Tiered Response Pyramid: A System-Wide Approach to Build Response Capability and Surge Capacity   [open html - 107KB]

"Today's expanding disaster landscape demands crisis managers to configure their organizations to handle a wider range of extreme events. This requires more varied capabilities, capacity and delivery of services. The article proposes that crisis managers must move away from organization-centered planning to a system-wide approach for preparedness. We lay out the limitations of using the current tiered response triangle for planning and argue for implementing a system-wide approach by using a Tiered Response Pyramid to increase response capabilities and surge capacity for large scale disasters. The tiered response pyramid offers crisis managers a way to visualize multiple response options that leverage each other's resources and create a more resilient response system for complex events."