Mihm Report on Practical Approach to Emergency Preparedness Published by IBM Business of Government

January 3, 2023

IBM Center for The Business of Government

Chris Mihm

Public Administration & International Affairs Department

Natural Disasters

United States

IBM Center for The Business of Government

Chris Mihm

How can governments properly prepare now for when the next disaster strikes? Chris Mihm, adjunct professor of public administration and international affairs, provides six steps that give leaders a practical approach to emergency preparedness in a report published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government.

"Disasters are complex and cross-cutting by nature. They have no respect for geographic, jurisdictional, political, or organizational boundaries. Emergency management should follow suit," writes Mihm.

"Preparedness and response cannot be the sole responsibility of one sector, one program, one agency, or one level of government," he says. Rather, the key to success—and the root cause of many failures when absent—is the strength of the network before, during, and after a disaster through partnerships established between sectors, levels of government, and agencies. Simply put, radical horizontal and vertical problems cannot be solved in silos."