FEMA official to participate in session on emergency management culture

A federal emergency management administrator will take part in a Wednesday conference call from Oak Ridge on organizational innovations in emergency management.

Richard Serino, deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will take part in a Think Tank session on how to cultivate innovation in the “white spaces” of emergency management, a press release said. The Think Tank is from 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Zach Wamp Auditorium of the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Serino will be joined by Jim Bassham, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and officials from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The press release said the “white space” can be defined as the space between the boxes in an organization chart—mostly unoccupied territory where rules are vague, authority is fuzzy, budgets are nonexistent, and strategy is unclear. This is where innovative activities that help reinvent and renew an organization most often take place, the release said.

It said panelists will share their stories about how they cultivated innovation in the white spaces of their organizations. The event will provide the opportunity to listen, ask questions, and gain perspective, the release said. Participants are able to join in person or by conference call.

The call-in number is (800) 776-0853. The passcode is 1576066. The Web link is http://fedrcc.us//Enter.aspx?EventID=2230185&CustomerID=321 

The FEMA Think Tank is a forum to engage the whole community, connect resources, share best practices, and develop solutions based on individual stakeholder input to the challenges faced in emergency management, the release said.

For more information on the Think Tank, visit www.fema.gov/thinktank.