Adopting Integrated Emergency Management in the United States: Political and Organizational Challenges

Abstract

U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials have promoted the Integrated Emergency Management System (IEMS) since 1981. IEMS has many components intended to serve all levels of government in developing, maintaining, and managing an efficient and cost-effective emergency management capability. This study analyzes the implementation of IEMS, and based upon interviews, and primary and secondary source information, reports what U.S. local emergency managers think of FEMA's IEMS initiative and how far local governments have gone in adopting IEMS. The author concludes that a variety of factors, which are separate from the IEMS concept itself have impeded FEMA's ability to successfully promote local government implementation of the IEMS approach to emergency management, but that IEMS remains an important move away from narrow purpose, single hazard program orientations of the past, to a broader, functional, and multi-hazard method of emergency management.