Designing a resilience network for inter-organizational partnerships in disasters

The shortcomings in multiorganizational collaboration and coordination in disasters necessitate a resilience network to facilitate all parties' involvement which is the aim of this study.

This study began with a comparative review of disaster management networks in ten countries to identify responsible entities and their functions. The advantages of each country for designing a network for public-private partnerships were benchmarked. The initial network was validated through focus group discussions and interviews.

The research revealed that governments typically assume responsibility for disaster management through multiorganizational councils, workgroups, etc., often using the network administrative organization (NAO) approach, with varying autonomy for Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and private sectors (PSs). The proposed network consists of four inter-organizational coordination groups at the national, state, county, city/town and local levels, each with predefined roles, responsibilities and mutual communication. Voluntary groups called "CHEED" and local resiliency councils collaborate with public entities, such as coordinating groups and liaison offices, to organize participants and ensure their competency.

The proposed resilience network provides policymakers with situation-based responses within central, administrative and participatory governance contexts. By integrating NAO, lead organization-governed network (LOGN) and participant-governed networks (PGN) governance forms, the network ensures effective collaboration among public, private and voluntary entities across all disaster phases. This approach can improve the overall resilience and efficiency of disaster management through practical restructuring and by granting legitimacy to participants in future exercises.

The proposed resilience network is unique in its comprehensive, multi-tiered structure that integrates all entities from local to national levels in all disaster phases, enhancing disaster management through effective public-private partnerships.