Learn more at both the CEMIR's website - www.cemir.org - and their substack site at thecemir.substack.comEmergency Managers can apply Intelligence to their programs, across all five of the mission areas of the National Preparedness Goal (Prevention, Protection, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation). While DHS/FEMA guidance is currently designed for the possible inclusion of Intelligence/Investigation core capabilities in the first two missions (Prevention and Protection), these two aspects are predominantly law-enforcement centric and deal mostly with the threat of terrorism. Emergency Management holistically utilizes many more elements of Intelligence in both their steady-state and disaster-state work. This includes (but is in no way limited to) weather intelligence, geospatial intelligence, critical infrastructure intelligence, healthcare intelligence, communications and data systems intelligence; and of course, first-responder and homeland security intelligence. There is so much more needed for whole community/whole-of-government, all-hazards, and full disaster phase cycle Emergency Management than just information or situational awareness. Sector-specific groups have distinct and unique needs for intelligence, and Emergency Management is in the perfect position to be the nexus point. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has recognized this by including Emergency Management professionals into the Homeland Security Information Network, as well as through the U.S. Fire Administration’s Emergency Management and Response – Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC). By better understanding what is happening and what is likely to happen, both community-based and other organizational Emergency Managers can make better decisions about how to allocate resources and how to protect people. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) in the United States is a set of guidance and best practices, but it is – and should be – constantly evolving and improving. The inclusion now, of communications systems – due in large part to the adverse impacts from cyberthreats – into NIMS typology, is one example of the flexibility of that system. Other nations, such as New Zealand, incorporate Intelligence now more directly on an all-hazards, all-threats basis. Emergency Management Intelligence (EMINT) is the curation – collection, analysis, and distribution – of actionable intelligence, which is needed before, during, and after incidents of scale, emergencies, and disasters. These can be any type: natural/human made, product/process, and/or fictitious disasters. And cascading or complex incidents have additional needs for EMINT themselves. Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) groups, Policy Councils, command and general staff and others, all benefit from a coordinated, concise, and consolidated circular intelligence flow. EMINT is full-cycle – needed and utilized before, during, and after - and supports all of the sections/branches of any Incident Command System (ICS). Concerns about any sensitive, law-enforcement work product, or even classified intelligence distribution can be resolved through the proper structuring, credentialling, and organizing of staff in an Intelligence Branch and beyond. For example, U.S. Coast Guard-led civilian support operations are generally structured to support a deep and wide curation of EMINT, since staff have been pre-vetted and cleared to curate various levels of intelligence. Emergency Managers should build new or refine their existing programs to deliberatively plan for Intelligence, in the same manner as they do for Planning, Logistics, Finance/Administration, and Operations. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecemir.substack.com/subscribe

Full transparency – the voice on the audio is generated by AI, but the text was written by a human.Hello – this is an AI-generated voice representing Mike Prasad from the Center for Emergency Management Intelligence Research or CEMIR. One of the projects we are working on is a concern for equitable feeding choices for infants and toddlers, during disasters.There are currently disparities in the support of family choices for infant/toddler feeding by families, during disasters in the United States. The current federal or national model only supports powdered formula as a possible substitute, in the event of any issues or challenges with breastfeeding or chestfeeding.There may be differences in capabilities and capacity in each state, locality, tribal nation, or territory – also known as the SLTT’s. We are also researching those as well, with the idea that deliberative planning is needed to establish a set of national standards and protocols for the planning, organizing, equipping, training, and exercising for mass care feeding teams in disaster shelters.Researchers at the CEMIR are also developing tactics and methods which could be used by anyone, to further solutions for pediatric feeding during disasters, in their own jurisdictions. Changes, such as the support of durable medical equipment, consumable medical supplies, and personal assistance services, need to be made to the general population sheltering mass care feeding missions conducted at those state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) levels, in order to help protect the health of infants and toddlers adversely impacted by disasters.Prasad recognized through independent practitioner research, that this pediatric disaster feeding concern was a “Pink Slice” or Johari Window problem – something emergency managers  quote unquote did not know they did not know. Research so far has provided a possible non-legislative pathway for change, even though that change will not be implemented via a formal academic advocacy/change model or theory. There are connections to academic models for change theory, such as the Power Politics theory from Mills, which may come into play, for this problem statement and at some point in the researchers pracademic advocacy work. Those CEMIR researchers have focused their advocacy efforts on individuals who could be considered “emergency management elites”, effectively those who are decision-makers, internal influencers, etc.  So far, this has included:-          Limiting advocacy efforts to focused emergency management related groups and not the general public,-          Identifying individuals who have an influence for this specific problem statement – and the policy changes needed in the United States to fix it – and developing or furthering relationships with them, and-          Using the POETE process to provide a strategy of relationship development, communications, collaborations, and continuous improvement with those who have influence.The CEMIR researchers collaborated to further describe the problem statement to the pracademic world, through an article in the Domestic Preparedness Journal on May 10, 2023, which was published by the Texas Division of Emergency Management. A link to the article can be found in the notes for this podcast audio feed. More to come via our Substack site.A book is coming out as well, where we are contributing a chapter. More on that to come, as well. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecemir.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 0 - coming soon: CEMIR Podcasts This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thecemir.substack.com/subscribe