Disaster Cycle Services:An Overview: Design Document

Overview

Course Description & Outline

Disaster Cycle Services: An Overview is an updated treatment of the department’s introductory training course, Disaster Services: An Overview (2011). The current course content will be updated to include information on the disaster cycle and to reflect current department framework and program essentials doctrine. Content from the current course, including the work of the Red Cross, its mission and values will be retained. The updated content will include references to the DCS model, and to whole cycle disaster response. Volunteer opportunities and next steps will also be included, witha design that’s appropriate for new volunteers, partners and Ready When The Time Comes learners. Wherever possible, existing assets and information should be used.

Target Audiences

The audience for this course includes everyone touching or working with disaster cycle services and processes, including those trainingto deliver services to disaster-affected clients. This includes disaster responders, disaster instructors, external community and government partners, unaffiliated (event-based) volunteers and Ready When the Time Comes partners. A ‘teaser’ version of this course will also be posted to the American Red Cross corporate website as an appeal to those not familiar with the mission or work of the department. Its goal will be to engage prospective volunteers and to point them to their local unit for further information.

Goal

At the completion of this course, learners will understand the driving mission and principles of the American Red Cross, and will know how Disaster Cycle Services helps its clients to prepare for, respond to, and recover from, local and national disasters. Learners will know how to engage with the Red Cross and will understand the role of the volunteer in the organization. Disaster responders will also understand how the Disaster Cycle impacts clients and the Red Cross delivery of services.

Competencies

This course does not enable learners to perform any task or function within the disaster cycle. The intent is to provide an overview only and to direct viewers to other training opportunities.

Prerequisites

None

Assessment

This course will not have a graded assessment. Course completion will be driven by viewing all of the content and navigating to the last screen.

Course Technical/Logistical Requirements

Course Delivery Methods:

The course will be delivered in two formats; web-based (60 minutes) and classroom (90 minutes). The classroom format will include group and/or individual activities to provide a level of learner engagement that’s equivalent to that of the web-based course. Additionally, the classroom version may be adapted to allow for remote delivery via web-conferencing or similar platform. Portions of the course will also be published to the American Red Cross public-facing internet site ( to be used as a recruitment piece.

  • The web-based version will be accessed throughThe American Red Cross Learning Management System.
  • An instructor-led version of the course will be conducted through the American Red Cross chapter network. Instructor materials consisting of an instructor manual , participant guide and powerpoint presentation will be developed and published to standard delivery channels.

Assumptions for Learner’s Computer:

Hardware specifications:

  • Broadband access to the Internet
  • Video support for 1024 X 768 display resolution
  • Audio support with external computer speakers or headphones
  • Course will be published for HTML5 and Flash and willbe iPadand Android tablet-accessible.

Software considerations:

  • Windows 7 or 8 with a Flash or HTML5-compliant browser
  • Apple OS X 10.x with Safari, Firefox, or Chrome.
  • iOS or Android tablet with broadband connection and support for a 1024 x 768 resolution

Development:

The web-based course will be authored in Articulate Storyline. The interface, functionality and other factors will be specified in the developer’s statement of work. A beta will be developed to review core functionality and content prior to a SCORM-ready version for the American Red Cross Learning Management System. The completed course will be supported by Training & Development and by the American Red Cross IT Service Desk.

The instructor-led materials will be posted internally to the corporate intranet (The Exchange) and will be available through the FedEx Doc Store to be printed by the chapter network. No pilot is planned for this course.

Source Materials:

A number of resources will be available for the developer, including:

  • Disaster Cycle Services Prepare Process Framework
  • Disaster Cycle Services Respond Process Framework
  • Disaster Cycle Services Recover Process Framework
  • Disaster Cycle Services Concept of Operations, Program Essentials
  • Disaster Services: An Overview Online course (live and source material)
  • Disaster Services: An Overview instructor-led materials
  • This Design Document
  • Red Cross brand central and photo library access.

Program Materials:

Resources for the learner and instructor:

  • Disaster Cycle Services: An Overview Instructor Manual
  • Disaster Cycle Services: An Overview Participant Guide
  • Disaster Cycle Services: An Overview Powerpoint presentation

Doctrine

  • Disaster Cycle Services Prepare Process Framework
  • Disaster Cycle Services Respond Process Framework
  • Disaster Cycle Services Recover Process Framework
  • Disaster Cycle Services Concept of Operations, Program Essentials

Course / Program Structure (WBT)

The online course will be developed as a series of modules, building on resources and information from the original overview course. (Detailed outline follows)

  • Course Opening
  • Module 1: The Impact of Disaster (:15)
  • Module 2: The Red Cross Mission in Action(:15)
  • Module 3: Power of Community(:10)
  • Module 4: Red Cross Volunteer Opportunities(:10)

Production Schedule

The following tentative production schedule will be followed. Course completion for the web and classroom content will be in March, 2015.

Task Name / Duration / Start / Finish
DCSO Revision Project / 89 days / Wed 10/29/14 / Tue 3/10/15
Design / 10 days / Wed 10/29/14 / Wed 11/12/14
Final Design Document / 0 days / Wed 10/29/14 / Wed 10/29/14
Revised and Update SOW / 7 days / Mon 11/3/14 / Wed 11/12/14
Re-Kick off and Design Meeting / 0 days / Wed 11/12/14 / Wed 11/12/14
WBT Development / 78 days / Wed 11/12/14 / Fri 3/6/15
Final Prototype / 1 day / Wed 11/12/14 / Wed 11/12/14
Draft Storyboards (Script) / 16 days / Mon 11/17/14 / Wed 12/10/14
Review Storyboards (Script) / 4 days / Thu 12/11/14 / Tue 12/16/14
Final Storyboards (script ) / 10 days / Wed 12/17/14 / Fri 1/2/15
Reconcile to final doctrine / 3 days / Mon 1/5/15 / Wed 1/7/15
Develop alpha / 25 days / Wed 1/7/15 / Tue 2/10/15
Review Alpha / 4 days / Tue 2/10/15 / Fri 2/13/15
Develop Beta / 7 days / Mon 2/16/15 / Tue 2/24/15
Review Beta / 4 days / Wed 2/25/15 / Mon 3/2/15
SCORM Testing / 3 days / Tue 3/3/15 / Thu 3/5/15
Final Approval / 1 day / Fri 3/6/15 / Fri 3/6/15
ILT Development / 47 days / Mon 1/5/15 / Tue 3/10/15
Develop Draft IM, PPT / 14 days / Mon 1/5/15 / Thu 1/22/15
Review DRAFT IM, PPT / 4 days / Fri 1/23/15 / Wed 1/28/15
Publish FINAL IM, PPT, PG / 5 days / Thu 1/29/15 / Wed 2/4/15
Review FINAL IM, PPT, PG / 4 days / Thu 2/5/15 / Tue 2/10/15
Send to DFC and Process Owner / 1 day / Mon 3/9/15 / Mon 3/9/15
Upload Files to FedEx DocStore / 1 day / Tue 3/10/15 / Tue 3/10/15
Develop RCO Version / 2 days / Mon 3/9/15 / Tue 3/10/15
Extract of content / 2 days / Mon 3/9/15 / Tue 3/10/15
Publish to RCO / 1 day / Tue 3/10/15 / Tue 3/10/15

Detailed Content Outline

Course Opening: From Prototype

  • Prototype opening, transition to welcome and then to course menu with four modules

Module 1: The Impact of Disaster

Objectives:

  • Identify types of needs for people impacted by a disaster.
  • List ways a community can be affected by a disaster.

Content:

  • Introductory Video from DSO (insert filename)—consider use of this video based on rest of module
  • Objectives and general purpose of the course
  • Describe completion criteria and certificate
  • Impact of Disaster
  • Describe the impact of disaster
  • Impact on People (Those impacted by a disaster or other emergency may be temporarily or permanently displaced, experience other losses, and become isolated from their families and community. And sometimes it’s difficult for them to get information about how the disaster has affected them individually, or their community
  • Needs of People Affected by Disaster (physical, emotional, informational)Impact on Community (Infrastructure destroyed, Power outages, Local community organizations and responders overwhelmed, Local businesses closed (limited access to fuel, food, other material resources), Financial
  • Types of Disasters Types of Disasters (video)
  • Home Fires (Most frequent, from redcross.org: Red Cross disaster workers respond to a disaster every eight minutes and nearly all of those are home fires. At any time of day or night, trained Red Cross volunteers respond to the scene of fires and provide food, shelter, and emotional support to those affected.) (See video and additional content in DSO.)

[Introduce DAT here]

  • Earthquakes
  • Wildfires
  • Tornado
  • Hurricane with Flooding
  • Man-made (Boston Marathon bombing?)
  • Transportation (Plane crash)
  • Introduce flood scenario (from Reed message) – After a few days’ worth of rain the river rises and a few homes flood. A Red Cross Disaster Action Team from the same community arrives and helps the families come up with a plan for recovery.
  • Transition to Module 2 –Make up a transition based on content

Module 2: The Red Cross Mission in Action

Objectives:

  • Describe how Disaster Cycle Services fulfills the American Red Cross mission.
  • Describe the Disaster Cycle Services model and the concept of whole-cycle operations.
  • Identify actions the American Red Cross takes to help individuals, families and communities prepare for emergencies.
  • Describe the services the American Red Cross provides to people and communities during the respond process.
  • Describe actions the American Red Cross takes to help clients recover from disasters.

Content:

  • Red Cross Mission [Be brief—one sentence or so]: “The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.”
  • Disaster Cycle Services works to fulfill this mission.
  • The American Red Cross Disaster Cycle Services (DCS) is committed to ensuring a nationwide disaster program that provides the American people with preparedness, response and recovery services that are: Accessible, Timely, Relevant, Predictable, Scalable, Consistent with the intent of Red Cross donors.
  • [We don’t need to use all the content below in sub-bullets—just use it to introduce the graphic]
  • To accomplish this, DCS uses a concept of operations that is: Founded in Red Cross and DCS principles; Focused on service to clients and communities; Based in regional knowledge of local communities, local volunteers, and community relationships; Grounded in collaboration with partners and community mobilization; Aligned with partners at every level of government; and, Supplemented with nationally available human, material, technological, managerial and subject matter resources.
  • This approach ensures that local leadership, local knowledge and local presence are at the leading edge of providing DCS preparedness, response and recovery services and that our services are consistent and integrated regardless of the scale of operation.
  • Disaster Cycle Services Model
  • Introduce DCS cycle graphic – seamless to those impacted by disaster
  • Introduce concept of core and mission-enabling processes; need to frame for course audience as a high-level mission and the underlying or support processes.
  • Core Processes in Action – Return to flood scenario
  • Prepare: While the first Disaster Action Team is meeting with the first families to feel the impact of the flood, other Red Cross volunteers are getting information out to the rest of the community on how to prepare for the rising water. They are telling families and individuals how to prepare their homes and what to do if they are evacuated. Meanwhile, Red Cross leaders are meeting with the county’s emergency management team to review the plan for the community’s response during a flood, which they all developed together last year.
  • Respond: The rain continues to fall, and the river rises, and now, a whole block of houses is flooded and some streets are closed. Red Cross disaster workers from the local chapter, working with community leaders, decide to open a shelter. Arrangements are made for affected residents to sleep in a local recreation center, and they are served a hot meal and have access to information about the flooding. The Red Cross Public Affairs team gets information to the media regarding the disaster response and location of Red Cross shelters and other services. Red Cross health and mental health services volunteers help to meet urgent needs of those affected.
  • Recover: Red Cross caseworkers meet with a few families whose homes are so damaged they will not be able to return in the immediate future. Together, they help them research temporary housing options, access other resources for new furniture and clothing, and the families develop a plan for their own recovery.
  • Activities from the Core Processes can act concurrently, overlapping as appropriate.
  • The disaster operation scales up and down
  • Chapter-Region-Division-National (map and short comment about the DCS organization) Responses can be scaled up and down according to CONOP. Human and material resources can be leveraged from outside the impacted area to provide services to all affected. Local Red Cross workers remain at the heart of operations of every size.
  • As the rain continues, the river floods towns in several counties, and more shelters open, and more support is needed. This becomes a regional operation, and Red Cross workers, equipment, and supplies are brought in from adjacent counties. When another river in a neighboring state starts to affect additional communities, divisional leaders are called in to help, and Red Cross national headquarters steps up to support as more resources are needed.
  • When the flood waters have receded in the first community, and local Red Cross volunteers are still there, wrapping up the response, meeting with those affected to help them recover, and talk to community groups on how to decrease the impact of a future flood.
  • As the river swells and recedes, the Red Cross response can move into the areas that are affected and then retreat, leaving local volunteers still engaged in their own communities.

Module 3: Power of Community (lift in large part from DSO—Puzzle: See Unit 3 in online course, screen 6; ILT: Module 1, Unit 2 in DG, pages 13 - 18)

Objectives:

  • Identify ways the American Red Cross collaborates with community partners during disaster responses.

Content:

  • Although the American Red Cross is a leader in disaster response, there are other agencies, organizations, and community groups that play important roles in any response. The Red Cross often works to conjunction with other agencies.
  • Puzzle activity
  • Flood scenario
  • [Note: Video “Working Together” is good to use—either video or image.]
  • Red Cross as a community partner and importance of contributions from individuals in those partner organizations
  • Community, agencies, govt, partners, RWTC (ready when the time comes), volunteers (deployed and EBVs [event-based volunteers])
  • Event-based volunteers- Volunteers that respond spontaneously to large disasters in their communities or to disasters in other parts of the country.

Module 4: Red Cross Volunteer Opportunities

Objectives:

  • Describe the importance of volunteers to support the three core and five mission-enabling Areas.
  • Describe opportunities for volunteers to engage with Disaster Cycle Services.
  • Identify the steps to volunteer with the American Red Cross.

Content:

  • Refer back to five Mission-Enabling Areas, reintroduce the graphic, and examples of functions volunteers can fulfill for each.
  • Align with government
  • Deploy Materials, Workers and Technology
  • Engage Volunteers and Employees
  • Information Management and Situational Awareness
  • Mobilize the Community
  • Volunteer video from DSO (“Rewards of Helping Others”)—can include as is, assuming it makes sense in flow of content.
  • Introduction to volunteer opportunities from original course
  • DAT Video from DSO – “penciled in”—if we need for additional content
  • Making a difference Video from DSO
  • Getting involved activity from DSO. match interest to mission-enabling area
  • Introduce the Volunteer Connection and mention that there are a number of apps for preparedness for EBVs.
  • Contact the local chapter for guidance on getting involved
  • Use the Team Red Cross app and the Volunteer Connection app to stay engaged and connected to the Red Cross
  • Wrap Up Course
  • Review the modules and information covered
  • Remind learners about the certificate of completion and next steps
  • Thanks for your interest and for getting involved

Resources

The Disaster Cycle Services Model

Message/Scenario from Reed, Senior Vice President, Disaster Cycle Services

Let me tell you a story. This one is about a flood. It starts like all floods do, with rain. A few days’ worth of rain and the river rises. A few homes flood. The next day a DAT team shows up. Two, maybe three volunteers in their vests. They talk to the families and they come up with a plan to help them get through it.

But the rain keeps coming and after another few days the river is still rising. Now a whole block of houses is flooded and some streets are closed. It takes a few DAT teams on the ground to assess the situation and after talking with community leaders they decide they need to open a shelter. At this point, the Disaster Program Manager gets involved and what started as a straight forward DAT response is now a whole chapter operation.