Collaborative Project
APHIS and NASDA Sponsor Project to Assess APHIS and State Collaboration
on Emergency Response Preparedness & Communications
|
NASDA-APHIS Assessment of Collaboration for Incident Response Preparedness Report (The entire report comprises all of these pdf files)
A draft Collaboration Assessment Project Report was finalized by the Assessment Working Group (AWG). This draft report is being submitted to NASDA members and to the APHIS Leadership Team for discussion and approval. These documents include a transmittal letter from the Co-chairs of the AWG, a report that summarizes the survey data and makes some recommendations to consider and a document of appendices.
|
As we all know, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and State Agencies are increasingly called upon to respond to a host of agricultural emergencies, emerging issues and other incidents—from the traditional plant and animal health situations to newer areas of responsibilities including animal evacuation and sheltering and biotechnology events. Response preparedness is constant and continuing work. APHIS, NASDA and the States value the cooperative relationship between us and recognize that many levels of collaboration are involved in emergency response preparedness.
APHIS, NASDA and the States also recognize that being prepared means always seeking to improve. As part of ongoing work to strengthen partnerships and improve our abilities to prepare for and respond to emergencies—and to address concerns raised in recent discussions between APHIS, NASDA and several State officials—an assessment will be conducted of what key officials think the level of collaboration between APHIS and the States currently is; and what it appropriately should be, for successful incident response preparedness. APHIS will partner with NASDA [primarily through the Animal and Plant Industries Policy Committee] and others--including the National Plant Board, National Assemble of State Animal Health Officials, the Communications Officers of the State Department of Agriculture and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies to conduct this assessment.
Results from this assessment will be available by the end of January and be reported at the February NASDA Midyear meeting. Several basic tools and documents that pertain to the project are posted to ensure accessibility of information to interested parties. These documents include:
- A summary of activities at the first Assessment Working Group (AWG) (steering committee) meeting;
- A draft copy of a states’ questionnaire – this is similar to the one that will be found on survey monkey for all NASDA and COSDA members to complete (target date for release is Oct 29th) – in addition, APHIS will distribute a similar survey to its employees for their input into the project as well;
- An interview sheet of questions that APHIS Policy & Program Development staff will raise during the face-to-face meetings scheduled with 12 states between September and the first part of December (Staff from PPD will conduct interviews with APHIS and State program/agency/division directors in 12 sample states—Maryland, Maine, New York, Texas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Florida, Oregon, California, and Louisiana);
- A list of participants at the October 3 – 4 AWG meeting [please note that Director Ibach (NE), Chair of the Animal and Plant Industries Policy Committee, is also a member of this committee – as well as Secretary Northey (IA)]; and
- A draft plan of the project (please note that a consensus of state opinions at the Oct AWG meeting was that – to state personnel – Emergency Response is a daily responsibility – not a subset of activities, and as such, this project needs to address the entire spectrum of communications issues).
These documents can be found below.