(NOTE: WEB FORMATING TO BE DONE)
DPRC's Vision:
The integration of disaster management planning and community and regional planning towards the sustainability of communities.
DPRC's Mission:
To support research in disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery through interdisciplinary collaboration and to integrate this knowledge into planning and disaster management practices.
DPRC's Goal:
To be the leading Western Canadian Centre in disaster and hazards research.
The DPRC Unit:
The Disaster Preparedness Resources Centre is a unit of the School of Community and Regional Planning. It provides resources to students in the School, as well as to students and faculty in other university departments, who are working in the area of disaster preparedness and management. The DPRC also maintains links to and shares its resource collection with private industry, government departments, and community organizations.
DPRC's S.W.O.T.
Strengths:
It has a collection of reports, maps, videos, and publications not readily found in other UBC libraries.
It provides a network for collaborative work with other UBC faculty members working in the area of disaster.
It provides an interdisciplinary focus to disaster management.
It has been in existence for over 10 years and has well-established partnerships with local and national government agencies, industry, business, and community organizations.
It has provided SCARP students an opportunity to be involved in the many conferences and research projects which it has initiated.
It has a record of supporting successful M.A. and Ph.D. graduates.
It has published numerous articles, research findings, and abstract collections based on the research, conferences, and workshops which the DPRC has undertaken.
Weaknesses:
Lack of a full-time tenured faculty member dedicated to disaster management research and teaching.
Lack of integration with other project work conducted at CHS.
Lack of sustainable funding for a long-term manager position and for payment of support staff when engaged in large conference/project work.
Lack of student concentration in this area largely due to a lack of sufficient related core courses.
Insufficient funding for resource material purchases for the reading room collection.
Opportunities:
The possibility of seeking an endowed chair in this research area through the 21st Century Chairs program.
Increasing interest in this area due to world-wide focus on the need for better pre- and post-disaster planning and management.
Interest in developing a certificate/degree program in this area.
Interest of recent SCARP graduate(s) in developing the teaching and research capacity of SCARP in this area.
There is no other degree-granting program in disaster management in Canada at this point.
The Justice Institute's proposed training programs for Canadian disaster managers could lead directly to further education in a UBC certificate program.
The possibility of implementing a placement program for an interdisciplinary student outreach team to respond to actual disaster events. This would involve pre-training, hands-on experience, and debriefing.
Threats:
Total dependence on project grants because of the time lag between initiating ideas for research and actually receiving funding to implement them
Competition from other Canadian programs considering implementing certificate/degree programs in disaster management.
The demise of the DPRC as a research unit without sufficient operating funds to develop.
Stagnation of the DPRC resource collection due to lack of funding.
DPRC's Goals and Strategies
Teaching:
Integration of disaster management courses into the curriculum of the masters program.
Provide internships and coop opportunities during actual disaster events.
Expand options for obtaining a certificate in disaster management to meet the demand from practitioners for ongoing professional development.
In order to be able to offer an area of concentration for SCARP students, several courses would need to be developed and taught as outlined in Boxes 2.1 and 2.2.
Box 2.1
Core Course: An Overview of Disaster Management
Disaster Planning a session outlining the terminology, scope and phases of a disaster, the history of disaster management in Canada, the importance of the management process, the roles of an emergency planning committee, and the goal of disaster management in sustainable hazard mitigation.
Legislation, Roles and Responsibilities an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the various levels of government, municipal agencies, and NGOs, and the Acts which govern these roles, as well as the partnership role business and industry can play in emergency preparedness.
Hazard, Impact, Risk and Vulnerabilities (HIRV) Process 1)defining and identifying hazards, impacts, risks and vulnerabilities with respect to disaster and ensuring public participation in the process; 2)defining and identifying the elements of impact assessment; 3) the risk management process, mitigation strategies, and the roles and responsibilities of the Mitigation Subcommittee.
Emergency Response roles and responsibilities of an Emergency Response Subcommittee, an Emergency Operations Centre, BCERMS, ICS, and other emergency operations organizations.
Planning for Evacuation and Emergency Response warning-and-alert systems, Evacuation Plans, post-impact plans, and principles of search and rescue.
Recovery, Reconstruction and Renewal characteristics of the recovery phase, the recovery plan, business recovery planning, records preservation, reconstruction phase and plan, and municipal recovery planning.
Emotional Recovery identifying stressors, understanding a critical incident, symptoms of acute stress, the debriefing process, and planning to deal with traumatic stress.
Crisis Management and Public Relations characteristics and principles of crisis management, including a Crisis Management Plan, an Emergency Public Information Plan and developing positive media relations.
Education, Training and Exercises goals and trends of emergency training, types and designs of exercises and roles and responsibilities of the Education, Training and Exercise Sub-Committees.
Challenges and Opportunities leadership styles, decision-making strategies, problem-solving techniques, program planning tools, legal issues in emergency management, technology applications to emergency management, and personal motivations.
Box 2.2
Specific Disaster Management Courses or Modules
Crisis Communications:
This course would review Crisis, Emergency, and Disaster Communication Theory, and would develop an understanding of Risk Communication with case studies in dealing with various print and broadcast media. Students would gain an understanding of the key elements of a Communications Plan and would have the opportunity to develop personal communication skills in making oral and written presentations, as well as developing interviewing skills with different media.
Community Recovery:
After a major disaster, communities are faced with the dilemma of trying to determine whether to repair, rebuild, or to relocate buildings and infrastructure in heavily damaged areas. Students taking this course will have an opportunity to look at various case studies where communities have taken different types of action and the role of public participation in determining the course of community recovery. Particular attention will be given to the means of involving vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the recovery planning process.
Mitigation
As the focus in disaster management shifts from response and rescue towards sustainable hazard mitigation, there is a serious need to look at various mitigation strategies and their effectiveness. Students will have an opportunity to look at the results of numerous case studies such as, the passing of the Los Angeles Retrofit Ordinance, the relocation of homes along the Mississippi, and the Red River floodway. Various means of evaluating the costs and benefits of mitigation strategies will be discussed.
Dealing with Vulnerable Populations:
The aged, the poor, children, and those from ethnic and cultural minorities often suffer the most during disasters and have less access to government assistance post-disaster. This course will examine the social and economic impacts of disasters around the world and examine how land-use policies can lessen the impact pre-disaster and outreach and other programs can hasten recovery post-disaster.
Hazard, Impact, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis
The cornerstone of the disaster management process is the Hazard, Impact, Risk and Vulnerability (HRV) analysis. In order to develop effective land-use plans, implement effective mitigation strategies, and develop community resilience, it is essential to use an adequate HRV analysis. This course will examine various HRV analyses models and focus on the application of the HIRV model at the community and neighbourhood level.
Field Practicum
Students would have an opportunity to attend and provide services to a disaster-struck community in North America for a two to three week assignment as part of the Canadian Red Cross volunteer disaster assistance program. Students would receive extensive instruction prior to leaving the disaster site and debriefing upon their return.
Research:
DPRC Goals and Strategies
Integrate disaster management planning and community and regional planning for sustainability of communities.
Establish an area of concentration regarding disaster management at SCARP at the masters level.
Integrate disaster preparedness and sustainable hazards mitigation objectives into CHS and SCARP projects.
Strengthen research associate and faculty participation in DPRC projects.
Provide real world research opportunities for SCARP students.
Develop DPRC resources in disaster planning to respond to the needs of planning students.
Assist in community recovery by coordinating collaborative student projects in post-disaster field placements.
Develop DPRC's role as the leading Western Canadian centre for research in disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.
Contribute to Canadian research in the field of disaster management by soliciting funding and publishing work with a Canadian focus.
Develop collaborative international partnerships for conferences, symposiums, workshops and research on disaster issues.
DPRC Themes
Development of Canadian government policy towards mitigation of hazards reduction, including the BC strategy for earthquake preparedness.
Hazard assessment - making a contribution to the document, "Assessment of Natural Hazards in Canada" (supported by Environment Canada and Emergency Preparedness Canada) and supporting a BC perspective.
Disaster impact on communities, especially communities in British Columbia.
Recovery and contingency planning.
International exchange on disaster preparedness and sustainability planning.
International community capacity building for disaster preparedness and management.