LLIS Trend Analysis

The Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) program team identifies common themes from whole community after-action reports (AARs) and presents them in a trend analysis for emergency managers to consider when developing plans and exercises. For this analysis, the team analyzed federal policy guidance, 25 AARs (21 exercise and 4 real-world), and the 2013 State Preparedness Report (SPR) data. This analysis identified seven areas for improvement related to community resilience efforts.

The Lessons Learned Information Sharing research team conducted a trend analysis to explore and understand key gaps in the cybersecurity capability of the emergency management community and examine the challenges confronting cybersecurity efforts. To identify overall trends within cybersecurity, the research team conducted research and analysis across the 2012 State Preparedness Reports (SPRs) and 16 After Action Reports (AARs) related to cybersecurity. The goal of the analysis was to identify recurring issues to help emergency managers address challenges in cybersecurity efforts and establish a framework for further research into specific cybersecurity issues. The following are key trends identified as a result of the analysis.

The Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) program team conducted a trend analysis of 28 wildland fire after-action reports (AARs) published between 2008-2013. The goal of the analysis was to identify core capability gaps and trends among operational and community-oriented AARs so emergency managers can plan, train, and exercise against identified areas for improvement. The top three areas cited for improvement were Operational Communications, Public Information and Warning, and Evacuation.

The Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) program team identifies common themes from whole community after-action reports (AAR) and presents them in a trend analysis for emergency managers to consider when developing plans and exercises. The team analyzed federal policy guidance, 18 AARs (12 exercise and 6 real-world), and the 2013 State Preparedness Reports. The team identified recurring topics in housing preparedness, response, and recovery, and then analyzed the aggregated topics to identify trends in advances and capability gaps. This trend analysis provides a framework and guide for the LLIS Housing Core Capability research effort.

The Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) team analyzed 22 hurricane After Action Reports (AARs) to identify trends in pre-disaster operations and found that state and local jurisdictions experienced numerous issues as a result of late activations of disaster plans and inadequate public information and warning. Across the analyzed AARs, late activations delayed response efforts, impeding both situational awareness and the ability of jurisdictions to conduct effective sheltering, evacuation, and EOC operations

The Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) team selected and analyzed 32 tornado after action reports (AARs) published between 2007 and 2012 in an effort to help emergency managers prepare for tornado events. Eighteen of the reviewed AARs refer to full-scale exercises (FSE) while fourteen focus on response and recovery operations following a real world tornado event.Below are the two reports that emerged from this research.

The review of 17 winter and ice storm after action reports (AARs) indicated that many jurisdictions experience similar secondary hazards during severe winter weather events. The graph on the right highlights key issues referenced in most of the reports that responders are likely to encounter during a winter and/or ice storm.

The findings and recommendations listed in this document can help emergency managers and responders prioritize available resources to best prepare for severe winter weather events.