Disaster Accountability Project

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Disaster Accountability Project
Founded 2007
Founder(s) Ben Smilowitz
Focus(es) Disaster management
Method(s) organization, education, advocacy
Motto "Citizen oversight requires citizen participation"
Website disasteraccountability.org

The Disaster Accountability Project (DAP) is a non-partisan watchdog organization dedicated to improving disaster management systems. DAP was founded in 2007 by Ben Smilowitz as a reaction to the responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[1] DAP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is a 2008 Echoing Green fellowship organization.[2]

Mission statement

Improving the nation's disaster management systems through public accountability, citizen oversight and empowerment, whistle-blower engagement, and policy research.

Initiatives

  • Disaster Accountability Project Hotline - a toll free hotline through which survivors of a disaster, relief workers, and whistle-blowers can report gaps in relief services.[3]
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency's ice policy - an effort to pressure FEMA to reverse its decision to only deliver ice for "medical emergencies" following a disaster.[4]
  • FEMA Structural Reforms - among other reforms, DAP has advocated for the elevation of the FEMA Administrator to a U.S. Cabinet-level position.[5]
  • Report on Southern Louisiana Emergency Preparedness[6] - a study conducted in 2009, which evaluated the emergency preparedness plans of 22 Southern Louisiana parishes based upon their comprehensiveness and accessibility to the general public.[7][8] The study revealed that 11 of the 22 parishes surveyed could not or would not produce copies of their emergency plans when requested.[9][10][11][12]
  • ReliefOversight.org[13] - a website created as a response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. ReliefOversight.org monitors the activities of relief organizations in disaster zones during the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster.[14][15][16]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/o/archives/2008/sep08/sept_observerweb.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/ben-smilowitz
  3. ↑ http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090326/HURBLOG/903269927?tc=ar
  4. ↑ http://www.sunherald.com/pageone/story/610739.html
  5. ↑ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19643.html
  6. ↑ http://blog.disasteraccountability.com/2009/05/05/report-on-22-southern-louisiana-parish-emergency-plans-released/
  7. ↑ http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/new_report_warns_of_gaps_in_lo.html
  8. ↑ http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2009/05/07/100303.htm
  9. ↑ http://www.emergencymgmt.com/emergency-blogs/disaster-zone/Disaster-Accountability-Project.html
  10. ↑ http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090507/ARTICLES/905071005
  11. ↑ http://www.iberianet.com/articles/2009/05/06/opinion/editorials/doc4a01ddd0ecb06160595108.txt
  12. ↑ http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090507/ARTICLES/905079920?tc=ar
  13. ↑ http://www.reliefoversight.org/
  14. ↑ http://philanthropy.com/article/Web-Sites-Ask-Public-to/64257/
  15. ↑ http://helphaitiquake.blogspot.com/2010/02/reliefoversightorg-aims-to-inform.html
  16. ↑ http://blog.chrissiebrodigan.com/2010/02/apps-of-kindness-civic-hackers-coding-for-haiti-launch-new-form-of-volunteerism/

External links

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