Abstract
It is safe to say that building disaster resilience by preparing for disasters with a business continuity plan is vital for small business to thrive in the long run. More often than not, small business owners invest large sums of money, time, and resources to make their ventures successful and yet, many of them fail to properly plan and prepare for disaster situations. With this problem in mind, Florida International University (FIU) became the house of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Extreme Events Institute (EEI). Together, both institutes have collaborated in their mission to spread disaster resilience and business continuity management knowledge and best practices in an accessible way to small businesses in South Florida and Latin America. By developing and disseminating knowledge, processes and best-practices through several activities and channels such as business consulting and business continuity plan elaboration, Pasantias (Practicums), and the Disaster Resilience Toolkit for Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises, both institutes truly represent FIU’s experience with SMEs and its commitment with entrepreneurship and South Florida’s community.
Highlights
Even as small business owners invest large sums of money, time and resources to succeed, lack of proper planning and preparation for disaster events often leads to significant losses and failed ventures
The quest to involve business schools in disaster risk reduction topics represented an important challenge during the last decade for all actors involved
Looking for windows of opportunity, the Florida International University (FIU)-Events Institute (EEI) DRR program has developed a systematic strategy with two approaches: first, identifying business schools to mainstream the crosscutting topics of disaster risk reduction
Summary
Even as small business owners invest large sums of money, time and resources to succeed, lack of proper planning and preparation for disaster events often leads to significant losses and failed ventures This is especially true for the community of small business owners in South Florida where disaster risk is a constant. Along with the need to develop the entrepreneurial spirit in the region, FIU’s mission has been to spread the knowledge and best practices in disaster resilience and business continuity management to small businesses in an accessible way. Aligned with this mission, FIU became the house of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the Extreme Events Institute (EEI). The EEI brings the latest research on disaster risk for the benefit of the business community, with special emphasis on Small and Medium Enterprises
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