Joint Field Office Activation and Operations - Federal Emergency ...

UNCLASSIFIEDAnnex C: Operations1.0 Principles for Building Interagency CoordinationInteragency coordination and cooperation is critical to effective and efficient operations topreempt or mitigate natural or man-made disasters. It is imperative that representatives ofagencies with diverse capabilities synchronize their efforts through the application of basicteaming principles. These principles, shown below, support a systematic methodology towardbuilding a homogeneous effort at all levels of government.1.1 Define the Problem in Clear and Unambiguous Terms Agreed toby AllDifferences in individual assumptions and organizational perspectives can often limit clearunderstanding of the problem. Representatives from each major group of agencies,departments, and organizations—to include the on-scene Incident Command agencies—should be involved in all levels of coordination planning from the outset. Theserepresentatives are especially important in order to achieve unity of effort during thisproblem definition phase; early development of options for interagency consideration is veryimportant. Not all agencies and individuals clearly distinguish in the same way betweenwide-area operational coordination and incident command-and-control or oversight.Defining the problem that the JFO solves should involve extensive focus on the differencebetween wide-area operational coordination and command-and-control over the incidentitself.1.2 Define the ObjectivesWithin the context of interagency operations, decision makers in the JFO CoordinationGroup should seek clearly defined and attainable objectives, a concrete end state, and exitcriteria. Successful interagency coordination is essential to achieve these goals and thedevelopment of accurate and timely assessments. Such definition allows application ofresources of the most appropriate agency(s). Not all agencies will necessarily understand oragree to the need to clearly define the objective with urgency or specificity. Complicationscan arise because each agency has its own perspective, capabilities, and culture. Thisdiversity is the strength and not the weakness of the interagency coordination process. Whilethere may be disagreement about solutions, the differences provide a broad range of optionsthat can be applied.1.3 Operations Drive at Tactical Level; Logistics, Situation, andPlanning Drive at Strategic LevelAt the field or tactical level, an Incident Command surges in as operations are alreadyoccurring; everything in the Incident Command serves to support operations. At the strategiclevel, coordination of operations typically follows in-depth development of the situation inthe “wide area,” answering of requests for logistics support, and digestion/consolidation of23Version 8.3Interim Approval April 28, 2006