SPEA Professor suggests reworking of structure to federal disaster response

School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Charles Wise recently wrote an article calling for a reorganization of federal agencies dealing with disasters and emergencies, something he thinks is needed after the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe. \nIn the article, published in the May issue of Public Administration Review, Wise cites the federal response to Hurricane Katrina as the most recent major indicator that the traditional system currently in use is not working.\nWise traces the problems to planning and management. The hierarchical system follows directions from the top, Wise states in the article. Almost all of the first responders to an emergency are from local or state, not federal, agencies. Therefore the hierarchical system is not reflective of how our government works, Wise said, because each agency operates independently and cannot give orders to each other. \n"What I suggest is that what we have instead of a hierarchy is a series of organizations that make up a network," Wise said. "We need an approach that knits together the plans and programs of these networks." \nWise said he suggests adopting an adaptive management approach to resolve the problem. \n"(The government) could then adapt on the fly in an environment of rapid change," Wise said. "Agencies could then plan together and have an ongoing decision-making process to respond to unforeseen circumstances." \nAll potential dangers to homeland security are included in that broad category of unforeseen circumstances, from environmental disasters like Hurricane Katrina to potential terrorist attacks. \nThe article, "Organizing for Homeland Security after Katrina: Is Adaptive Management What's Missing?" is available on the Public Administration Review Web site, http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/par. This is professor Wise's third publication in the highly respected journal. Wise teaches SPEA graduate courses in public organization and management as well as public management law.