The Disaster Resource Library: Change Management in a Decentralized Environment – Hutchison
Abstract:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Interagency Coordination Division (ICD) is responsible for collaborating and coordinating across Federal agencies to ensure information and resources reach the places they’re needed most when recovering from disaster events. ICD also collaborates within the agency to bring together key divisions like Preparedness and Mitigation with Recovery to ensure that mission support and information is well-rounded when delivered to the field. This work-scape is vast and complex, making rapid and effective coordination a major challenge.
For many years, FEMA has worked with subject matter experts in various disaster operations and Departments/Agencies across Federal government to collect and organize important information that can help State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) governments plan and recover more quickly. Activities include facilitating knowledge about federal and non-federal funding, technical support resources, and making available information that helps to build capabilities within SLTT organizations directly.
Historically, information was housed in separate documents and spreadsheets. Later, an Access database was developed. In 2018, ICD made a key decision to move the Disaster Resource Library to a web-based, collaborative technology customized from Atlassian’s Jira platform. This project has been a great success and has accelerated access, improved information quality and transparency, and increased effectiveness for this important mission delivery activity. Four years later, the library is one of the more comprehensive data sets about Federal government programs available and is consistently leveraged to provide quick access reports and information to various levels of leadership both federally, and at State and Local levels.
Participants will take away:
- A history and evolution of a major Federal initiative
- Some lessons learned from a significant technology implementation
- An understanding of change management strategies that worked in a decentralized environment
PMI Talent Triangle: Technical Project Management (Ways of Working)
