Local Government’s Engagement in Integrating Emergency and ICT Policy Making

Abstract

The role of local authorities has been recognized as a base for improving human security and community well being in the twenty-first century. This role can be enormously improved with the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Emergency management is a fundamental challenge for public administration in any country, particularly at the local level. The problems facing less developed countries, characterized by regional inequalities, are among the greatest challenges facing the world today and this issue is of paramount importance for human security and sustainable development. Local authorities have provided the foundation for the current focus on adequate emergency management in the affected territory. The main goal of the research presented here is to discuss how local authorities could improve the safety of citizens by creating a specific policy which is going to integrate the actions of emergency services and the use of ICTs at the same time. ICTs have the potential to raise local income and improve emergency response at the local level and human security. ICTs can enable a two way communication between citizens and local authorities, potentially resulting in profound changes in local emergency management processes, as well as in the outcomes of social innovation processes. The methodology used in this article is standard for social research: appropriate data is examined in a comparative/historical analysis in this “desktop study”. The results confirm that there has been a consistent institutional and political lag in local public administration, which has yet to recognize emergency management in the mainstream of its activities or use ICTs in an adequate scope in the process of enhancing human security in communities.