Next Generation Core Competencies

Emergency management is charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management protects communities by coordinating and integrating all activities necessary to build, sustain, and improve the capability to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disasters. Emergency management must be comprehensive, progressive, risk-driven, integrated, collaborative, coordinated, flexible and professional (Principles of Emergency Management, 2007).

1. In 2030, emergency management professionals will continue to need to Operate within the Emergency Management Framework and Principles.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

 

The capability to foster community communications, and assign clear roles and tasks to community representatives, as appropriate, will be needed to advance the whole community toward risk ownership. The proficiency encompasses comprehensive public and community consultations during the development of processes and decision-making through legitimate frameworks (UNISDR, 2015).

 

 

2. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need to Facilitate Community Risk Ownership.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

 

The world today is increasingly interconnected and interdependent; moreover, these evolving changes in, and the interactions between, the social, built, and physical environments, produce complex and dynamic risks. Yet, it is the complex nature of the multiple interactions, along with their non-linear nature and emergent properties which are consequential. The study and application of the patterns of relationships and their constituent parts is therefore vital to understanding risk and devising appropriate means to reduce it. Beyond awareness, the emergency management professional of 2030 will require an appreciation of the interconnectedness in global systems, recognition of interdependencies, exhibit a collective awareness, and be able to distinguish patterns in the next generation of networking.

 

3. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need to Understand Complex Systems.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

 

A disciplined intellectual process, critical thinking is fundamental to guide sound decision making in an increasingly complex environment. The cogent approach is based on ideals of evidence, relevance, clarity, depth, breadth, accuracy, consistency, and fairness. The progression identifies, analyzes, synthesizes, applies, and evaluates data on all sides of the argument toward problem solving and informed actions.

 

4. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need to be capable of Critical Thinking.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

 

By 2030, it is expected that leadership roles will migrate toward collective over individual leadership. Next generation leaders are advocates of ideas that encourage collaboration and improvements. Team Building will require effective communication capabilities that foster a shared vision within and across organizations, and engender an end-user focus. A proficiency in information processing will be a central management feature, coupled with operating technology and financial systems. Overall, the direction is likely to be outcome oriented, seeking continuous improvement in processes. Hence, translating vision into reality by empowering others to collaborate in a common endeavor will be essential to the practice of emergency management in 2030.

 

 

5. In 2030, emergency management professionals will continue to need Leadership, Team Building, and Management abilities.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

 

The totality of ways by which we organize our collective lives is commonly referred to as governance; whether it is through casual arrangements between neighbors or formal government processes. In our increasingly globalized world, stakeholders need to be acknowledged, and they might extend far beyond national borders. Such interdependence adds new levels of complexity to risk governance. Advocacy for risk reduction and an ability to influence stakeholders and decision makers will become increasingly vital for emergency management professionals.

 

6. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need Civics Literacy/Governance.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

A widely accepted definition states that scientific literacy is “the capacity to use scientific knowledge, to identify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions in order to understand and help make decisions about the natural world and the changes made to it through human activity” (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2004, pp. 132–133). Through the scientific process, we are given an objective means to work through complex problems with multiple stakeholders. The informative approach will become increasingly essential for decision making by emergency management professionals.

 

 

7. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need Scientific Literacy.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

Understanding of the Potential Applications for Evolving Technologies

 

Emergency management professionals in 2030 will need to be open to value-adding partnerships and informal influence within, between, and across organizational boundaries in order to harness the potential of converging technologies. They will need to know enough to be able to recognize and evaluate the potential of any new technology, to act as mediators between collaborating institutions and scientific fields, to keep projects focused, and to acknowledge competing views of different team members.

 

8. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need an Understanding of the Potential Applications for Evolving Technologies.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?

 

The interconnections, interactions, and implications of environments are becoming increasingly significant. Specific aptitude is already necessary to use geographic understanding and geographic reasoning to make far-reaching decisions, and will become more important by 2030. Foundational understanding of natural hazards, geographic configurations, and social components are essential in determining day to day precautions for natural and man-made hazards.

 

9. In 2030, emergency management professionals will need Geographic Literacy.

a. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Please explain in the box below.

b. What additional comments do you have on this competency?