Exercise and Evaluation Programming - Sell with WHY?
In Canada, it is typically the community that is responsible for emergency management as the ‘first line’ of defense’. This means municipal elected officials should have a vision for the emergency management agency, which includes setting priorities and objectives for an agency’s exercise and evaluation program.
Elected officials must be engaged early and often, not only as those responsible for the program (including the budgets) but as actors that will eventually participate in future exercises.
Dependent on the community, its exposure and vulnerabilities to hazards, and their past interactions with emergencies and disasters, it might be a hard sell for a manager to convince their council that a multi-year exercise and evaluation plan is needed.
The Sales Pitch
Sales tactics are not normally included in emergency management training and most emergency managers don’t go into the job thinking they will be part of the political cycle, but every so often a sales pitch needs to be made to politicians in order to secure resources.
Before embarking on an ask that might require additional, or a reallocation of, funding, additional staff, or help from other departments consider the following:
Start with ‘WHY’!
* Emergency managers need to understand why an exercise and evaluation program is needed so they can connect the need to other council priorities and strategies.
* If council can see a connection to the why, an emergency manager’s passion for the program should do a lot of the selling on its own. When emergency manager’s can demonstrate they are not just serving themselves, but a bigger cause, the chance of sustainability is higher.
Questions to consider
· What is important about this request?
· How has my experience prepared me for this situation?
· What challenges do I see?
· What am I willing to risk for the best outcome?
· Is there anyone in my organization that has had success or failed at making pitches to council? What can be learned?
· What would amazing results look like?
· What has prepared me for a successful outcome?
For more information on why I coach and how I can help visit my about page.
Brad Ison is a professional disaster and emergency management coach. He’s held various position specific roles in the Alberta Provincial Operations Centre and is Director, Training for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. To find out more contact Brad directly by emailing him at brad@bradison.ca. You can also learn more about Brad here.