The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

Our Client's Challenge:

COG is a regional organization of local governments, plus members of the Maryland and Virginia legislatures and the U.S. Congress. COG led the development of a Regional Emergency Coordination Plan (RECEP). Hager Sharp wrote and produced a user-friendly summary of the plan and provided media relations support for its publication.

The Difference:

In 2004, we produced a report that detailed what had been done since 2001 to improve and strengthen regional preparedness, communication, coordination and response. The report, Partnership for Progress, fulfills a pledge that COG made to chronicle the region's work in a user-friendly summary for its members, Congress and the public.

We examined planning documents, conducted interviews with chief administrative officers, regional emergency management and elected officials and attended meetings of the COG Board and the Emergency Preparedness Council and training exercises. We also examined ways in which the plan is working, providing real life examples of regional coordination in action. The publication demonstrates the enduring values of the region's efforts and connects them to the reader in direct, personal and historical ways.

The work gave us a deep appreciation of the complex nature of emergency preparedness and response in the National Capital Region. And, it won an international design award.