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Characteristics of Effective Emergency Management Organizational Structures . Case studies conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) of numerous local government emergency management programs led to the identification of organizational characteristics that contribute to "effective" emergency management programs, An effective emergency management organization is defined to be one that: "when applied during a disaster, will provide the levels of protection for life and property, and recovery assistance, which are acceptable to the citizens of the community," It is impossible to deterrnine what levels of service are acceptable to citizens of any given community -- in fact, the citizens themselves probably do not know what is or is not acceptable until a disaster has occurred, However, it is possible to state certain subjective, qualitative conclusions concerning what is and what is not acceptable, Generally, citizens expect their local governments to; . Provide information on alerting signals, action to take, etc" in advance of the disaster. . Quickly and accurately assess the magnitude of an emergency and keep the public informed throughout the incident. . Provide for the rapid restoration of services, even when specific services are not the direct responsibility of the local government, such as private utilities, . Provide for (or provide access to) recovery services, such as family reunification, insurance claim preparation, tax counseling, and the like. . Provide information on, and specific action steps toward, mitigating the impact of future emergencies, . The twenty characteristics which follow are reflective of the preceding definitions of "acceptable levels of service" as well as generally accepted "good" management practices, Because each community has unique requirements, certain characteristics may not apply to your situation, Therefore, it is important to remember that the absence of a particular characteristic may not necessarily mean that there is a deficiency within your emergency management organization. Additionally, if you have difficulty completing that exercises for a particular characteristic, it may mean that . The characteristic is not present, . The characteristic is present, but you are not aware of it, or . The presence or absence of the characteristic (and related information) are not within your area of concern. . Characteristics of Effective Emergency Management Organization Structures 9