San Francisco Mayor announces public/private partnership for emergency preparedness

| 04.20.2007 | 07:39:537465 |

April 20 '07: Government Technology reported that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Fritz Institute will partner to coalesce public and private sector leaders' skills to increase the city's emergency preparedness and response capabilities through the Bay Area Preparedness Initiative.

The Fritz Institute, a non profit international non-governmental organization with the goal "to improve global disaster relief by creating innovative approaches to ensure help arrives when and where it's needed most," began the BAPI to give San Franciscans the skills to respond to natural disaster threats such as earthquakes and tsunamis as well as man-made threats.

BAPI's funding comes in part from a multi-tiered grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, Walter & ELise Haas Fund, and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

GovTech quoted Mayor Newsom regarding BAPI: "This project will provide valuable insight into the disaster response capacity of our local nonprofit and faith-based organizations. It will also lead to a roadmap that can serve as a model for other cities across the nation."

According to GovTech, the goal of the partnership is to "lead to recommendations for government and philanthropic leaders about how best to support and ensure the response capacity of these groups."

Additionally, the Fritz Institute "anticipates that the BAPI will serve as a catalyst for a national discussion on how the nonprofit and faith based [sic] sector can more effectively partner with uniformed first responders and the city and state infrastructures in serving local citizens in disaster situations."