Logistics Cooperation in Crisis Environments Inaugural Seminar, August 29 - September 3, 2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On behalf of the Joint Staff Directorate for Logistics (J-4) and the Department of Defense Business Transformation Agency, the Center for Stabilization and Economic Reconstruction (CSER) at the Institute for Defense and Business (IDB) conducted the inaugural offering of its Seminar on Logistics Cooperation for Stabilization and Reconstruction August 29-September 3, 2010 in Chapel Hill, NC.  LTG Kathleen Gainey, Director for Logistics, the Joint Staff, championed this educational effort and explained how it complements her vision for greater cooperation in the international logistics arena:

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"Our recent experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti continue to emphasize the increasing need for cooperation among a wide variety of public, private, military, and voluntary organizations to support post-disaster and post-conflict crises.  While our past experiences have yielded some creative logistical solutions and lessons learned, this Seminar provides us a unique opportunity to begin educating our logisticians to operate cooperatively and effectively in crisis environments."

The Seminar on Logistics Cooperation for Stabilization and Reconstruction is the first in a series of education programs designed to improve logistics cooperation among public, private, military, and voluntary sectors during times of crisis.  Many of these organizational cultures today consult, coordinate, and even plan with one another—but rarely do all of them coalesce. The gaps or inefficiencies in logistics during crises are all too evident and have been the subject of much public complaint. Miscommunications, prejudice, and misperceptions persist. Lack of trust, legal or regulatory impediments, and a host of other issues all contribute to the problem. As a result, any cooperative operational planning is often incomplete, or non-existent. This seminar assembled many of the relevant actors to build trust and find ways to improve cooperation in logistics.

The objectives of these seminars include:

• Identifying misperceptions, biases, and miscommunications that destroy trust and prevent cooperation;
• Discussing roles and missions of participating organizations;
• Raising the profile of host nations' public and private sectors in logistics solutions;
• Identifying legal and regulatory obstacles to cross-cultural collaboration;
• Identifying problems in information sharing and analyzing solutions;
• Promoting innovation and leadership in overcoming institutional inertia;
• Using case studies and participants' experiences to devise methods for archiving and disseminating lessons learned and best practices; and
• Using the residential experience in Chapel Hill. and surrounding areas to strengthen and expand networks among logisticians.

Each seminar will consist of 36 participants drawn equally from the Military Services; Civil and Foreign Services; international organizations; and the private and voluntary sectors.  All participants will have some experience with their organization's operations in crisis environments.  The week-long seminars at the Rizzo Conference Center in Chapel Hill, NC will feature lectures, discussions, and panel presentations from leading academics and crisis response practitioners.  Additionally, participants will take part in a role playing exercise that will demonstrate the value of logistics cooperation in crisis environments.

FEATURED INSTRUCTORS & SPEAKERS (Inaugural Seminar)

• Corporate and NGO:  Mr. George F. Ward, Jr., WorldVision, Senior Vice President of International Programs;
• Government and Military:  LTG Kathleen Gainey, Director for Logistics, J4, the Joint Staff;
• Academic:  Dr. Rick Gilkey, Associate Professor, Goizueta Business School and School of Medicine, Emory University.

The next Seminar on Logistics Cooperation for Stabilization and Reconstruction is tentatively scheduled for early December 2010.  

IDB is a non-profit research and education institute formed in 1997 by UNC-Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina. The IDB offers a series of education programs for the military, government, non-governmental agencies, and private industry, in the areas of logistics, operations, life cycle management, organizational change, and economic stabilization.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  Please contact Mary Grace Baxendale, Program Associate for CSER at 919-969-8008 or [email protected].

SOURCE Institute for Defense and Business