by Alex Case

In 2017 select cities within Hampton Roads decided to approach Public Safety from a Regional perspective and chose Cordillera Applications Group to assist them. The Hampton Roads region is the biggest population center in Virginia, at 1.25 million people. Although the region functions as a single urban area, it is governed through multiple jurisdictions whose borders, in many cases, have become little more than lines on a map across which people, traffic, business services and city services flow and operate, due to population growth and urbanization. To add to this myriad of jurisdictions it boasts a considerable military presence, including the largest naval base in the world, an international commercial port, a unique coastal location resulting in multiple bridge-tunnels and extensive inland waterways and inlets. Faced with a host of potential region-wide emergencies, such as extreme cold-weather events, flooding, and hurricanes, city leaders realized that what affects one city or jurisdiction will probably affect another in the same manner. A Regional effort to coordinate emergency operations was therefore sought to assist in tackling a region-wide event.

Historically each city or jurisdiction’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was designed to provide emergency management for that city’s population only, and the communications and IT network reflected this past set of arrangements. Each City or jurisdiction had routine communications among EOCs but they were heavily reliant upon individuals and cell phone communication, both of which could be jeopardized during an emergency event. One EOC manager noted that “I feel comfortable knowing what is going on in my city in pretty quick time when the EOC is stood up, but I have to fight for information beyond the boundaries of my city and I have to do that with each neighboring city. That takes time and occurs just when you haven’t got time to spare.” Multiple cell phone calls and the manual logging of information imposed a drain on key personnel at a vital time.

At the request of a group of city leaders, Cordillera designed an analysis and implementation program that first assessed the fundamental issues for inter-EOC communication, then designed an implementation process tailored to the region’s unique needs. The foundation was an increased level of technical communication capabilities and information architecture, which then enabled practical scenario-based problem-solving events. The eventual solutions were less technology-heavy, and more focused on culture and trust-building to create a region-wide community of emergency management professionals. Key outcomes included an acceptance that events in one city or jurisdiction would impact its neighbors and the recognition that, while city-specific EOC business would always be needed upon activation, there needed to be immediate outreach and information-sharing to establish transparency and coordinate efforts to mitigate region-wide risks.

To assist in this effort, the Hampton Roads Regional Common Operating Picture (COP) was developed. The COP graphically depicts the Essential Elements of Information (EEI) on a web based ArcGIS-enabled site that allows cities and jurisdictions to update or amend their status at any time and thereby directly inform other jurisdictions of changes in real time. The platform was built with ‘in-house’ resources from the cities participating in the project and will either be a stepping stone towards a commercial COP or will prove sufficient to serve the Region. To enable use of the COP Cordillera helped design and facilitate a monthly Communications Check to enable EOCs to conduct an inter-EOC check of verbal, video and data exchange systems. This is critical since many of these systems rely on operator familiarity and therefore require regular updates and checks. This monthly communications check has improved inter-EOC communication and coordination systems, and helped build a region-wide culture that treats communications as a routine and continuous process, rather than a one-time event draining key staff resources during an emergency.

During this process Cordillera has provided the project management and facilitation services required to bring 17 jurisdictions together, navigate the myriad of legacy systems and inculcate a cultural shift towards Public Safety being a Regional consideration. This cultural shift has already delivered considerable benefits including a Region-wide approach to the planning and conduct of Public Safety operations for the 2020 national elections, an increased awareness of potential resource sharing for weather emergencies and the operational use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in support of other jurisdictions.

The Regional coordination progressed towards a sustainable level and in 2023 the focus shifted towards formalizing a base plan to represent the current practices. A working group from the larger jurisdictions was formed, and Cordillera provided the coordination and management required to design and populate a draft base plan. This plan was then tested through a series of scenario based tabletop exercises, initially with a small group of emergency management staff, growing to a far wider audience, including FEMA, VDEM, transport, health and other emergency services.  Once data and inputs from this broad group had been included the focus switched to the decision-making levels within city/county and emergency management. This utilized a series of tabletop exercises which were focused on information flows and decision-making within jurisdictions and between jurisdiction and was  exercised at the emergency management staff level followed by the deputy city or county managers.  It culminated with the Chief Administration Officers (CAO), of all 18 jurisdictions within the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC), participating in a tabletop exercise using two public safety scenarios and supported by their individual emergency management staff.  This enabled both a training experience for the CAOs and their emergency management staff, and the opportunity to directly impact the base plan and was achieved through a two hour in person event. Each jurisdiction and their staff subsequently had the opportunity to directly edit, update and alter the draft Regional Coordination Base Plan prior to submission to the All Hazards Advisory Committee of HRPDC, thereby ensuring both ownership and currency. The end state is a succinct outline of established procedures in decision-making and communication to enable Regional coordination. It is a base plan that can be adapted as required for different events and will be required to be updated in time.  It can be used as initial briefing material for new staff, as a refresher for current staff and as a reference document during exercises and real time emergency operations, and should support Regional coordination in 2025 and beyond.

“This project is continuing to build much needed connective tissue between our jurisdictions. The approach taken by Cordillera is enabling more rapid decision making as we are not chasing information through informal networks. This allows us to have more substantial conversations around matching capacities to needs across jurisdictional boundaries, making us more efficient in addressing resident needs. Cities are judged just as much on disaster response as they are on economic prosperity. It is vital that we hone these skills to save lives and property.” Deputy City Manager for Public Safety, Hampton Roads