“Tell me and I forget, teach me, and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Why do we conduct exercises? We test and validate capabilities and identify our strengths and limitations. The next logical step is to fix areas that limited our capacity to respond, although often times we fail to implement changes indicated as a result of the exercise. Why? One of the most significant reasons is lack of funding. That is why improvement planning needs to begin even prior to planning for a particular exercise. Rather, funding should be identified in the program management phase of the HSEEP cycle. Actually securing the funding, however, can be challenging. After-action reports from previous exercises can provide the greatest investment…show more content… While the matrix is a summary of the improvement plan, we all know that a matrix alone does not constitute a plan. The improvement plan needs to be comprehensive, identifying all aspects of the improvement — some of which may be very simple while others may be very complex. The complexities need to be identified as do the barriers to success. Some deficiencies identified in the after-action report may need to be further explored as the exercise itself may not have fully validated or assessed them. You may need to break down systems and procedures to fully uncover the reasons they fell short of performing as expected. This type of analysis requires time and recognition that the actual solution won’t be known for certain at the time of publication of the after-action report/improvement plan. That said, be sure to set firm…show more content… As one moves from the field to the emergency operations center, the emphasis switches from command and control to coordination and from a hierarchical to a more networked organizational structure. While there are still discrete tasks that can be measured quantitatively, many others can only be measured qualitatively. For example, how does one measure the effectiveness of inter-agency coordination? Do you consider the number of agencies in the EOC or the number of times two agency representatives talk to each other? Ultimately, the assessment is subjective and based on participants' comments and observed
