Working Group Overview

The work of the All Hazards Consortium is done primarily through the activities of the Regional Working Groups. Comprised of members from the public and private sectors, education and non-profits, these groups provide a unique way for stakeholders to come together to discuss critical issues facing the region. The eight Working Groups are aligned with the eight AHC “pillars”, or areas of interest:

  • Emergency Management
  • Border and Transportation Security
  • Health & Medical Readiness
  • Critical Infrastructure Protection
  • Law Enforcement
  • Information Sharing & Intelligence
  • Public Safety Communications and Interoperability
  • Grants and Procurement

These are broad complex topics. Over time, each Working Group may develop sub-groups that focus on more specific areas of interest based on the needs of the region. It is a goal of the AHC to have each state participate in all Working Groups so that the region as a whole is represented.

While these groups are organized into eight areas of interest, some members serve on multiple working groups.

Working Group Objectives

Each Working Group will work together to establish and accomplish the following goals and objectives:

  • Development of new relationships
  • State-to-state information sharing
  • Collaboration on common state government issues
  • Establishment of common consensus and agreement among the states involved
  • Create an ongoing, sustainable process to continue doing all of the above

Working Group Governance

Each Working Group (WG) is governed by one (1) Chairperson and two (2) Vice Chairs, and reports to the Executive Advisory Committee Chair and the Board. The Chairperson will be a state/local government representative and the Vice-Chairs may be from government, private sector, university or non-profit sectors.

Working Group Deliverables

The Working Group’s objective for each year is to work together to accomplish the following:

  1. Produce a regional workshop on an important and timely issue facing the regional states. This Workshop should include elements of information/best practice sharing, identifying common regional issues/obstacles/solutions, finding areas of common agreement, and discussing future regional projects, studies, initiatives and pilots in which the states can seek grants or funding to accomplish.
  2. Work with AHC staff and partners to develop a regional consensus white paper, based on the workshop mentioned above, that captures the region's objectives, priorities, and recommendations to address the issue(s) that can be used for future grant requests, funding, and other related efforts.
  3. Vet concept funding proposals submitted by AHC partners. Approved proposals are then added to the AHC portfolio.
  4. Work with AHC staff and partners to plan 2-3 regional panel discussion sessions for the annual regional summit meeting held in the fall of each year. These sessions will provide a venue for state to state information sharing on issues, policies, technologies, strategies, partnerships, obstacles, and related matters.
  5. Explore ways to share information and best practices between public/private executives and decision makers within the AHC. Executives have little time to spare, yet need to keep current on the latest information that will help them manage and direct their organizations effectively. Finding productive ongoing ways to educate leaders is a key deliverable of these Working Groups.