Emergency management has evolved faster than many of the documents that guide it. If you redesigned your EOC on a blank whiteboard, factoring in modern hazards, staffing realities, and the tech you use every day, would the result match your current structure? For a lot of communities, it would not. And that is perfectly fine.…

If you have ever opened up your Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and thought, “This isn’t how we actually do things here…” you are not alone. How a plan is structured is one of the most straightforward choices in emergency planning, yet it is often the most overlooked. And in New England, where every municipality across…

If you’ve ever asked yourself whether your Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP) is really ready for the unexpected, you’re not alone. Even the most experienced emergency managers know that plans can sit on a shelf for years, gathering dust, while staff change, priorities shift, and requirements evolve. That’s why we created this self-assessment tool. As…

Partnership debut includes free LEOP Self-Assessment Tool, giving communities a quick way to check the strength of their emergency plans December 2025 — PDR Strategies and Next Wave Preparedness announce a new partnership to strengthen local government preparedness, continuity and communication across New Hampshire and Maine. The collaboration brings together Next Wave Preparedness’ expertise in…

When communities face disruption, whether from severe weather, infrastructure failures, technological incidents, or human-caused emergencies, clarity becomes a lifeline. At the center of that clarity is the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), a jurisdiction’s playbook for how people, departments, and systems come together when it matters most. Within that playbook, one section is often undervalued despite…

When we talk about Emergency Operations Plans, or EOPs, we’re talking about more than just binders on a shelf. These are living documents that define who does what, when, how, and with what when something goes wrong in your community. In short, they bring order, clarity, and shared purpose to the chaos of disaster and…