EDUCATION COMMITTEE

What are we?

 

The Education Committee (previously the Education Standards Group) was established in 2008 after the completion of the Core Competences Framework Project to act as a link between the practitioner and academia. It is a policy sub-committee of the Emergency Planning Society with the express purpose to design, develop and maintain an educational strategy of a high standard for the enhancement of the profession of emergency management and resilience, based on the Society’s Core Competences Framework (CCF); to further safeguard the academic standards of the Society by monitoring use of the CCF by higher education  and training establishments; and to generally promote educational matters within the Society. Its express purpose is to:

 

1. Develop and maintain an education strategy and policy for the Society

2. Review at regular intervals and advise on the content and maintenance of the Core Competences Framework in line with new knowledge and practice in civil protection for the Society.

3. Liaise with and attend as necessary meetings of the Membership and Development Committee to ensure integration of the Society’s aims

4. Maintain an awareness of the current provision of civil protection/disaster management programmes delivered at universities in the UK and Ireland and maintain a database of all undergraduate and postgraduate academic programmes in the UK and Ireland.

5. Develop an accreditation framework for university courses

6. Maintain an awareness of the nature of research relating to major emergencies/disasters being carried out in universities in the UK & Ireland and its potential influence on professional practice.

7. Monitor and ensure the editorial independence of the Society’s peer reviewed journal Emergency Management Review

 

Who are we?

 

We are a group of academics, practitioners and education specialists who are members of or closely associated with the EPS with a very keen interest in developing emergency management and resilience education for the benefit of the profession. Members are:

 

Director with Portfolio: Sandra Walker

Chair: Eve Coles, University of Leeds

Vice Chair: Lucy Easthope, University of Bath

Secretary (Temp) Gail Rowntree, Bucks New University

Jeannie Barr, Angus Council/Scottish Branch Emergency Planning Society

Debbie Brooker-Evans, Plymouth City Council

Viv Brunsden, Nottingham Trent University

Jeff Goatcher, Nottingham Trent University

Julie Humphreys, Skills2Share

Caroline McMullan, Dublin City University

El Parker, Coventry University

Gary Silver, Metropolitan Police (representative, Membership and Development Committee)

Suzanne Wilkie, Scottish Resilience Development Service (ScoRDS)

Steve Wilks, Teesside University

 

What are we doing?

 

We are currently involved with a number of projects including:

 

Universities and Colleges Database Project

We have constructed and are maintaining (for the use of the Society) a database of civil protection, emergency management, and disaster management university and college courses in the UK and have produced a report that specifically details the current academic picture with regard for these types of courses. Part of the planned use for the database is to identify a number of courses that would be able to enter into an accreditation process with the Society.

 

Development of an Accreditation Scheme for Courses Leading to a Degree in the Civil Protection Field

 

As part of our long term goal to establish accredited courses at universities and college we are developing a scheme that is underpinned by the Core Competencies Framework and the Scottish Professional Development Award (PDA) which will help universities and colleges to develop new courses and/or review current courses to a professional standard.

 

Emergency Management Review: A peer-reviewed journal

 

To facilitate the exchange of knowledge between academia and the practitioner the Editors and the Committee have been working on the development of Emergency Management Review a peer-reviewed journal for the Society that will be published on the Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College web site and available to access online at no cost to the reader.

 

A core aim of the journal is to encourage the development and dissemination of evidence and insights around emergency management and civil protection from a range of academic disciplines, as well as from practicing managers and professionals.

 

Further work streams are currently being explored and information will be updated as they are developed.

 

How can I become involved?

 

Further information can be obtained regarding involvement with the group by contacting Eve Coles via e-mail on e.l.coles@lubs.leeds.ac.uk or Sandra Walker via e mail on sandra.walker@emas.nhs.uk