Citation
Haigh, R. (2014), "Queensland University of Technology Centre for Emergency and Disaster Management (CEDM)", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 5 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-05-2014-0037
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Queensland University of Technology Centre for Emergency and Disaster Management (CEDM)
Article Type: News articles From: International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Volume 5, Issue 3
Overview
The Centre for Emergency and Disaster Management (CEDM) combines the expertise of several faculties within the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and is organised to capitalise on the varied research efforts of a modern university in emergency and disaster management. The Centre will contribute to preparing both the public and private sectors and, importantly, communities to better cope with the health, social and economic consequences of emergencies and disasters, and to design and evaluate strategies to reduce those consequences. Some of the Centre’s expected outcomes are:
Promotion of disaster resilience by identifying enhancements in capability and capacity for pre-planning and response in communities, essential services, relevant government agencies and infrastructure owners and operators.
Understanding of community resilience in the context of Council of Australian Government’s National Strategy for Disaster Resilience, particularly Priority 5, which is concerned with empowering individuals and communities to exercise choice and participate in their own recovery.
Development of risk analysis tools and consequence models from an all-hazards context that can be used to guide disaster preparedness and continuity planning with enhanced coordination of response and recovery from disasters.
Direction
A key direction of the Centre is the alignment of three interdisciplinary themes – Health, Community and Infrastructure – to provide an innovative approach to planning for and recovering from impacts of emergencies and disasters and to directly link evidence to policy and operations (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Alignment of three interdisciplinary themes
Themed activities
Health: Identify the impact of emergencies and disasters on the health and well-being of people, and design and evaluate strategies aimed at reducing that impact. This thematic focus will collate and foster research into the health consequences of emergencies and disasters. It will also identify and collate intervention strategies that translate evidence into emergency and disaster health management policy and practice.
Community: Identifying the impact of emergencies and disasters on society, examining the components of community resilience and developing strategies designed to improve responses to emergencies and disasters through community engagement and empowerment.
Infrastructure: Testing and applying approaches to risk-based decision-making and consequence assessment to disaster preparedness and response frameworks, including enhancing command and control options and improving the resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services.
Linkages
The Centre and members maintain core links with a range of agencies directly involved in the prevention, preparation, response and recovery from emergencies and wide-area disasters: in a generic all-hazards context. Core linkages include State and Federal Departments of Health, Emergency Management Queensland, the Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland Fire & Rescue Service, as well as critical response and recovery partners such as the Department of Human Services and other focused groups.
Key personnel:
Centre Director: Professor Gerry Fitzgerald.
Professor FitzGerald has a long history of leadership roles in emergency health services and health system management. Since joining QUT, he has led the development of the University’s health management research group and, in particular, emergency and disaster health management programmes. His particular interests are in the functioning of emergency health systems in both routine and challenging circumstances. He is recognised as a national and international authority on emergency health, and has an extensive publication and research track record relative to his time at QUT.
Coordinator Health Domain: Professor Michele Clark.
Professor Clark has an extensive background in education and research in this field. She was the inaugural Director of the Australian Pre-hospital Research Centre and also previously as Head of the School of Allied Health at James Cook University.
Coordinator Community Domain: Professor Bob Lonne.
Professor Lonne is Head of the Social Work and Human Services discipline at QUT with a distinguished career in direct practice and managerial positions in the mental health, statutory child protection and juvenile justice fields in both Queensland and Western Australia. He has maintained a long-standing interest in rural social work practice and rural social care processes, with continued involvement in a high-level, inter-disciplinary and cross-institutional research team. Another area of involvement is in examining the workforce development and planning issues affecting social work and the human services.
Coordinator Infrastructure Domain: Dr Paul Barnes.
Dr Barnes has an extensive background in both research on emergency management and professional management experience in this field. He established the State Community Safety Unit of the Queensland Fire & Rescue Service and previously served as the National Chair of Community Education Sub-group, of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council. He draws on experience at a national and international level with the provision of advice on risk and threat assessment applied to organisations and critical infrastructure systems.