After Action Reviews
Emergency preparedness and response is dynamic and constantly evolving.
AARs analyze the response to or the recovery from an incident or emergency. It’s designed to provide feedback on what worked well and what areas require improvement.
These are evidence-based, objective, measured assessments of the successes and failures based on the existing response plans and are considered an essential component of the improvement process.
AAR Phases:
- Planning
- Preparation
- Conduct
- Reporting
Organizations derive many benefits from conducting a formal AAR: Objective evaluation, builds consensus on issues for follow up, informs a corrective action plan to improve capability, allows advocacy for support, provides a holistic assessment of the response and builds public trust in the organization’s commitment.
Timing of an AAR
AARs are conducted immediately following a response and/or recovery to any event. An AAR is most effective within three months of the official end of an emergency as responders will remember what happened. The same process can be applied while an event is still ongoing; for example, long-term recovery processes associated with a severe storm or conducting an interim study to better prepare for follow on phases (i.e 2nd, 3rd, 4th wave of COVID).
