Tag CEDP

Formalizing Emergency Management as a Profession

Tim Riecker, The Contrarian Emergency Manager 5 Comments

The professionalization of emergency management is certainly a continued discussion among emergency managers. Many feel it’s not an actual profession, as it doesn’t fit certain definitions of a profession by not having a universal code of ethics, licensure, and other features. While I personally reject this claim, feeling some resentment that so many of us do in fact work in this field as a career yet it doesn’t meet someone’s definition of a profession. That said, there is a desperate need for standards in the field, yet what should those standards look like? I wrote a couple years back about the various activities very commonly found within emergency management, many of them professions in their own right. With that, I feel we can at least create a foundational standard.

My prompt for this post comes from an initiative in Massachusetts being advocated by Dr. Jennifer Carlson, a professor at Anna Maria College. You can see from the article and the video of her testimony, that professionalization will require several steps.

  1. Developing a code of ethics and professional standards
  2. Formalizing higher education accreditation standards and an accrediting body
  3. Establishing a non-profit gatekeeper organization tasked with professional licensure
  4. Having an accredited institution degree requirement fully integrated by 2040

The most current version of the Code of Ethics and Professional Standards of Conduct for Emergency Managers comes from FEMA’s Higher Education Program. I feel this code is comprehensive and aspirational, representing what emergency managers should be striving to work within. I feel this code, or a version thereof, is reasonable to adopt.

Formalizing higher education accreditation standards and an accrediting body is something else that has been discussed within FEMA’s Higher Education Program for some time. While I do teach emergency management in higher ed, accreditation in that field is something I only have tangential knowledge of, though my wife is an experienced Middle States Commission on Higher Education evaluator and can speak to this better. I will say that many specific professions do have their own national-level accreditation boards which establish standards for all academic programs covering that profession. This certainly seems an attainable goal.

Establishing a non-profit gatekeeper organization tasked with professional licensure… I do have some concerns with the wording of this. Many feel that the Certified Emergency Manager credential from IAEM meets this criterion, though it’s very rare to see membership organizations also serve as credentialing bodies. I feel it’s quite easy to have conflicts of interest and certification influenced by factors other than evaluation of competency. While there are national-level certification organizations for a variety of professions, such as IBFCSM (which presently provides the Certified Emergency Disaster Professional – CEDP, a certification that I hold), which maintains a certification board for each credential and is not a membership organization, the term ‘licensure’, as specifically mentioned, brings about a very different connotation. Properly stated, licensing powers are held by federal, state, and local governments, not by private or non-profit organizations. (Note that I did work for a time with the Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure many moons ago.) Licensure of professions is generally seen as a state’s rights issue. While it would be best to have one national standard, most professional licensure is done at the state level and is likely the best way to proceed with this.

Lastly, having an accredited degree requirement by 2040 is also quite reasonable. I appreciate that Dr. Carlson advocates the grandfathering of persons already working in the (would be) profession. In recognition of the various related professions, however, I’d like to see the option for X hours of accredited course work (on top of a related degree) as a bridge to quality for certification/licensure absent having an accredited emergency management degree. This will support those who have come to EM through other related pathways and professions, as they commonly do.

I’ll note that none of this should preclude anyone from working in emergency management, but that absent meeting these requirements they could not serve as an actual emergency manager. It’s an important distinction that will require a legal definition of ‘emergency manager’ to accompany any laws that are passed on this matter.

I think this is a noble and meaningful effort being promoted by Dr. Carlson and I hope Massachusetts lawmakers take the step forward down a path that no other government entity in the US has. This absolutely would be a game changer for the ‘profession’. Let’s watch this one carefully.

©2023 Tim Riecker, CEDP

Emergency Preparedness Solutions, LLC®

Certificates and Certifications

Tim Riecker, The Contrarian Emergency Manager 4 Comments

There seem to be regular misunderstandings between words and their meanings. The words ‘certified’, ‘certificate’, and ‘certification’ are words I see regularly misused, especially in requests for proposals, LinkedIn profiles, and resumes.  Unfortunately, as with so much in the English language, there are no easy boxes to put these in, but the differences are really important.

One of the things I regularly see is in reference to something like the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). Far too often, RFPs request personnel who are ‘HSEEP certified’. There is no certification for HSEEP. To be certified, according to Oxford, means that someone is ‘officially recognized as possessing certain qualifications or meeting certain standards’. People who complete HSEEP training are provided with a certificate of completion. A certificate of completion is simply documentation given by a training provider indicating that someone has completed the requirements of a course (attendance, participation, maybe an exam), but is not intended to speak to their qualifications, therefore it is not a certification.

Certifications are credentials that should be provided by independent bodies indicating that someone has met a certain slate of standards. To be certified in something digs deeper. I am a Certified Emergency Disaster Professional (CEDP), which is a credential provided by the International Board for Certification Services and Management (IBFCSM). To become certified I had to demonstrate experience, education, and competence; and I must affirm continued competence through continuing education.

Colleges also have certificate programs, such as the one I’ve helped develop and have recently started teaching for Herkimer College. A certificate program is a specific type of academic program with a more concise set of requirements compared to a degree program.

If you are writing RFPs, developing your LinkedIn profile, or updating your resume, please be sure to properly represent credentials and qualifications.

© 2022 Tim Riecker, CEDP

Emergency Management Professional Organizations

Tim Riecker, The Contrarian Emergency Manager Leave a comment

Many professions have professional membership organizations which can be joined by those working in the field, retired from the field, or aspiring to work in the field.  The practice of emergency management, both broadly and specifically, has a number of professional organizations which you can join.  Professional organizations each have their own goals and benefits, which should be examined.  Some are simply mutually supportive, providing an opportunity to share and discuss professional ideas and network, supporting the practice from within.  Others are active in lobbying and political influence, helping to shape the legal and regulatory landscape of profession.  Most provide training and continuing education opportunities, and some even provide certifications.

Here are a few you may want to consider:

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA).  NEMA began as an organization for state emergency management directors in the US.  The State Directors are still the core group of membership, but NEMA has expanded membership opportunities for others.  NEMA’s focus is on supporting emergency management in the US, which they do through providing resources, conferences, and legislative influence.

International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).  IAEM, as their name indicates, is an international membership organization.  Similar to NEMA, they provide a variety of resources, conferences and other events (US regional, US national, and international), and legislative influence.  They also provide the credentials of Certified Emergency Manager and Associate Emergency Manager.

Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI).  DRI’s focus is on organizational emergency management, which includes the tech side of disaster recovery as well as all phases of emergency management and business continuity.  Along with resources, conferences, and training, they offer a variety of certifications in business continuity both generally and specific to certain sectors.

Personally, I think professional organizations can be great, but you must understand what they offer, what you want, and determine if you will gain value from membership, especially in consideration of membership dues.  These organizations and other offer substantially reduced dues to full time students, which provides a great opportunity for aspiring practitioners to network and learn.

From personal experience, I’ve found that the benefits gained from professional membership organizations often correspond to your amount of involvement.  While they all have resources available to members, networking and opportunities arise from involvement.  Going to meetings and conferences, getting involved in committees, and working on projects will often lead to gaining value from your membership.

What I will caution with professional organizations, also from experience, is that they are often cliquish.  The development of social groups is a matter of human nature, but I feel that organizations should do more to break down the barriers that can make new members feel unwelcome.  Also, examine organizations with a critical eye.  Are they simply supportive of their membership or are they supportive of the profession/community as a whole?  For example, my local Chamber of Commerce, which I had a very poor experience with, is typically only interested in supporting a certain part of their membership.

A number of membership organizations offer training and professional certifications.  Typically, these opportunities are open to everyone, with members often enjoying discounts.  The financial commitments should be evaluated based on your own needs.  I also suggest that you examine other avenues for training and certification.  Training from FEMA, state emergency management offices, and homeland security consortium agencies is usually free, although training obtained from professional organizations may be more targeted or contemporary.  As for certifications, as with anything else, you should weigh the benefits against the investment and explore what other opportunities may exist.  For example, the requirements for a certain popular emergency management credential are very similar to that of the Certified Emergency and Disaster Professional (CEDP), which is a credential I hold.  The CEDP is provided by the International Board for Certification of Safety Managers, a non-profit, independent credentialing organization which maintains credentials for a variety of safety-related professions.  Their focus is on professional credentialing, not membership.

The bottom line is that there are a lot of opportunities out there.  Professional memberships can be very valuable, but you should always go in knowing what you want from your membership, but also recognize that the real benefits of membership are often proportionate to your measure of involvement in the organization.  If you don’t feel you are getting what you want, give feedback to the organization.  If things don’t change, don’t feel compelled to keep throwing money at them.  Speaking of throwing money at them, non-profits are required to publish annual reports.  These can be helpful in seeing what the organization focuses on, what their goals are, and what they have accomplished in the past year.  Remember that you are entitled to ask questions, both as a member and a prospective member.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences with professional organizations, particularly across emergency management. I know there are a number of organizations in the broader emergency management community which I didn’t list here, but I didn’t want to go too far down that rabbit hole.

As always, thanks for reading.

© 2018 – Timothy M. Riecker, CEDP

Emergency Preparedness Solutions, LLC SM