The next generation core competencies for emergency management

Shirley Feldmann-Jensen, RN, DPPD, MPH; Steven J. Jensen, DPPD; Sandy Maxwell Smith, RN, PhD; Gregory Vigneaux, MS

doi:10.5055/jem.2019.0393

Authors

Shirley Feldmann-Jensen, RN, DPPD, MPH
Steven J. Jensen, DPPD
Sandy Maxwell Smith, RN, PhD
Gregory Vigneaux, MS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2019.0393

Keywords:

emergency management, core competencies, competencies, higher education, competency Measurement

Abstract

The Next Generation Core Competencies (NGCC) guide the professional development of future emergency managers. Once familiar roles are evolving as the world grows more interdependent; at the same time, disaster risk factors are intensified by the changing interactions between the social, built, and physical environments. The updated edition of emergency management core competencies is particularly important for refining the trajectory of the emergency management discipline and developing capacities requisite to reducing disaster risk and building resilient communities in the midst of a turbulent, complex, and uncertain future.

The NGCC project was a multiphase study conducted by a FEMA-sponsored focus group. Oriented toward future needs, the competencies have been built on the current emergency management competencies, a review of related competencies and global risk trends, a multiphase Delphi study, and wider emergency management community listening sessions. Behavioral anchors and key actions for measurement accompany the new core competencies. The overarching goal of the work is to establish the next generation emergency management core competencies, which are likely to underpin the emergency management workforce of 2030 and beyond. The 13 core competencies fall into three nested categories that are interrelated, but have attributes that build the individual, the practitioner, or relationships.

Author Biographies

Shirley Feldmann-Jensen, RN, DPPD, MPH

Program Coordinator and Lecturer, Master of Science Emergency Services Administration Program, School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Management, College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Long Beach, California

Steven J. Jensen, DPPD

Lecturer, Master of Science Emergency Services Administration Program, School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Management, College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Long Beach, California; Scientific Advisory Council Member, Emergency and Disasters Sub-Council Chair, American Red Cross, Washington, DC

Sandy Maxwell Smith, RN, PhD

Professor and Head, Department of Emergency Management, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas

Gregory Vigneaux, MS

Emergency Services Administration Alumnus, California State University, Long Beach, California

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