A member of an emergency response team must be prepared to conduct effective organizational communications among agencies at multiple levels in an emergency.

Response to any emergency or disastrous event requires a team that employs a structured approach to effectively manage communication, collaboration, personnel, and resources. Individual states have standard operating procedures and methods for executing emergency response and recovery actions. When FEMA becomes involved in emergency response in support of a state, communication and collaboration among the various agencies may not be executed efficiently, resulting in disruptions in emergency service response.Members of emergency response teamsmust regularly prepare to communicate more effectively by creating formal agreements about their planned strategy.

• Which approach can be used by both the state and the federal government to formalize the relationship and establish how interagency communication and collaboration will be executed? Give an example of the method that agencies at each level will use to communicate during a disaster event that can be included in the formal agreement.
• A formal agreement between the state and the federal government will address interagency communication. Which other components or key factors should also be addressed in the formal agreement between the state and the federal government to support interagency collaboration?