Disaster Recovery Planning at Other Universities

The University of Toronto’s Computer Security Admin dept has some good documentation on how to initiate planning in a university setting.  I appreciate their noting that “an effective recovery plan is a live recovery plan”

 

China and Myanmar- Resources for Responders

The disasters in China and Myanmar have sparked renewed interest in the School of Social Work Disaster Response group at the University of Michigan School of Social Work.  I’ve recevied requests for mental health training resources for first responders; Thus far, these are the best two sources I’ve come accross:

National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Field Operations Guide for Mental Health Responders
 Disaster Mental Health Trauma Information Pages

My other department, the University of Michigan School of Information, began response efforts immediately.   A group of Masters and Doctoral students and faculty have initiated a project to provide long-term academic help and tutorials (perhaps through electronic means) to children directly affected by the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. 

The Sichuan Teachers Project
–pledge to become a Sichuan Teacher now at http://sichuanteachers.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21630751997

Google’s response to the disaster can be followed through their blog:

Blog: Official Google Blog
Post: Responding to the earthquake in China
Link: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/responding-to-earthquake-in-china.html

Preparing for Disaster at the University of Michigan: A Streetcar Called Continuity?

I’m spending the summer working on an all-hazards planning team at the University of Michigan.  My role: to develop the information architecture for our Continuity Management Software using Office Shadow, a proprietary software package with an incredibly user-friendly interface.  User-friendliness aside, this is a daunting task. 

The Blog: Created for transparency purposes, I’m using it as an information hover-craft, a preventative measure to create some distance between me and the ever-present possibility of drowning in a sea of continuity resources…

I took this job because I love Tenessee Williams, who in turn loved New Orleans, using the city as the setting for most of his plays…most notably “A Streetcar Named Desire.”   My love for TW, inadvertently, led me to post-Katrina New Orleans….eighteen months after the storm with the UM School of Social Work Disaster Response Group.

I left the city heart broken, and remain perplexed by my role there as a “responder,” the looming disconnect I feel in myself and my community in Michigan about what this country’s response to that storm means, and where to go from here..

When I was in New Orleans, I worked with the St. Bernards Long Term Recovery Committee and the Red Cross to perform a community needs assessment.  The information systems breakdowns were astounding. My trip inspired my decision to do a dual degree with the UM School of Information…leading me here to this position…

“There is a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go” - Tennessee Williams