Shaping Comprehensive Emergency Response Networks
Given its nature, a crisis has a significant community impact. This applies in particular to emergencies: crises that arise quickly. Because of the complex and multifaceted nature of large-scale incidents, the response requires coordinated effort by multiple organizations. This networked collaboration is not solely restricted to professional organizations. In responding to an incident, the affected community can itself be an important source of information and capabilities. This chapter discusses how one can shape a trustworthy and decisive response organization in which relevant and useful capacities available in the community are incorporated. This discussion has two focal points. The first focal point is the role of the affected community in the case of an emergency. On the one hand, an emergency affects the fabric of the community, such as the critical infrastructure. On the other, a community has inherent internal resources that give it resilience and capacity to respond in a crisis. This needs to be reflected in the choice of emergency response planning model. The second focal point is the structure of the emergency response network. An emergency response network is a mixed-sector network. This means that coordination is needed among organizations and collectives with differing strategic orientations.