Mitigating Uncertainty and Risk in Planning for Regional Preparedness: The Role of Bonding and Bridging Relationships

The nature of emergency preparedness is that problems are seldom immediate and continuous, and effective emergency planning requires the involvement and sustained commitment of multiple organisations and their personnel. It is proposed that the level of participation by local organisations in formal regional planning activities is related to the social position their managers play in local planning networks. Local organisations embedded in bonding structures may choose to be active in regional planning initiatives in order to establish close contacts with others they believe can provide them with valuable planning information. Alternatively, organisations may choose to be more active participants in region-wide planning activities because this role supports their bridging activities by providing them with greater control over information about the activities and resources of the different jurisdictions in the region. These propositions are examined through an analysis of the participation by officials from 73 local governments in two regional committees designed to promote emergency preparedness planning throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth–Denton, Texas, metropolitan area. The analysis provides strong support for the proposition that the organisations in bonding structures in this network have a more active role in the work of these two committees.