International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Disaster Zone column
December 2022
“Emergency Management is Match.Com”
It is not something that I came up with myself, but I heard it mentioned from a podium recently at a conference I attended. Emergency management is like Match.com and the idea immediately resonated with me and my experiences in our profession.
I can’t say I’ve been on Match.com or any other dating service, but the concept is for people to find other people with mutual interests who might be compatible with one another. It seems to me that much of what we do in emergency management has this same theme throughout the various aspects of what we do. I’ll explain.
Match.com is all about relationships and we, emergency managers, always say that “relationships” are key to what we do. If people don’t know one another then they will not trust other people and organizations until a relationship is established. If I was to have a Match.com Emergency Management profile, it might sound something like this, “Emergency manager looking to establish a long-term relationship with other people interested in disaster resilience. The size of the organization is not important. Seeking those who are willing to work together jointly with others to promote disaster resilience to the benefit of other willing partners in the public and private sectors. Please include a photo. [Oops, wrong pitch!]
Then there is information sharing. Rather than hoarding information, emergency managers typically are willing to share what they know and what they have done in the past with everyone. It is a very “open relationship” that corresponds to Match.com getting information out to a broad list of people and organizations.
One of the things I love doing is “matching up” people and organizations with others. It is not uncommon to have a conversation with someone about a topic and then think of another person who they should meet to further the goals and mission of each other’s organization. I’d call that Match.com
When it comes to logistics, we are definitely in the Match.com business. We have someone needing resources and someone else having resources. Our mission is to be the intermediary (Match.com) to get those with resources matched up with those needing resources.
I’m sure there are other analogous examples that I could come up with, but I’ll leave it at those I’ve shared above. Emergency management is the middleman, connecting people, organizations, needs with those who can help. It is an admirable mission.
In a major disaster, it might be the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) that functions as the ultimate Match.com between emergency management agencies themselves.
Keep doing what you do, helping, informing, coordinating, and matching up!
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by Eric E. Holdeman, Senior Fellow, Emergency Management Magazine
He blogs at www.disaster-zone.com His Podcast is at Disaster Zone
