Comprehensive Common Operating Picture (COP) for Disaster Response
Abstract
In the aftermath of the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, government reviews highlighted the need to implement a comprehensive Common Operating Picture (COP). The COP requirements were to provide the situational awareness needed to improve understanding and facilitate collaborative decision-making across all echelons. Today, seven years after Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the government's lead entity for disaster response, has yet to implement a comprehensive COP, why? FEMA has made notable advances in programs that support coordination and collaboration and has established an active posture focused on situational awareness. However, these advances serve purposes other than that of establishing a COP. To answer the research question it was first necessary to describe how FEMA currently obtains information to create situational awareness for disaster response. Next it was necessary to examine the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina to identify the information that were needed by emergency managers but lacked. Lastly, research was necessary to determine the authority and responsibilities that govern state, local and federal decision-making because those responsibilities determine their information needs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 17, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA566815
Entities
People
- Jeffrey M. Smith
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College