In the fourth installment of Dr. Craig Vanderwagen’s groundbreaking five-part series Implementing the National Health Security Strategy, the founding Assistant for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines the challenge of visibility during an emergency response when events are fluid and information is changing and lacking clarity.
Visibility is information that clarifies what has happened and reveals the progress of response and recovery. It is different than situational awareness as it encompasses a wider variety of information sources, some of which may not be traditionally reliable. It may include social network information that traditionally has not been “vetted for reliability and credibility,” but whose influence in public perception of events may be quite important in addressing not only what is expected in the immediate response, but the resilience and recovery posture of the society at large.
In this essay, Dr. Vanderwagen explores how tactical data elements must be reduced to the information most necessary to understand the operational and strategic effects of response efforts, including: (a) visibility of the inciting trigger; (b) analyzing information for data that allows for an awareness of developing risks; (c) developing dashboards for information in real-time; and (d) delivering pertinent detailed information locally.
- Watch Dr. Vanderwagen in a video preview of this white paper.
- Download Event Management: Visibility in the Fog of Response white paper.
- Learn more about the Implementing the National Health Security Strategy white paper series.
________________________ Craig Vanderwagen, M.D., is a Senior partner with Martin, Blanck, and Associates (MBA). His most recent assignment prior to joining MBA was the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2006-2009. He has special interests and experience in biodefense, domestic disaster preparedness and response, international humanitarian and disaster response, federal health delivery systems, innovative organization development and evaluation, and cross cultural healthcare.