Hazards Planning Center
Planning Information Exchange
Information exchange forums are an increasingly common and useful way to encourage peer-to-peer learning and exchange of information. With advances in web-based meetings and seminars, an information exchange forum can reach a national and even international audience.
Planners in several disciplines participate in information exchanges, and good models exist. The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) and APA participate in the Natural Floodplain Functions Alliance (NFFA), of which ASFPM is a co-founder. While not formally called an information exchange, NFFA has been incredibly successful at doing just that. The central activity has consisted of webinars held every other month on issues of interest to the alliance.
The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 has resulted in thousands of state and local hazard mitigation plans that are largely on their second, third, or later update. Certainly, many best practices have been learned, and implementation of mitigation activities has occurred to some extent. However, few, if any, vehicles exist to facilitate the sharing of ideas, challenges, best practices, and evolving methods and techniques in planning on a nationwide scale for federal, state, and local planners and plan implementers.
With a new award agreement granted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the successful webinar series has been extended for two additional years, starting October 1, 2016. APA will continue to act as the lead in an agreement with FEMA, and ASFPM as a partner. The quarterly webinars will continue to revolve around four central themes:
- The information exchange focuses on all hazards.
- The information exchange focuses primarily on mitigation planning but also its connections with recovery planning and preparedness.
- APA and ASFPM act as co-conveners of all planning exchange webinars. This means that both organizations will use their respective web-based meeting platforms to set up, register, drive, facilitate, record, and provide technical support for all webinar meetings.
- Planning exchange hosts select topics and commit to moderate, present, and lead the planning exchange webinars.
Webinars
Check back for a list of upcoming events.
Past Webinars
- State Resiliency Initiatives: From Issue to Action! (September 22, 2016) CM | 1.0
- Combining Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plans (July 7, 2016) CM | 1.0
- Know Your Dam Risk! (May 6, 2016) CM | 1.5
- Adapting Urban Vacant Land to Mitigate Hazards (February 26, 2016) CM | 1.0
- Hazard Mitigation Implementation (December 10, 2015) CM | 1.0
- Hazards Planning and Resilience: The Elected Official's Perspective (October 19, 2015)
- Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience (June 30, 2015) CM | 1.0
- The Role of Hazard Mitigation in Post-Disaster Recovery (May 6, 2015)