Introduction

A framework for
improving operational
effectiveness and cost
efficiency in emergency
planning and response

The basic goal of a disaster response organization is to minimize effectively the impact of
the disaster. Conceptual issues of dealing with
natural and technological disasters are
increasingly becoming well defined, as evidenced in work by Cutter[1], Lagadec[2,3],
and Drabek and Hoetmer[4], among others.
This article complements this conceptual
work by proposing a practical framework
within which disaster management efforts[5]
can balance operational effectiveness and cost
efficiency. This article is based on the concept
that disaster response effectiveness and efficiency occur best through systematic planning
which includes components covering costs
projections, procurement planning and
resource mobilization. Making response
efforts cost efficient results in a better matching of available resources to the requirements
for effective response.

Charles Kelly

The author
Charles Kelly is a Disaster Management Consultant in
Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
Presents a practical framework within which disaster
response operational effectiveness can be balanced with
cost efficiency. This balancing is accomplished through a
systematic proactive planning of response requirements,
costs projections, procurement and resource mobilization.
The framework is useful in general disaster response
planning and in the development of cost-efficient procedures for supporting disaster response efforts. It is generic
and can be adapted to local conditions and requirements.

Effective and efficient disaster

management
Cost-is-no-object disaster management
Confronting a disaster often involves a liberal
application of resources[3, p. 228]. The public has little patience with penny-pinching
when lives and property are at risk. Explicit
limits on efforts to save lives or providing
relief are uncommon. Disaster managers
expect criticism for providing too little, rather
than too much.
However, a cost-is-no-object approach to
disaster management is unrealistic. First, a
no-cost-limit philosophy ignores that an
organizations financial resources are finite.
While cost may not be seen as a factor during
an operation, the bills eventually need to be
paid through higher prices/lower profits,
taxation, borrowing or printing more money.
Inefficient (i.e. wasteful) expenditures
increase the financial burden of a disaster and
draw resources unnecessarily from recovery
efforts and normal economic activities.
Second, expectations of a no-cost-limit
disaster operation encourage several dysfunctional disaster management strategies. These
include:

This article is an expansion of a presentation

made at the Emergency Planning 93 Conference,
Lancaster, UK, July 1993.

Disaster Prevention and Management

Volume 4 Number 3 1995 pp. 2531
MCB University Press ISSN 0965-3562

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Improving operational effectiveness and cost efficiency

Disaster Prevention and Management

Charles Kelly

Volume 4 Number 3 1995 2531

poor preparations, resulting in a lack of

resources when needed (we do not have
one and there is no time to buy it);
under investment before a disaster (we
will buy it when we need it); and
expensive or unnecessary procurement
during a disaster (it is the only one available or if we do not get it now we will
never have one).

Efficiency meansresources are well matched

to the problem. On the other hand, you can
effectively solve the problem in an inefficient
way, by tossing many things at the problem,
even if you overuse resources[3].

Improving the match between resources and

needs requires a positive management of the
procurement (i.e. cost) aspects of responding
to disasters. The disaster management structure needs to manage the disaster rather than
operate reactively. Planning provides guidance specific to a possible disaster situation,
reduces uncertainties in mounting a response,
permits the identification (and prepositioning) of possible resource requirements and
provides data on which to formulate
response-funding requirements.
During a disaster, detailed plans may be
less important than an organizational capacity
to adapt to changing conditions and a flexibility in the implementation of policies, plans
and procedures[3, pp. 224-5]. At the same
time, an organizational ability to modify and
update response plans and revise resource
needs and procurements plans are critical to a
flexible and adaptive operation[2].

These dysfunctional strategies cause time to

be spent organizing support for a response
operation during a disaster at the expense of
activities with a direct impact on victims
health and safety. In the worse case, a disaster
response focuses on its own administrative
problems and provides no aid to the victims of
the real disaster[2].
Third, while a cost-is-no-object strategy
may be espoused publicly, general pressure to
restrain all types of expenditures can be
expected to increase. Recurrent and noncritical costs are coming under severe pressure. Substantial aid may be expected once a
disaster occurs. However, the effective use of
these resources will be difficult if the means to
plan, train and organize the use of these additional resources are lacking before the disaster.
Fourth, procedures for the rapid disbursement of funds frequently are inadequate.
Public statements of no limit to what can be
done immediately to address a disaster contrast with financial and procurement policies
which are inappropriate for rapid action.
Time required to deal with this inadequacy
exacerbates the administrative problems
noted above.
Finally, post-disaster legal problems can
develop if a poor management of resources
results in a waste of funds or unnecessary
losses. These problems range from waste,
fraud and mismanagement to criminal and
civil proceedings against those believed to be
responsible for an ineffective response.
The problems with a cost-is-no-object
approach to disaster management presents
major limitations on efforts to mitigate disaster. The approach is wasteful, can lead to
unnecessary suffering and, possibly, an
increase in lives lost.

Disaster operations cost management

framework
The disaster operations cost management
framework provided below focuses on the use
of policy statements, performance expectations and disaster response plans to delineate
resource requirements for disaster management efforts[6]. The frameworks planning
and support activities operate within a larger
management structure which places appropriate emphasis on planning, operations and
recovery as required for a specific disaster.
The framework is appropriate for planning
and responding to natural, technological and
social disasters.
The framework is particularly useful in
laying the basis for political approval of disaster plans, developing financial and procurement plans and evaluating the effectiveness of
disaster response operations. Data developed
in implementing the framework can identify
financially and operationally efficient procedures and provide justification for investments
in disaster preparedness.
The framework is divided into eight elements, each covering a different step of the
management process. The framework com-

Disaster management effectiveness and

efficiency
Disaster management need not be efficient to
be effective.
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Charles Kelly

Volume 4 Number 3 1995 2531

plements commonly used disaster planning

formats.

Approval can be accomplished in several

ways, depending on the political, social and
economic situation. Whatever the process, it
is important there be acknowledged (i.e.
written) acceptance by the party empowered
to finance disaster management activities.

Set the agenda

The initial element of the framework is setting
an agenda. The agenda identifies clients
expectations for the management of disasters.
Clients include political and administrative
authorities, but the term refers generally to
the public for whom disaster management is
provided and who eventually foot the bill.
The agenda provides a broad statement of
purpose which reflects the cultural and social
values of those for whom the disaster management service is being provided[10]. The
agenda-setting process also permits a ranking
of priorities for disaster response (e.g. life
saving as more important than limiting property damage).

Develop operational strategies and

requirements
The objectives statement provides guidance
for developing operational strategies and
tactics to address each type and level of
expected disaster. Disaster management
organizations accomplish this process through
the preparation of preparedness, operations or
contingency plans. Regardless of their form,
plans should include the following information by level of expected disaster threat:
(1) expected numbers of lives at threat without action;
(2) expected injuries, by severity (minor,
debilitating, severe) without action;
(3) expected damages and losses to property
and goods (value estimates) without
action;
(4) losses in value of services from an event
without action;
(5) actions to be taken, by type and unit cost;
and
(6) expected reduction in losses/damage
(cost/loss assessment) as the result of
planned actions.

Determine objectives
A set of management objectives is derived
from the disaster management agenda. The
objectives are intended as a guide to the overall response to disaster. They are presented
through a statement of purpose and rank
expected disasters in terms of importance (to
the clients and specialists) and response
priorities. The objectives should include
broad performance expectations reflecting the
cultural norms of the operational area or a
political mandate.
The statement should be comprehensive,
non-technical and concise. It should avoid
specific disaster management strategies or
excessive detail, which can be covered in
annexes. Strategies and tactics are covered in
operational plans based on the objectives
statement.
The setting of objectives provides an
opportunity to identify possible disasters
which have a low public profile or for which
the public perception appears to underestimate risks. This can best be accomplished by
a specialist review of the agenda and objectives.

The information provided in the first four

items summarizes the anticipated impact of
an expected disaster. Item (5) is a costing of
the assistance necessary to address the expected disaster. This information is drawn from
the operational response plans, which specify
what resources are to be used and in what
order.
For disaster events where there has been
little local experience, role-playing an event
with experienced response personnel can
generate (and validate) cost data. A postoperations review can provide the basis for
developing operational procedures and a
catalogue of required resources. This information can be used to formulate complete
operations plans[11].
Item (6) is an assessment of the effectiveness of the expected response operation. This
item may not always show the proposed disaster response to be 100 per cent effective. A
certain level of loss may be acceptable, as
defined by the agenda-setting process,

Secure approval
Once a disaster management objectives statement has been developed, formal approval
should be secured. The approval ensures the
objectives correspond to expectations and
alerts clients to possible disasters which are
new, unexpected or different from those
perceived.
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Charles Kelly

Volume 4 Number 3 1995 2531

particularly where damage from a type of

disaster is frequent and has been incorporated
as part of the local economic system[12].
For high magnitude/infrequent disasters,
the costs of total prevention may not be justified by the expected event frequency. In this
case, an event is planned for it is acknowledged that the event may occur and some
contingency plans are developed but political and public expectations (as presented in
the disaster management objectives statement) do not anticipate that the disaster
management organization can prevent significant damage.
The information and assessments developed in items (1) to (6) can be set out as a
separate document, although this information
would be part of any well thought-out
response plan. Item (5) also forms the basis
for a resource mobilization list, as discussed
below.
The data in items (1) to (6) can be formatted into a table summarizing impacts of
expected events, requirements to mitigate
events and expected losses (or lack of losses)
from a successful response. Such a document
is useful in explaining cost and benefit tradeoffs and to support funding requests.

deniable (i.e. undocumented) changes from

the expectations set forth in the agenda/objectives setting process.
Mobilize resources
With approval of operations plans the process
of mobilizing resources can begin[14].
Resource mobilization includes procurement
of, or making arrangements and plans for,
personnel, services and equipment needed to
manage a disaster.
Resource mobilization should be planned
to consider funding availabilities, operational
requirements (based on the risk and potential
impacts of an expected disaster) and training/personnel requirements (e.g. the need for
skilled personnel to operate specialized equipment). Core to making disaster response
more cost efficient is minimizing the need to
develop procurement plans and negotiate
budgets in the intense disaster response period.
Considerable lead time may exist before
the projected funding is actually needed, if
only because many bills will not need to be
paid until after the disaster. This payment
delay means a commitment of funds (i.e. the
authority to order) and is more important
than an actual transfer of funds in the early
stages of a response operation.
The cost of disaster mobilization can be
divided into four groups[15]:
(1) Core and recurrent costs expenditures for
a basic capacity to respond to expected
disasters; normally met through funding
warning systems, core staffing, training
and commodities such as radios, specialized vehicles and protective equipment.
(2) Mutual assistance costs unreimbursed
costs associated with an organizations
response under terms of a mutual aid
agreement. These costs can be significant
and need to be either budgeted or
approved as needed.
(3) Co-operating party costs costs of mutual
assistance from other organizations not
normally charged to the agency receiving
assistance.
(4) Operations costs additional staffing,
services and commodities related directly
to a disaster response operation or to
reinstating an organization to its predisaster status. These costs are developed as
part of a disaster operations plan, as
described above. The funds to meet these

Confirm approval for disaster management plans

On completion, an additional review of the
operational strategies and requirements is
necessary. This review is the first (and probably only) opportunity for authorities to see the
requirements and costs of the disaster management objectives approved previously.
The review should focus on the information identified in items (1) to (6) (above), with
specific attention to the costs involved in
addressing potential disasters and the expected effectiveness (item (6) prevention of
losses and damage) of the plans. The responsible authorities either accept the levels of
losses expected and the level of inputs
required, or change the objectives of the
management effort.
Several revisions of the disaster management strategy and operational documents
may be necessary. If changes result in modifications of the management objectives, care
must be taken to ensure the impact of the
changes are clear to those who set the initial
objectives. The objectives, plans and cost/loss
estimates are built on sand if they are based on
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Volume 4 Number 3 1995 2531

costs are needed only as a disaster event

begins.

The ICS is a comprehensive task organization structure which covers all the staff, operations and support requirements associated
with response operations. Under ICS,
response efforts are divided into command
and line (operations, planning, logistics and
finance) responsibilities. At the least, ICS
provides a checklist covering all tasks which
must be accomplished for a complete
response to a disaster.
In this framework, the ICS planning section uses resource mobilization plans to call
forward resources from the finance (procurement) and logistics (supply) sections, as and
when required[16]. All three units work from
the same mobilization plan. The planning
section monitors operations and works with
the operations section on staging resources
and revises the resource requirements
depending on the success or failure of the
operation[17]. The review of operations is a
critical task of the planning section. This
periodic assessment provides information to
revise resource mobilization plans developed
before the disaster. If the resource mobilization plan has been comprehensive (and the
projections of requirements accurate), then
the periodic revisions of the plan should only
involve changes in delivery timing and quantities of resources required. If assessments
indicate the plan is no longer appropriate, the
planning section would revise the mobilization requirements and forward new plans to
the operations, finance and logistics sections
for action.
The planning section is also charged with
scheduling the close-down of operations. This
schedule, a resource demobilization plan,
serves to minimize expenditures through a
timely cessation of procurement actions
(paying off unneeded personnel and service
providers, demobilizing volunteers and mutual assistance and halting off-the-shelf and
other commodity procurement).
Given the compressed time frame in most
disaster response efforts, a mobilization backlog can be expected. Early demobilization will
release unneeded resources in a mobilization
pipeline quickly, thus minimizing costs.

In planning expenditures attention needs to

be paid to procurement procedures. Procurement options include special and off-the-shelf
purchases, stand-by agreements, mutual aid,
conscription and volunteers. Under most
circumstances a mixture of the techniques will
be used[15].
Using procurement methods effectively
requires resource requirements (including
specifications, procedures and legal authorities) to be developed before a disaster. Preparing specifications, concluding contracts,
developing stand-by agreements, training
volunteers and assembling inventories of offthe-shelf items in the predisaster phase is
easier and less costly than trying to define,
locate and procure supplies and services
during a disaster.
The output format of the resource
mobilization exercise depends on the organizations specific disaster plan format. The
information on procurement requirements,
sources, costs and procedures should be part
of each specific disaster response plan,
complementing or forming a part of the
resource requirements list developed in item
(4) of the framework. The resource mobilization information needs to be available readily
to the operations manager, as resource mobilization is a key to mitigating or preventing
disaster.
Circulating mobilization plans (modified to
protect proprietary information) to parties
involved in the plans implementation is
recommended. Providing edited plans to
potential suppliers, particularly those from
whom off-the shelf and conscripted resources
may be required, is also useful. This provides
for an informal check of the plans accuracy
(Are the 25 MT cranes really available?)
and serves to alert suppliers of their possible
involvement in response operations.
Support operations
The manner in which disaster response operations are conducted depends on a number of
factors, including the type of disaster, standard procedures, roles and mandates of the
response organizations and local conditions.
For the purpose of this framework some
structure similar to the incident command
system (ICS)[7] is anticipated.

Post operations review

Post-operations reviews are a standard part of
any response effort. For the purposes of this
framework, the review should cover the following elements:
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(1) the accuracy of the resource mobilization

plan, particularly the requirement and
specification statements;
(2) the appropriateness of the procurement
procedures employed; and
(3) the identification of new commodities,
skills and services which should be available to improve response to a similar
disaster.

The framework is generic. Variations and

adaptations of the guidelines are necessary to
fit local conditions. However, modifications
need to retain the principle that efforts spent
in preparing for a disaster will provide for
more effective and efficient management in
the event of a disaster and lower losses and
less suffering on the part of the victims.

The results of a post-operations review should

be used to revise specific disaster
operations/response plans. They can also
provide input on changes to an entitys management agenda, objectives, strategies and
tactics. Whatever changes are made, a new
confirmation of political approval may be
needed and changes to the operations
resource mobilization plans necessary.
The third element of the post-operation
review provides data to justify investments in
preparedness (training, equipment, personnel), to the extent that a review shows resolvable weaknesses. A review of all plans following an actual disaster is recommended as the
experience of one disaster can identify necessary changes in the other plans.
Finally, the resource mobilization plans
need to be reviewed and revised periodically.
Changes in the plans can be dictated by periodic changes in the guiding operations plans
or response policies and objectives. Updating
resource availability and price information is
probably necessary biannually.

Notes and references

1 Cutter, S.L., Living with Risk, The Geography of
Technological Hazards, Edward Arnold, New York, NY,
1993.
2 Lagadec, P., Preventing Chaos in a Crisis: Strategies
for Prevention, Control and Damage Limitation,
translated by Phelps, J.M., McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
New York, NY, 1993.
3 Lagadec, P., States of Emergency: Technological
Failures and Social Destabilization, translated by
Phelps, J.M., Butterworth-Heinemann, London, 1990.
4 Drabek, T.E. and Hoetmer, G.J., Emergency Management: Principles and Practices for Local Government,
International City Management Association, Washington, DC, 1991.
5 This article focuses on the operational response to
disaster. Herein, disaster management refers to the
planning and conduct of urgent operations to mitigate
or prevent a specific disaster. The cost-management
concepts described in the article can be used in other
phases of disaster response, such as supporting
decisions on mitigation measures such as insurance
and structural protection.
6 These guidelines are based on material in Drabek and
Hoetmer[4], Fire Protection Publications[7], Office for
Foreign Disaster Assistance[8] and United States
Agency for International Development[9], as well as
the authors experiences in disaster management
activities.

Conclusion
The framework presented in this article can
help disaster managers improve the cost
efficiency of disaster management while
improving disaster response effectiveness.
The framework provides for the integration of
a structured resource mobilization process
into the development and implementation of
disaster management plans.
The framework makes the disaster management effort more efficient by making the
predisaster planning more complete. This
planning approach will also assure a better
availability of resources during a disaster, as
resource requirements are reflected in, and
are part of, response plans. The result will be
that more effort can be directed towards
management of the disaster rather than
administrative support tasks.

7 Fire Protection Publications, Field Operations Guide

(ICS 420-1), Incident Command System Publication,
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 1983.
8 Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, Comprehensive
Emergency Management, Advanced Technology, Inc.,
for Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, United States
Agency for International Development, Washington,
DC.
9 United States Agency for International Development,
AID Handbooks, Vols 1, 8, 9, and 23, Washington, DC.
10 The manner in which the agenda is developed
depends on the cultural, social and political context in
which the disaster manager and clients exist. Care
should be taken to ensure the agenda is not a selfserving promotion of the needs and preferences of the
disaster manager and his/her organization.
11 Puffenberger, D., personal communication, 1992.

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15 Kelly, C., Organizing effective and efficient procurement to support disaster response activities, forthcoming, 1994.

12 Howe and Cochrane[13] provide a summary of how to

assess economic damage from disasters. These
guidelines may be useful in developing a conceptual
basis from which to project damage from infrequent
disasters.

16 Organization-specific criteria for commodity and

payroll management to prevent theft and misuse of
supplies could be the responsibility of the finance and
logistics sections or a separate audit or oversight unit.

13. Howe, C.W. and Cochrane, H.C., Guidelines for the

Uniform Definition, Identification, and Measurement
of Economic Damage from Natural Hazard Events, with
Comments on Historical Assets, Human Capital and
Natural Capital, Special Publication No. 28, Program
on Environment and Behavior, Institute of Behavioral
science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 1993.

17 Among other publications, suggestions on running the

planning and logistics operations of a major disaster
event can be found in Pagonis[18]. While Pagonis
discusses support for the Gulf War, review of his
experiences is appropriate in view of the similarities
use of scenarios, abrupt initiation of operations,
personnel limitations, rapid mobilization and demobilization of diverse resources, use of local resources
and hostile environments between military and
disaster response operations.

14 The resource mobilization process will probably require

participation of procurement, contracting and legal
specialists. From experience, the time required to
complete the first set of resource mobilization plans
can be significant and should be seen as a learning
experience for all involved. Because of this learning
experience, consideration should be given to keeping
the team which completed the first planning exercise
together to complete the rest of the resource mobilization plans.

18 Pagonis, W.G. and Cruikshank, J.L., Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the
Gulf War, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA,
1992.

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