7. Administrative structures

The basic systems of any society rarely can operate independently. Instead, they are dependent and often interdependent upon other entities. Such entities control the resources within their respective systems. Thus, coordination and control agencies require contracts or memoranda of understanding with these entities in order to assure access to the resources required during a crisis. These administrative structures include: (1) governmental institutions and agencies, including the military; (2) intergovernmental organisations; (3) nongovernmental organisations; (4) commercial private sector organisations; and (5) academic institutions. These dependencies create potential barriers to the provision of coordination and control including: (1) the complexity of the administrative structures with which coordination and control must interact; (2) the location of resources; (3) finding responsible person(s); (4) the competence and compatibility; (5) methods of access; (6) payment; (7) contracts and memoranda of understanding; (8) inventories of accessible resources; (9) competition for the mandate, power, and resources; and (10) jealousy. The need for potential interactions between administrative structures requires that agreements for the sharing of resources during crises be reached as part of planning and preparedness. Gaining an understanding of these relationships is an important area for research.

9. Assessments: structure, concepts, and methods

Assessments are an essential element of proper disaster management. Assessments help to define the damage and changes in functions at the time of the assessment. Assessments are transectional across the longitudinal phases of the disaster. Any intervention should be preceded by an assessment(s). The assessment process is deconstructed into a series of 10 steps: (1) need to know; (2) define the goal(s) and objectives(s) of an assessment; (3) select the appropriate indicators; (4) define the methods to be used for the assessment; (5) develop and test a plan for data collection; (6) train and brief data collectors; (7) gather (collect) the data; (8) synthesise the data and information collected; (9) output information for decision-making; and (10) compare findings with overarching goal and objectives. Steps 7-9 constitute a production process. Understanding this process is essential for identification of points of success and failure in achieving the desired assessment. Assessments require careful selection of indicators. The selected indicators are used throughout the process. Currently, no standardised set of indicators has been validated. Criteria for the composition of assessment teams are provided and common sources of error are discussed. Prior to, during, and following disasters, assessments are directed by the appropriate coordination and control entity.