About This Report  iii

Summary  v

Figures and Tables  xi

CHAPTER 1

Introduction  1

EM Encompasses a Broad Set of Tasks Performed by a Variety of People and Organizations  1

Technology, Particularly AI, May Evolve EM Practice and Overcome Some of These Challenges  3

To Maximize the Opportunity That AI-Enabled Products Afford, They Must Be Adopted Within Individual Organizations Across the Country  4

The Markle Foundation Charged RAND with Assessing the Landscape of AI-Enabled Products That Are Available to Support EM  7

We Share the Information That Led to This Conclusion Across Four Additional Chapters and Nine Appendixes  9

CHAPTER 2

Many Products Exist with the Potential to Support Emergency Management  11

Many Products Are Purpose-Built for EM (or Have Been Used to Support It) and Are Hazard Agnostic  11

There Are Nine or More Products Available to Support Every Functional Area and Task Area  13

Most Products Support Multiple Task Areas  13

Products Supporting Task Areas That Are Important to Emergency Managers Exist  15

There Are Products Other Entities That Support EM Functions Would Use  21

Nearly Half of the Products Identified in This Research Are General Solutions That Have the Potential to Support EM Task Areas  24

Many Products Support Specific Tasks Within an EM Task Area but Would Require Stacking to Best Meet EM Needs  27

There Are Clear Gaps in the Product Landscape  28

Some Products Offer Novel Capabilities That Address EM Needs  29

Conclusion  30

CHAPTER 3

Procurement Realities: From Available to Adopted  31

One in Five Products in This Landscape Is a Component That Depends on Another Product to Function  31

Most Products Are Delivered as Cloud Services, and Many Offer Additional Deployment Options  32

The Path from Purchase to a Working, Sustained Product Is Often Neither a Single Transaction nor a One-Time Setup  33

Most Products Stop Working When Connectivity Fails  35

Most Technology Companies Provide Learning Support for Users but Not 24/7 Technical Assistance  36

Pricing Is Largely Opaque, and Access Models Vary Widely  37

Most Products Have Documented Deployment Across Multiple Sites or Countries  38

The Type and Degree of Risk Vary Across Products  40

Conclusion  45

CHAPTER 4

From Awareness to Broad Adoption: What Will Shape AI Diffusion in Emergency Management?  47

Adoption Within EM Offices Is Emerging at Different Rates  47

Diffusion Is Possible in EM, but the Conditions That Enable It Are Not Available Yet for AI  49

AI Adoption Across Organizations That Support EM Is Meaningful but Emerging at Different Rates  51

Technology Company Design Choices and Communication Practices Shape What Practitioners Can Do  53

Institutional Conditions Shape What Practitioners Can Realistically Do  55

Conclusion  57

CHAPTER 5

From Awareness to Broad Adoption and from Adoption to Diffusion: An Agenda for Action  59

A Sequenced Agenda for Action  59

High-Impact Initiatives to Accelerate Adoption and Diffusion at Scale  60

Conclusion  62

APPENDIXES

A. A Brief History of AI  63

B. Project Approach  67

C. Response Task Areas and AI-Related Patterns  79

D. Disaster Recovery Task Areas and AI-Related Patterns  87

E. Preparedness Task Areas and AI-Related Patterns  95

F. Examples of Observed Response, Recovery, and Preparedness Product Gaps  103

G. Sequenced Action Agendas for Stakeholder Groups to Support Adoption and Diffusion  107

H. Criteria Practitioners Can Use to Evaluate Their Organization's Adoption Readiness Based on Product Characteristics  111

I. Questions for Product Technology Companies: A Checklist for Practitioners  117

Abbreviations  129

References  131