The Core Competency Working Group is thrilled to be able to offer this second survey, based on the themes from the first survey which was deployed earlier this year. The results from this survey, and subsequent planned focus groups, will help the project team refine their recommendations around a competency profile for Canadian practitioners. This survey will be open until December 31, 2024, at 23:59 MT. The results from this survey will be shared on the project page at www.crhnet.ca
Here is the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/QGNmacz9Lrf7J3y59
Thank you in advance for your participation.
Following a CRHNet symposium in 2005, several interested partners came together to discuss the development of a competency profile to inform the further training and professionalization of Disaster and Emergency Management (D&EM) as a field of practice. There have been many iterations of this group, across the country and many organizations over the years, and many participants have contributed to the discussions. We want to acknowledge the groundwork laid by these professionals over the last 19 years.
In 2021 a new group of members from a variety of agencies and geographical locations came together to form a working group co-chaired by the members from both the Canadian Risk and Hazards Network (CRHNet) and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Canada to continue work previously started to address a fundamental gap in Canada where D&EM is still not widely recognized as its own profession, with a binding code of ethics, relevant competencies, training standards, and occupational codes to guide the hiring and training of new practitioners. There is an acknowledgement that the field of practice and research has evolved significantly from where we originated from, and so must the professionals who will lead our organizations and communities in this work into the future.
The Disaster & Emergency Management (D&EM) National Core Competency Working Group (CCWG) current key project members are:
This D&EM CCWG has been meeting regularly over the past few years to review relevant research and work from other countries, as well as the Canada-specific frameworks, legislation, and strategies, to develop a proposal for a baseline competency framework specific to the Canadian context. This work intends to both guide and unite the diverse makeup of Disaster & Emergency Managers, as we currently understand them, and align with the current and projected (D&EM) priorities for Canada.
A competency framework could be used to inform new national training standards/credentialing for emerging practitioners and guide the appropriate designation of new roles/ succession for current existing roles, as one crucial step towards the professionalization of the current discipline of practice.
Our work is guided by these fundamental principles:
- Our recommendations need to be inclusive and support the diversity of Canadians.
- We must remain aware of the unique needs, nuances, and priorities of Canadians, as it relates to the disaster and emergency management system, currently known hazards, and evolving risks.
Our mandate is to help advance the professionalization of Disaster & Emergency Management in Canada through respectful and informed recommendations of competencies to guide training/education, the development of a Code of Ethics, and appropriate position descriptions and National Occupational Codes.
This project has multiple phases and requires a long-term commitment from current and future working group members to be fully realized. This page will provide relevant updates from surveys, focus groups and other project opportunities. We welcome new working group members as well. If you are interested in participating in this work, please contact one of the group members through their LinkedIn profiles linked above.
