Using a Tabletop
Exercise to Evaluate
Emergency
Management GIS
Needs in Ghana
Brady Scribner
GEOG596A – Fall 2 2013
Advisor: Anthony Robinson
National
Guard State
Partnership
Program
North Dakota
National
Guard
Disaster
Planning and
Preparedness
Program
National
Disaster
Management
Organisation
of Ghana
(NADMO)
National
Guard State
Partnership
Program
North Dakota
National
Guard
Disaster
Planning and
Preparedness
Program
Formed in 1996
Ghanaian version of FEMA
Comprised of:
• 10 regions
• 243 districts
• Over 900 local offices
Past disasters:
• Disease outbreaks
• Floods
• Invasive pests
• Civil unrest
One of the first national
EOCs in Africa
NADMO
National
Guard State
Partnership
Program
North Dakota
National
Guard
DP3
NADMO
Development of
emergency
management GIS in
NADMO
September 2013
mission to Accra,
Ghana to meet DP3
goals
Mission goals:
• GIS training
• Develop partner relationships
• Obtain national data
Problem Statement:
NADMO GIS capacity in disaster situations requires further development, but
we lack knowledge about what the most critical needs are, and to know which
stakeholders should be involved in capacity building. Furthermore, NADMO
staff should be exposed to a simulated disaster to drive home the need for GIS
development.
GIS skills will diminish with disuse
Partnerships should be strengthened
New partnerships should be developed
Problem
Dimensions
Collected data should be improved
Additional data should be collected
Personnel lack exposure to emergency management GIS utilization
Flooding Disaster Tabletop Exercise
Fits NADMO
needs and
interests
Access to
supporting
resources
GIS
&
Floods
Tabletop Exercise Options
Discussion-based
Facilitates
dialogue
Operations-based
Reaction is
required
Goals:
Goals:
• Staff orientation
• Plan development
• Policy review
• Plan functionality
• Response tools
• Partnerships
Includes:
Includes:
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Tabletops
• Drills
• Functional
• Full-scale
Vary based on
level of
participant
interaction
Vary based on
exercise scope
and level of
response
Tabletop Exercise
Injects
Discussion
• Progression
• Discussion
• Open
• No-fault
Scenario
Output
• Realistic
• Current
• Responses
• Reports
Tabletop
Exercise
•
•
•
•
Reveals gaps and capabilities
Builds relationships
Trains staff
Generates a list of tasks
Tabletop Exercise Design
City of Fargo
Collect
Information
NADMO
City of Fargo
Develop an
Outline
NADMO
Establish
Objectives
Facilitate
geospatial
collaboration
Identify
various gaps
Expose staff
to emergency
GIS tasks
Initiate
policy,
procedure,
agreement
development
high maturity
Stewart and Wan’s levels of exercise maturity
Test responses
during an
emergency
Monitoring and Adaptation
Educate staff on
emergency plans
Training
Evaluation/Validation
Discovery
low maturity
Test responses and
discover alternatives
Scenario exposure to elicit
basic knowledge
NADMO staff and
partners are not
likely to have
participated in a
tabletop exercise
Discovery
Level
Exercise
Maturity
Do not want to
overwhelm
participants and
hamper
discussion
Emergency
operations plans
that incorporate
GIS likely do not
exist
Other design aspects to consider
• Exercise evaluation requirements and methods
• Exercise documentation
• Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) training
Tabletop Exercise Delivery
Audience will be NADMO and partner agency staff
• The exercise will not be designed as an educational tool for those simply
interested in emergency management GIS
• Exercise audience will probably be recruited from participants from the
September training
Exercise will ideally be facilitated in person
• Request will be made to accompany NDNG members during the next Ghana
mission
• Exercise will be held at NADMO headquarters
Remote facilitation is an option but is not ideal
• Remote facilitation will be difficult and the full effect of the exercise will not be
achieved
• Skype is well used by NADMO staff though Adobe Connect through PSU would
be preferred
Exercise Presentation – 1 day
• Discussion based around scenario injects
• Record discussion – notes, video
• Exercise hotwash
Prepare Discussion Points – 1 day
• Review and organize discussion notes
• Create a presentation for participants
Evaluation of Exercise Results – 1 day
• Present and review discussion items with participants
• Create an outline with participants that will be used to
produce an After Action Report (AAR)
Exercise Evaluation
Evaluation Process
• Allow participants to evaluate
the exercise and components
• Determines if exercise
objectives were met
• Participant review of
discussion presentation
• Discuss strengths/gaps of
each inject response
Exercise
Evaluation
First step
towards
improvement
After Action
Report
Summarizes
exercise
discussion
Improvement
Plan
Corrective
actions for
prioritized
AAR items
Summarizes scenario
Summarizes inject responses and provides observations
Determines if core capabilities were met by responses
Decision makers review and approve report
Exercise Presentation – 1 day
• Discussion based around scenario injects
• Record discussion – notes, video
Prepare Discussion Points – 1 day
• Organize discussion notes
• Create a presentation for participants
Evaluation of Exercise Results – 1 day
• Present and review discussion items with participants
• Create an outline with participants that will be used to produce
an After Action Report (AAR) and Improvement Plan (IP)
Improvement Plan
• Prioritize AAR gaps, develop corrective actions
• Produce an Improvement Plan
Improvement Plan
Improvement Plan Process
• Serves as a guide to address
identified critical issues
• Is the ultimate goal of the
tabletop exercise
• Participants review AAR and
discuss corrective actions
• Improvement Plan is created with
input/review from participants
Exercise
Evaluation
First step
towards
improvement
After Action
Report
Summarizes
exercise
discussion
Prioritizes AAR items
Proposes corrective actions for identified gaps
Actions should be realistic, timely, and measurable
Decision makers review and approve plan
Improvement
Plan
Corrective
actions for
prioritized
AAR items
December
• HSEEP training – exercise design and evaluation
• Collect past flood information from NADMO and City of Fargo
January
• Develop an outline of typical flood response focused on GIS tasks
• Create exercise scenario and injects
February
• Review scenario with Fargo staff – make revisions
• Edit and organize HSEEP documentation
March
• Conduct exercise in Ghana – return to U.S. or facilitate remotely
• Produce final HSEEP documentation and submit for review
Some other month
• Present at a conference somewhere
Significance
Limitations
GIS is the focus of the tabletop and not an
accessory
Success hinges upon level of discussion
Prepares a developing organization in a flourishing
nation for future disasters
The Improvement Plan must be acted on to
achieve any long term benefit for NADMO
Reveals critical gaps of geospatial analysis in
emergency response efforts in Ghana
The exercise can only address a single emergency
amongst a list of likely events
Will be the catalyst for several improvements
within the organization
Project outcomes will be specific to NADMO and
will be difficult to generalize for use by other
organizations
Multiple benefits
can be achieved
from a single
tabletop exercise
Ultimately,
NADMO will be
better equipped to
handle the
geospatial aspects
of disasters
NADMO staff and
partners will be
able to integrate
GIS in emergency
management
Conclusion
This exercise will
hopefully be the
beginning of an
ongoing exercise
program for
NADMO
A roadmap to
improvement will
be provided in the
form of the AAR/IP
NADMO staff and
partners must
work to improve
the GIS
capabilities of the
organization