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The importance of emergency planning during the COVID-19 crisis
22 May 2020
The unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 crisis has seen many people in the MAPS faculty engage in public policy related activities. For example, expertise in the Institute for Disaster and Risk Reduction has been used to help raise the profile of emergency planning.
IRDR’s Prof. David Alexander has appeared on television and radio, and in podcasts and video recordings about 40 times since the start of the COVID-19 crisis reaching audiences across Britain, Europe, Australia, the USA and the Middle East. As a specialist in emergency planning and management David has given comment on organisational measures. David said, “many, perhaps most, of the errors and inefficiencies in dealing with the crisis stem from failure to plan adequately, failure to activate and integrate plans, and failure to include emergency planners among government advisers”. In the UK, the marginalisation and underfunding of emergency planners has resulted in an inefficient and ineffective response to the spread of the virus. For more information see David Alexander’s report "Building Emergency Planning Scenarios for Viral Pandemics - UCL-IRDR Covid-19 Observatory" and "Failing to Plan, Planning to Fail".
IRDR’s Dr. Gianluca Pescaroli is leading a new survey in collaboration with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre to understand citizens’ needs, expectations and priorities that will help mitigate the risks of a possible second wave and support the recovery to COVID-19. Take part in the ECJRC Survey here. The implications of COVID 19 for operational resilience have been discussed by Gianluca with the financial sector and the Greater London Authority to help build infrastructure resilience in London.
Keep us posted
If you have been involved in public policy work related the COVID-10 crisis we’d love to hear about it. Please email Lucie Green [lucie.green@ucl.ac.uk] with a short summary that will be used to keep track of faculty activity.
How To Guides
UCL Public Policy has produced a range of resources to help to explain what public policy is all about and to provide advice on how to get engaged with this area.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/public-policy/how-guides
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Contact - Lucie Green
Email: lucie.green@ucl.ac.uk