MISSION

The mission of the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute is to help save the lives of people and animals by continuously improving disaster response management through research and education.

SDMI aims to become a premier research institute that produces knowledge and insights that will enhance the quality of crisis and disaster management around the world.  This mission will be implemented through four clusters of activities, which we describe here in terms of strategic aims:

• SDMI will become a premier research institute known and recognized in both the national and international research community.
• SDMI will design and provide executive education programs that translate research findings into effective courses of action.
• SDMI will consult with public and private parties in the field of crisis and disaster management.
• SDMI will actively engage in and contribute to public policy debates on the quality of disaster management.

ACTIVITIES

In pursuit of knowledge that matters to practice, SDMI will adhere to a set of principles that will serve and protect the mission. SDMI will:

• Produce high quality, applied research that tackles persistent problems with an eye on developing solutions that work in practice.
• Explicitly adopt an all hazards orientation. It will study (the management of) all urgent threats to societal core values and critical infrastructures regardless of their origin (accidental or intended, natural or manmade, foreseen or unexpected threats).  
• Focus on activities, structures, processes and conditions that immediately affect the safety of people, their companion animals, their livelihoods, and their property during a disaster.
• Adopt a multidisciplinary perspective.
• Build national and international partnerships between scholars, crisis and disaster management practitioners, NGOs, public organizations and private corporations.
• Design innovative approaches to crisis and disaster management that will enhance the quality of executive-level decision-making.
• Disseminate research lessons through executive education programs and publications that are especially produced for business and government managers.

PERSPECTIVE

In this section, we explain how we view the nature of crises and disasters, the challenges these events pose to public authorities, and the role researchers can play to improve the effectiveness of crisis and disaster management.

Society under threat: The changing nature of crises and disasters

The world is replete with crises and disasters. Recent examples of unprecedented adversity include the 9/11 attacks, the Madrid and London bombings, the Asian Tsunami, SARS and Avian Flu, the Iraq war and Darfur, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the California wildfires.

Crises and disasters are inconceivable threats that come true. These events tax our imagination and shake our sense of safety and security. They put societies and their leaders to the test. When a social system comes under threat, its leaders will have to engineer and implement remedial action that protects citizens and their possessions from (further) harm.

For research purposes, it is crucial to draw a sharp distinction between crises and disasters. We define a crisis in terms of a threat to core values or life-sustaining systems, which requires an urgent response under conditions of deep uncertainty. We define a disaster in terms of the outcome or consequences for a society: a disaster is a “crisis with a bad ending.” When a crisis is perceived to have really bad consequences, we speak of a catastrophe.

These definitions clarify the importance of crisis management. Effective leadership in the response phase makes the difference between a mere threat and a disastrous outcome. SDMI will work to enhance leadership during crises and disasters.

The difference between a crisis, disaster and a catastrophe is, of course, a matter of perception. SDMI will concern itself with the immediate threat or occurrence of 1) unprecedented damage (both in financial terms and of lives lost) and 2) a long-term breakdown of life-sustaining functions in a social system. SDMI will thus not concern itself with “routine emergencies” such as traffic accidents.

What sets modern crises apart from mere emergencies is their transboundary nature. Transboundary threats have the potential to cross geographic and functional boundaries, jumping from one system to another. A transboundary crisis can thus escalate along two dimensions – the combination of these geographic and functional dimensions defines its catastrophic potential.

SDMI’s mission becomes all the more urgent as future threats will create new, unforeseen and unimaginable challenges. The increased complexity of tightly coupled systems will lead to more cascading crises. The development of new technologies, the continuing threat of modern terrorism, and the changing climate will likely bring disasters of an entire new category. Meanwhile, the governmental capacity to deal with these threats is undermined by the inherent difficulties of crisis and disaster management, misguided ideas about the design of response structures, and the political and media context in which these threats must be managed.

The challenges of crisis leadership

In times of crisis, the public expects leaders at all levels of government (local, state, and federal) to protect the wellbeing of citizens and livestock, to minimize damage, and to restore a sense of normalcy. In the face of severe threats to critical infrastructures and life-sustaining systems, the public counts on government officials to cooperate and work with the private and non-profit sectors to save lives and protect goods.

Disaster responders are faced with hard challenges, as they have to act under conditions of deep uncertainty and extreme urgency. A crisis presents policymakers with tough dilemmas: everybody looks at them to “do something”, but it is far from clear what that “something” is or whether it is possible to achieve without causing additional harm. The media and political opponents scrutinize their decisions. They want to know what went wrong, what was (not) done to prevent and contain the crisis, and who should be held responsible for the unfolding disaster.

To prevent a crisis from developing into a disaster, political and administrative leaders must carry out a set of complex tasks. They must figure out what is going on, implement command and control procedures, coordinate and deploy resources, make life-or-death decisions, and communicate with government agencies, private companies, NGOs, neighboring countries and a fear-stricken public. They must manage the response, but they must also worry about restoring legitimacy.

Recent disasters have shown just how hard this set of tasks can be. Leaders struggle in part because disaster response is inherently hard. A crisis creates unique circumstances that demand flexibility, improvisation, coordination and speed – not exactly strengths of public bureaucracies operating across multi levels of government. Time pressure, overwhelming emotions, public outcries, political scrutiny, media spotlights and the breakdown of critical infrastructures all conspire against leadership effectiveness.

But leaders and their response operations also fail because they are not properly or fully prepared to deal with the challenges that crises and disasters visit upon them. Political and administrative elites must learn to avoid the pitfalls and pathologies that have hampered many crisis response operations, while implementing the lessons that were learned the hard way. SDMI will help develop insights and strategies that will enhance the effectiveness of crisis and disaster response. It will enhance leadership strategies that benefit societal resilience and improvisation during disasters.