Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

The last fifteen years saw the costliest storms in the history of the United States. This pattern corresponds with climate change influencing more intense tropical activity, such as rising sea temperatures that cause worse storms (Bodin & Nohrstedt, 2016). Large disasters, such as Irma, impact people and economies across regions, posing tremendous challenges to disaster response efforts. Communities in need often turn to government or other established groups for shelter, relief supplies, and recovery efforts. When office responders to natural disasters are not accessible to a community, others also step up to play a role in response and recovery efforts.

The main goal of the study is to examine the nature and performance of relief networks/groups other than the established groups, collectively referred to in this proposal as non-established relief groups (NERGs).

In most cases, NERGs dissolve and stop operations weeks after they start, leaving little to no record of their work. Regrettably, despite their impacts, not much is known about how NERGs decide to form, make decisions on how to help, organize their operations, and dissolve. Similarly, there is a profound lack of understanding on how to integrate the operations of NERGs with that of official disaster response led by emergency management agencies at different levels of government. Fostering their integration could increase the effectiveness of disaster response and recovery efforts.

This study, working with a grant from the National Science Foundation, examines the roles of non-established relief groups (NERGs) and their involvement in Hurricane Irma relief efforts. The goal of the study is to discover more about NERG formation, function, motivations, and coordination with government agencies. To do this, interviews were conducted with NERGs and other established groups. The findings from interviews indicated that NERGs often work from previously established networks. The study also found that emergent groups tended to be horizontally structured in decision making with other NERGs. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, more research is needed on NERGs and their involvement in disaster response. The study will contribute to interorganizational coordination in response to disasters, as well as integrating NERGs to formal disaster response. In learning how NERGs originate and function, established organizations can better train and prepare their counterparts to utilize NERG operations and resources. Understanding NERG formation will also help established groups better prepare coordination before major events, so the networks are formed between key community leaders to enhance overall coordination. The study provides suggestions to policy makers as well as public service professionals in improving Interorganziational coordination without availabity of specific policy guides under stressful environments of disasters.