Conducting Situational Analysis

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Homeland Security Written

Approach to Situational Assessment?

Regardless of what I -- or others -- may believe is a good approach to situational assessment, it is critical that any response to be utilized fall within the guidelines provided by the Incident Command System (ICS). The ICS is defined by the United States Center for Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance as "a set of personnel, policies, procedures, facilities, and equipment, integrated into a common organizational structure designed to improve emergency response operations of all types and complexities" ("ICS," 2004). The Incident Command System is a subcomponent of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). One key reason for relying on the ICS framework is that is a scalable, adaptable agency that establishes a familiar hierarchy that enables people from diverse areas and disciplines to conduct efficacious responses to disaster events, and to function collaboratively within initiatives directed at homeland security ("ICS," 2004).

As we know from our studies and discussions, a key success factor in disaster response is the level at which people from multiple agencies who are unaccustomed to working together on a routine basis -- do achieve seamless communication and operational plans (Moynihan, 2009). Multi-agency planning is the base from which effective, comprehensive implementation must proceed. From this, it is apparent that the important contributions of these agencies to disaster response include the provision of standard responses and routinized operation procedures (Moynihan, 2009). Through these structures, the probability is lessened that miscommunication -- or worse, useless action -- with consume scarce resources and erode crucial response time. Indeed, a primary function of the Incidence Command System is to provide an optimized structure for first-on-scene responders ("ICS," 2004). By insuring that first responders are capable of taking charge at the scene, the response may be directed more rapidly, accurately, and comprehensibly (Moynihan, 2009). Inherently, the Incident Command System makes provision for a change of command if or when a more highly qualified responder enters the scene, or if the Incident Commander appoints a different first responder to take charge as the Incident Commander ("ICS," 2004).

Key Event Characteristics

While the structure and hierarchy of the ICS contributes to expedient, organized response, experts also recognize that these attributes can also contribute to response constriction (Moynihan, 2009).

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Critical literature underscores the need for the content of training to include information that will prepare first responders to monitor their own mindsets and the manner in which expeditious thinking can limit a holistic perspective (Moynihan, 2009; Yechiam, et al., 2005). That is to say, the more automatic a response is -- the more it is based on past experiences or event recency -- the higher the probability that critical information will be missed, whether through urgency or schema (Yechiam, et al., 2005). As the following key characteristics are reviewed, consideration must also be directed toward increased awareness of perceptual constraints (Yechiam, et al., 2005). That said, when the following concepts are manifested in the response to a disaster event or incident, the most substantive aspects of the response plan will be conducted in a more coordinated and informed manner (Moynihan, 2009).

The reason for relying on the Incident Command System is that disaster "response requires an array of interdependent competencies, and it is the need to rapidly integrate these competencies that gave rise to and continues to provide the compelling logic for the ICS" (Moynihan, 2009, p.4).

The key event characteristics that are essential to conducting situational assessment include the following: Incident action plans, comprehensive resource management, and integrated communication ("ICS," 2004).

If an established Incident Action Plans (IAP) is not already in place, this element would get my immediate attention as the culmination of the situational analysis. All the steps and elements that I attend to during the early phases of the situational analysis should contribute to the establishment of an Incident Action Plan ("ICS," 2004). IAPs provide explicit direction and coordination of the incident response as a point of reference for the duration of the operational period. Through the Incident Action Plan, the incident supervisors from all represented agencies can ensure that they are conducting their effort in concert with other stakeholders ("ICS," 2004). The familiar format of the IAPs ensures that communication of the incident objectives will be both efficient and coherent, and that activities of operational and support nature….....

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