The role of the private sector in the national response system

Abstract

As indicated by the 9/11 Commission, the private sector accounts for approximately 85% of the critical infrastructure in the United States and accounts for approximately 80% of the gross domestic product. The private sector clearly is the engine that drives U.S. economic vitality, and as such, it is critical that it maintains business continuity in the face of a disaster. Moreover, it is equally important to the private sector that communities affected by a disaster recover as quickly as possible to enable it to conduct normal day-to-day business once again, which drives the bottom-line for most companies. The impact of disasters on economic vitality is readily available in numerous studies. It was estimated that the worldwide economic losses incurred during 2004 due to natural disasters was over $145 billion, or more than twice as much as in 2003. Moreover, disasters such as Hurricane Katrina have highlighted the inadequacies of the national response system when faced with catastrophic disasters and the further inability to incorporate willing participation and resources properly from the private sector. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how response and relief operations at the federal, state and local level can be further improved by providing a better implementation of a network-based methodology for the private sector to participate in the national response framework.