Redefining Readiness Through the Eyes of the Public

In September 2004, the Center for the Advancement of Collaborative Strategies in Health released the findings of a groundbreaking project on terrorism planning, in its report Redefining Readiness: Terrorism Planning through the Eyes of the Public. The goal of the project, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is to give the public a meaningful voice in informing policies and to provide terrorism preparedness planners with information that can help them assess and strengthen their plans.

Using findings from this report, the Center will work with residents, schools, businesses, and government agencies in four sites around the country to demonstrate how the important benefits of public engagement in terrorism/emergency preparedness planning can be achieved.

The four communities selected to participate in the demonstration projects are the City of Carlsbad and South Eddy County, New Mexico; the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the near northwest side of Chicago, Illinois; the Eastside neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia; and Choctaw, McCurtain, and Pushmataha counties in Southeast Oklahoma. These sites range from a very rural area to a big city, and will involve a broad range of community members.  These demonstration sites will be developing model plans and public engagement practices that many other communities around the country can adapt and use.