Smart practices in building interorganizational collaborative capacity to strengthen the Florida Comprehensive Disaster Management enterprise

Abstract

This research demonstrates how the building of Interorganizational Collaborative Capacity served as an enabler for effective change efforts in Florida and constructs a narrative describing smart practices that may be leveraged by other professionals to enhance their own interorganizational collaborative capacity and efficiency efforts. Florida is viewed by many professionals as one of the best-prepared states in the field of emergency management. It built a credible reputation over the past 20 years through increasingly effective responses to catastrophic hurricanes, floods, tornados, wildfires, tropical storms and environmental threats. In particular, the Florida State Emergency Response Team evolved during this time as a result of many change efforts following the initial response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, an event viewed by many as the initial starting point for the creation of the modern Florida emergency management era. This research examines Florida's Comprehensive Disaster Management evolution from 1992 to 2004 using after-action reports for major emergency events utilizing Hocevar, Thomas and Jansen's model of Inter-organizational Collaborative Capacity and focuses on the factors that served as catalysts for increased interagency cooperation and efficiency.