepare for and

respond to threats and hazards; therefore, a

community’s level of preparedness will vary. The

challenge for those engaged in emergency

management is to understand how to work with the

diversity of groups and organizations and the policies

and practices that emerge from them in an effort to

improve the ability of local residents to prevent,

protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from any type of threat or hazard effectively.The benefits of Whole Community

include a more informed, shared

understanding of community risks,

needs, and capabilities; an increase in

resources through the empowerment of

community members; and, in the end,

more resilient communities. A more

sophisticated understanding of a

community’s needs and capabilities also

leads to a more efficient use of existing

resources regardless of the size of the

incident or community constraints. In

times of resource and economic

constraints, the pooling of efforts and

resources across the whole community is

a way to compensate for budgetary

pressures, not only for government

agencies but also for many private and

nonprofit sector organizations. The task of cultivating and sustaining relationships to incorporate

the whole community can be challenging; however, the investment yields many dividends. The

process is as useful as the product. In building relationships and learning more about the

complexity of a community, interdependencies that may be sources of hidden vulnerabilities are

revealed. Steps taken to incorporate Whole Community concepts before an incident occurs will

lighten the load during response and recovery efforts through the identification of partners with

existing processes and resources who are available to be part of the emergency management

team. The Whole Community approach produces more effective outcomes for all types and sizes

of threats and hazards, thereby improving security and resiliency nationwide.

Whole Community Principles and Strategic Themes

Numerous factors contribute to the resilience of communities and effective emergency

management outcomes. However, three principles that represent the foundation for establishing a

Whole Community approach to emergency management emerged during the national dialogue.

Whole Community Principles:

 Understand and meet the actual needs of the whole community. Community engagement

can lead to a deeper understanding of the unique and diverse needs of a population, including

its demographics, values, norms, community structures, networks, and relationships. The

more we know about our communities, the better we can understand their real-life safety and

sustaining needs and their motivations to participate in emergency management-related

activities prior to an event.

 Engage and empower all parts of the community. Engaging the whole community and

empowering local action will better position stakeholders to plan for and meet the actual

needs of a community and strengthen the local capacity to deal with the consequences of all

threats and hazards. This requires all members of the community to be part of the emergency

management team, which should include diverse community members, social and

community service groups and institutions, faith-based and disability groups

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