COORDINATION IN EMERGENCY
RESPONSE MANAGEMENT
Developing a framework to analyze coordination patterns
occurring in the emergency response life cycle.

Emergency Response Management (ERM) enables and supports emergency response operations across organizational, jurisdictional, and geographical boundaries. Recognizing the growing importance of ERM in countering both natural and manmade hazards, the U.S. government ordered (via Homeland Security Presidential Directive- 5) the establishment, at the federal level, of a National Incident Management System (NIMS) [ 4]. The NIMS prescribes institutional response guidelines that help in establishing rule structures and developing a normative environment with defined tasks regarding what should be done during a response. Howitt and Leonard [ 6] point out that while