Preparing for the Future of Emergency Management

Did you miss any of our 3-part blog series on the future of emergency management? You can read Part 1 or Part 2,  or Part 3 here. To hear more from our panelists about the changing space of disaster response, check out the replay of our webinar, The Future of Emergency Management: Exploring How Technology Will Impact Public Safety.

Our Panelist, Tom Crane (Everbridge, Sr. Technical Account Manager), had a lot to say about the common themes of the emerging technology and safety innovations discussed throughout the webinar.  While the advancements like automated cars and smart devices might seem unrelated, Tom breaks down the common effects of these advancements for emergency management into 6 basic categories:

1. Connected
2. Automated
3. Integrated
4. Social
5. Ubiquitous
6. Mobile

We notice that most, if not all, emerging technology in the emergency management field crosses off most of the adjectives on this checklist. Tom goes on to mention a THIRA Capabilities Assessment and how it may behoove your organization to take part in one of these tests to see exactly how prepared you are, and how the coming advancements of the near future may help you be more prepared. The assessment tries to find gaps in your organization’s preparedness in these 5 areas:

1. Situational Assessment
2. Command and Control
3. Operational Communication
4. Operation Coordination
5. Public Information and Warning

By finding gaps in you preparedness plans, and by better leveraging technological advancements, your agency will be better prepared in a time of crisis and will be able to do the most good for the safety of your residents.

The last topic Tom touched upon was the concept of the Network Effect, and how it can allow multiple organisations in a certain area to be more aware of the events transpiring around them and attack the issues on a united front. To learn more about the Network Effect, how it works, and how Everebridge’s software makes it easy to build a network in your area, check out our recent webinar on the topic here.