Using a Tabletop Exercise to Evaluate Emergency Management GIS Needs in Ghana

1. Using a Tabletop Exercise to Evaluate Emergency Management GIS Needs in Ghana Brady Scribner GEOG596A – Fall 2 2013 Advisor: Anthony Robinson

3. National Guard State Partnership Program • North Dakota National Guard • Disaster Planning and Preparedness Program • NADMO Formed in 1996 Ghanaian version of FEMA • Comprised of: • 10 regions • 243 districts • Over 900 local offices • Past disasters: • Disease outbreaks • Floods • Invasive pests • Civil unrest One of the first national EOCs in Africa

4. National Guard State Partnership Program • North Dakota National Guard • DP3 • NADMO Development of emergency management GIS in NADMO September 2013 mission to Accra, Ghana to meet DP3 goals • Mission goals: • GIS training • Develop partner relationships • Obtain national data

5. Problem Statement: NADMO GIS capacity in disaster situations requires further development, but we lack knowledge about what the most critical needs are, and to know which stakeholders should be involved in capacity building. Furthermore, NADMO staff should be exposed to a simulated disaster to drive home the need for GIS development. Problem Dimensions

7. Fits NADMO needs and interests • Access to supporting resources • GIS • & • Floods

8. Tabletop Exercise Options

9. Reveals gaps and capabilities • Builds relationships • Trains staff • Generates a list of tasks • Tabletop Exercise

10. Tabletop Exercise Goals

11. City of Fargo • NADMO • City of Fargo • NADMO • Tabletop Exercise Design Initiate policy, procedure, agreement development Facilitate geospatial collaboration Expose staff to emergency GIS tasks Identify various gaps

12. Stewart and Wan’s levels of exercise maturity high maturity Test responses during an emergency Educate staff on emergency plans Test responses and discover alternatives • Discovery Scenario exposure to elicit basic knowledge low maturity

13. Other design aspects to consider • Exercise evaluation requirements and methods • Exercise documentation • Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) training

14. Tabletop Exercise Delivery

15. Timeline of project activities (+ brief statement about 596B presentation venue)

16. Method for evaluating results from exercise • Summarizes scenario • Exercise Evaluation • Allow participants to evaluate the exercise and components • Determines if exercise objectives were met • Evaluation Process • Participant review of discussion presentation • Discuss strengths/gapsof each inject response • Summarizes inject responses and provides observations • Determines if core capabilities were met by responses • Decision makers review and approve report

17. Timeline of project activities (+ brief statement about 596B presentation venue)

18. Putting results into practice (after action brief, etc…) • Prioritizes AAR items • Improvement Plan • Serves as a guide to address identified critical issues • Is the ultimate goal of the tabletop exercise • Improvement Plan Process • Participants review AAR and discuss corrective actions • Improvement Plan is created with input/review from participants • Proposes corrective actions for identified gaps • Actions should be realistic, timely, and measurable • Decision makers review and approve plan

19. Timeline of project activities (+ brief statement about 596B presentation venue)

20. Significance of this project, Limitations of this project

21. Wrap-up, thoughts on ongoing challenges for this project