development of appropriate policies at all levels. Consideration of potential unintended consequences of a new policy with respect to disaster resilience is also important.
(3) The nation does not currently have an overall vision or coordinating strategy for resilience. Recent work on homeland security and disaster reduction are good beginnings, but the current suite of policies, practices, and decisions affecting resilience are conducted on an ad hoc basis with little formal communication, coordination, or collaboration. In fact, some policies, decisions, and practices actually erode resilience. Implementation of PPD-8 will address some of these consistency and coordination issues.
Recommendation: All federal agencies should ensure they are promoting and coordinating national resilience in their programs and policies. A resilience policy review and self-assessment within agencies and strong communication among agencies are keys to achieving this kind of coordination.
Such an assessment should reveal how each agency’s mission contributes to the resilience of the nation, and how its programs provide knowledge or guidance to state and local officials for advancing resilience. Finally, each federal agency should evaluate its interactions with state and local governments and with the public to evaluate the extent to which its resilience work is made available to those who need it.