BCAEM is launching a new Community to Community initiative designed to help EOCs find people quickly when they need them, and strengthen capacity across British Columbia.

When an emergency happens, communities don’t always need more information — sometimes they need the right person with the right experience at the right time.

EMCR and BCAEM have launched a 2026 summer pilot to connect EOCs needing trained personnel to experienced people who are able to deploy.

BCAEM is asking current and past members to complete a short provincial survey about their emergency management experience, skills, areas of expertise, and willingness to support other communities. The results of the survey will be public-facing and updated weekly through the pilot. Communities will be able to download the list directly as it is refreshed on a weekly basis until the beginning of October.

There is no requirement to be a BCAEM to submit your expression of interest, or use the list data.

A Pilot Project

This initiative is being launched as a pilot project. The goal is to test whether this approach can help communities identify people with relevant emergency management experience and connect with potential sources of support more efficiently. BCAEM already has a member directory where our Professional, Practitioner and Associate members can identify their skills, experiences, and deployment interests, and we are excited to make a non-member list as readily available.

BCAEM will use what we learn from the pilot, including feedback from members and users, to evaluate what works, what needs to change, and how this concept could evolve.

Why Participate?

Our membership represents a remarkable range of disaster and emergency management experience from communities across British Columbia, and beyond. That experience includes local government emergency management, emergency operations centres, Indigenous emergency management, response and recovery, planning, mitigation, preparedness, business continuity, training, communications and many other areas. By completing the survey, you can help communities get the trained help they need in their EOC:

• Better understand the skills and experience available for mobilization;
• Make it easier for communities and disaster & emergency management professionals to identify potential sources of expertise;
• Strengthen connections between emergency management practitioners across B.C.; and
• Evaluate whether a more permanent resource could be developed.

You do not need to be a current BCAEM member to participate. We are also inviting past members, retired members, and independent consultants to share their experience and expertise.

Help Us Test the Idea

If you are a current or past BCAEM member and able to be mobilized, we encourage you to complete the survey. Your experience may be exactly what another community needs today.  And today’s community asking for help could be tomorrow’s community returning the favour. In partnership with the Ministry of Emergency and Climate Readiness, we aim to build stronger connections within the disaster and emergency management community so that, when help is needed, everyone knows where to look.

Complete the Community to Community survey and learn more about the pilot.

Your experience matters. Your connections matter. And together, we can build a stronger emergency management community across British Columbia.