RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to review the nature of collaborations in the field of emergency management and to propose a new cyclical framework that better reflects how collaborations form, function, and evolve throughout the collaboration process. DESIGN: An extensive review of previous literature pertaining to the collaborative process was carried out in order to identify stages through which these collaborative relationships progress in the emergency management arena. SETTING: This article focuses on the nature of emergency management collaborations at the local, state, and federal levels in the United States. RESULTS: This article builds upon the previous literature pertaining to collaboration and offers a new framework which visualizes collaboration as a trust-building and outcome cycle which moves through four repeating phases: initiation, inclusion, execution, and evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: This cycle supports the continuous, sustained, and safe learning and sharing platform identified in the previous literature and offers an improved visualization that can be used to better prepare for, manage, and reset emergency management collaborations.
