Disaster preparations and relief: The partnership between the American National Red Cross and Amateur Radio

Abstract

Disaster preparations and relief: The partnership between the American National Red Cross and Amateur Radio Bayley B. Brown The goal of this master's thesis is to evaluate the current state of the partnership between the American National Red Cross chapters and Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) groups. The alliance between these organizations has historically been outlined by national representatives, the most recent being the 2010 Memorandum of Understanding between the American National Red Cross and ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. This partnership was assessed through a nationwide survey of American National Red Cross chapter representatives. Findings suggest that most Red Cross chapters have current partnerships with their local ARES group, and collaboration occurs primarily for disaster preparation and during relief efforts. The information gathered in this project helps raise awareness of the partnership between the Red Cross and ARES groups, familiarizes other organizations of both group's resources, and adds to the theory of collaborative advantage.

When all else fails: amateur radio becomes lifeline of communications during a disaster

“…All agencies such as police, fire, emergency health services, search and rescue (SAR), radio communications and relief agencies work in partnership during disaster response. So it is important to consider the theory of collaborative advantage when discussing partnership relationships between multiple agencies involved in disaster response (Huxham, 2003, as cited in Brown, 2012, p. 16). The theory of collaborative advantage “consists of two concepts: collaborative advantage and collaborative inertia” (Huxham, 2003, as cited in Brown, 2012, p. 17).…”

“…So it is important to consider the theory of collaborative advantage when discussing partnership relationships between multiple agencies involved in disaster response (Huxham, 2003, as cited in Brown, 2012, p. 16). The theory of collaborative advantage “consists of two concepts: collaborative advantage and collaborative inertia” (Huxham, 2003, as cited in Brown, 2012, p. 17). Collaborative advantage is achieved when a single organization or agency is unable to achieve a goal that can be achieved with a collaboration of multiple organizations or agencies (Huxham, 2003, p. 403).…”