The Stephenson Disaster Management Institute seeks to become a world-class
research institute with an international reputation for high-quality applied
scholarship focused on the persistent management challenges that we confront
in the days immediately before and after a disaster strikes and on developing
solutions that governments, organizations, and responders can use. Beyond
that, the slate is blank.
To help define the strategic plan and research agenda for this
Institute, SDMI Interim Director Amy Donahue convened a select group
of nationally-recognized
experts for a strategic brainstorming meeting over the course of
April 25th, 26th, and 27th to help determine what the Institute
should do. Participants
included prominent scholars in crisis and disaster research, senior
emergency responders with deep experience managing response during
large disasters,
and leaders from business sectors with expertise and interest in
disaster response.
The workshop was organized into three sessions:
Session 1: Research Agenda
- What are the management challenges that SDMI should tackle?
- Why?
- How should these topics be prioritized?
Session 2: Education and Outreach programs
- What kinds of programs and mechanisms should SDMI consider?
- What is not out there that SDMI should do?
- What is out there already that SDMI should not duplicate?
- What is out there already that SDMI can improve?
- What is out there already that SDMI should also do?
- Innovative approaches to research, outreach, or education we haven’t considered?
Session 3: Success factors for this new Institute
- How can programs best be designed to bring practitioners, scholars, and businesses together?
- How can programs best be designed to facilitate/develop/improve public private partnerships?
- How can programs best be designed to help political leaders do a good job in a crisis?
- What else could/should SDMI do?
- What will enable SDMI to succeed?
- What would cause it to fail/pitfalls SDMI should avoid?
The discussion that ensued around these topics was very lively and productive. Enthusiasm and support for SDMI and its mission was clear. The many useful inputs and insights from the workshop will be developed into a strategic plan, to be developed this summer.
