Understanding readiness metrics for the humanitarian operations through literature review
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Authors
Apte, Aruna
Subjects
Metrics
Humanitarian logistics
Readiness
Humanitarian logistics
Readiness
Advisors
Date of Issue
2019-10-01
Date
1 October 2019
Publisher
Emerald Publishing Limited
Language
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to understand whether an organization knows if it is ready to
respond to a disaster and whether it has the capabilities to deliver relief. Our initial motivation was to identify
unique resources possessed by the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) due to
their unique and critical capabilities for humanitarian operations. The recent frequency of disasters around the
world suggests these events will continue to create demand for relief capabilities. For this reason we need to
understand readiness metrics not just for USN and USMC but for humanitarian organizations (Hos) in general.
Design/methodology/approach – We survey relevant literature for understanding how HOs define and
develop readiness metrics and associated factors. We studied documents including peer-reviewed scholarly
articles, government documents, white papers, research papers and Department of Defense (DoD) briefings. We
study literature that is significantly written for DoD, one, the vast experience of USN and USMC and two, the
lessons learned have been documented. The literature offers substantial information on what readiness means
and why it is important. This documented information is critical because it is known to the researchers in
humanitarian operations that data is hard to come by.
Findings –The framework for readiness proposed at the end of this article is context the emergency responder
probably uses in an informal fashion. The validation of readiness framework, we find exists in the supporting
literature we review.
Originality/value – The understanding of readiness metrics for humanitarian operations for the
organizations we study may offer insight into other HOs. The insights we gain may not be pivotal or
counterintuitive to the conclusions based on commonsense. However, they are supported by the literature
review. We formalize the concept based on conclusions of a set of diverse set of researchers and practitioners
such as academic scholars, DoD personnel and government officials involved in humanitarian missions,
USAID representatives that are repeatedly tasked for being ready, military and government officers from host
and foreign countries and many more.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JHLSCM-08-2018-0059
Series/Report No
Department
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Acquisition Research Program at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
NPS Foundation
NPS Foundation
Format
25 p.
Citation
Apte, Aruna. "Understanding readiness metrics for the humanitarian operations through literature review." Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (2020).
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, it may not be copyrighted.