Catalysts for Cross-sector Collaboration in Disaster Response

Cross-sector collaboration has been considered a practical approach for enhancing the capacity of local governments to deliver public services and respond wicked problems of catastrophic events. Taiwan is prone to various natural and man-made disasters, and many countries have learned greatly from the emergency management experiences of Taiwan. While much has been written about the importance and functions of collaboration, very few has examined systematically what factors determine the effective collaboration in emergency response among different municipalities or various public agencies from the perspectives of emergency agencies. This study identifies factors that impact the effectiveness of collaborating emergency services with other public agencies in the local level of Taiwan. Using survey data from local fire branch heads, this research demonstrates that the ability of local fire branch heads to mobilize resources in emergency management process and the quality of citizen engagement in emergency exercise would influence the effective cross-sector collaboration in emergency response with other local fire branches.