Naim Kapucu | University of Central Florida (original) (raw)

Books by Naim Kapucu

This book focuses on disaster and crisis management in the public sector. A wide range of natural... more This book focuses on disaster and crisis management in the public sector. A wide range of natural hazards pose major risks to the lives and livelihoods of large populations around the world. Man-made disasters, caused by technological failures (industrial accidents, spillages, explosions and fires),compound the threat. In the post-9/11 context, security threats based on violence (terrorism, insurgency, and civil strife) have attracted much of government’s attention and public resources. The scale, frequency, and intensity of disasters and crises have dramatically increased over the last decade. Failures of disaster and crises response prompt a critical need for a careful stocktaking. What have we learned? What has changed in the management of disasters and crises? What do we know about the causes, patterns, and consequences of these events? This book offers a “sampler” of issues and approaches that can be used for empirical examination of disaster and crisis management practices. It contributes to the literature on crisis management, disaster management, social sciences, policy and planning. The volume introduces approaches that are applicable to a variety of circumstances in the U.S. and in other countries; it offers ways to think through policy interventions and governance mechanisms that may enhance societal resilience.

Rivera, F. I., & Kapucu, N. (2015). New York, NY: Springer. (forthcoming)

The symposium issue focuses on performance in dealing with disasters, including catastrophic disa... more The symposium issue focuses on performance in dealing with disasters, including catastrophic disasters. catastrophic disasters are characterized by unexpected or unusual size, disruptions to the communication and decision-making capabilities of the emergency response system, and an initial breakdown in coordination and communication. High performance in dealing with disasters requires an ability to assess and adapt capacity rapidly, restore or enhance disrupted or inadequate communications, utilize uncharacteristically flexible decision making, and expand coordination and trust of emergency response agencies . moreover, the public increasingly expects better public sector performance before, during, and after disasters than it has seen in the past. High standards of responsiveness and the ubiquitous media compel political leaders and administrative heads to coordinate resources effectively. the massive numbers of public, nonprofit, and private organizations involved in disaster response and recovery operations require

Papers by Naim Kapucu

Social Science Research Network, 2021

ABSTRACT Crises are a time when people look to their political leaders for action. For a Presiden... more ABSTRACT Crises are a time when people look to their political leaders for action. For a President who was a master of shaping political narratives, COVID-19 offered an opportunity to use his messaging skills to steer the public response. Instead, COVID-19 revealed Trump’s long-standing inability to manage governance processes reflected in a series of failures in decision-making, communication, collaboration, and coordination and control. This article examines leadership qualities needed to successfully manage crisis and compares those qualities to President Trump’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case reveals how the lack of presidential leadership left the United States in a position of failure, characterized by high case rates, deaths, and an ongoing inability to establish a basic national consensus on how to respond to the pandemic.

Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society

IGI Global eBooks, Jan 18, 2011

Public Administration Review, Jul 14, 2023

Building community resilience has become a national imperative. Substantial uncertainties in dyna... more Building community resilience has become a national imperative. Substantial uncertainties in dynamic environments of emergencies and crises require real‐time information collection and dissemination based on big data analytics. These, in turn, require networked communities and cross‐sector partnerships to build lasting resilience. This viewpoint article highlights an interdisciplinary approach to building community resilience through community‐engaged research and partnerships. This perspective leverages existing community partnerships and network resources, undertakes an all‐hazard and whole‐community approach, and evaluates the use of state‐of‐the‐art information communication technologies. In doing so, it reinforces the multifaceted intergovernmental and cross‐sector networks through which resilience can be developed and sustained.

Rivera, F. I., & Kapucu, N. (2015). New York, NY: Springer. (forthcoming)

Social Science Research Network, 2021

Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Society

IGI Global eBooks, Jan 18, 2011

Public Administration Review, Jul 14, 2023

Policy Studies, May 26, 2021

Routledge eBooks, Apr 6, 2020

International journal of disaster risk reduction, Nov 1, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Routledge eBooks, Apr 6, 2020

Journal of nonprofit education and leadership, 2012

Community-based small nonprofit organizations face unique challenges to capacity building. The Ca... more Community-based small nonprofit organizations face unique challenges to capacity building. The Capacity Building Institute, initiative under the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Central Florida, has developed an ambitious, innovative, team approach to capacity building in two groups of eight small, nonprofit, minority Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). The first project, completed in 2005, and the second project, completed in 2008, offers a fertile resource for examination by both academics and practitioners. Research confirms that a number of factors may influence the successful outcomes of capacity building initiatives of CBOs. This article focuses on community support and internal and external stakeholder development as keys to successfully building the capacity of CBOs. The findings and implications are critical reflections of field experience, survey data, participant observations, and interviews. The article proposes modest actions and lessons learned of relevance to others in the fields of nonprofit capacity building.

Public Administration Quarterly, Oct 15, 2022

As the field has grown since the late 20th century, we have witnessed an increase in scholars fro... more As the field has grown since the late 20th century, we have witnessed an increase in scholars from these disciplines seeking to understand and explore the nonprofit environment. However, scholars' theoretical approaches and methodologies in the primary disciplines have historically provided little cross-over between disciplines. At times, the field has been intently focused on specific content areas such as acquiring financial resources or organizational effectiveness dominating scholarly output (Mirabella, 2013; Shier & Handy, 2014). In addition, our education programs have become increasingly narrow, with fewer interdisciplinary programs today than at the beginning of this century (Mirabella et al., 2019). Many have argued that the absence of a cross-disciplinary approach has hampered our ability to develop innovative solutions to key social issues (Beaton

International journal of disaster risk reduction, 2021

The article addresses policy changes and reforms in emergency management system in China comparin... more The article addresses policy changes and reforms in emergency management system in China comparing two major earthquakes. The Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 helped to uncover problems with the Chinese emergency management system. Almost a decade later, the Jiuzhaigou earthquake in 2017 also mobilized a national disaster response. These two major disasters provided opportunities to analyze changes in the disaster policy of China. This study adopted policy text and social network analyses to compare the emergency response plans used for both earthquakes. Policy learning and administrative reforms, including changes in the local disaster response organizations and emergency support functions, of local emergency management practices after the Wenchuan earthquake were highlighted. At the local level, the interorganizational collaboration network was better coordinated in 2017. The findings suggest some improvements for the disaster policies and practices of the local governments of China.

Naim Kapucu is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration at the Universit... more Naim Kapucu is an associate professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida and director of the Center for Public and Nonprofi t Management. His main research interests are crisis management, decision making in complex environments, network governance, and organizational learning and design. He recently published a book on Turkish public administration (coauthored with Hamit Palabiyik). He teaches nonprofi t management, managing emergencies and crises, comparative public administration, and analytic techniques for public administration courses.

Kapucu, N. (2015). Emergency Management: Whole Community Approach. In M. Dubnick & D. Bearfield ... more Kapucu, N. (2015). Emergency Management: Whole Community Approach. In M. Dubnick & D. Bearfield (eds.) Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.

Disasters impact communities and individuals and disrupt socialtechnical systems and community fu... more Disasters impact communities and individuals and disrupt socialtechnical systems and community functions. Consequences of disasters can be minimized if communities and people reduce their vulnerabilities and increase their resilience. Disaster response received signifi cant attention from the researchers and practitioners alike. In a sense it is easy to study short term disaster response. Investment in immediate disaster response also makes sense for policy makers. Unfortunately research on disaster recovery is very limited and it is considered the ignored phase of emergency management and existing knowledge and applied research of this phase is seriously lagging behind compared to what is required today. Disaster recovery is usually perceived and understood as a slow phase that begins after critical decisions and needs are met after a disaster. There is also a perceived notion that the government agencies at all levels have committed resources more to disaster response and relief efforts and less to recovery (and mitigation) efforts. Thus it is important to pay heed to this crucial phase of managing disasters. Recovery is a long process that offers ample opportunity to rebuild and redevelop resilient and sustainable communities. The chapter highlights that a shared effort to redevelop, restore, and rebuild a community requires effective intergovernmental and cross-sector collaboration and cooperation. Recent recovery experiences in the US, especially post-Katrina, have shown a considerable lack of coordination between different government agencies as well as political confl icts in planning and executing recovery efforts. The complex nature of recovery planning and efforts requires pre-disaster and post-disaster collaboration between different stakeholders including private, public, nonprofi t organizations and citizens. This chapter focuses on collaborative governance principles applied to disaster recovery using the recent National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) in the U.S. as an example. The development of NDRF is also included briefl y in the chapter. This chapter is important 42 to gauge the usefulness of a national level recovery framework. This framework may assist in altering the general perception about the Federal government's lack of effort and planning towards disaster recovery.

Bu çalışmanın amacı Dayanışmalı Kamu Yönetimi (DKY) ve Dayanışmalı Yönetişim (DY)'i farklı teorik... more Bu çalışmanın amacı Dayanışmalı Kamu Yönetimi (DKY) ve Dayanışmalı Yönetişim (DY)'i farklı teorik kavramlar olarak ele alarak aralarındaki temel farklılıkları ortaya koymak ve vatandaşın yönetime katılması konusundaki önermelerine ışık tutmaktır. Bu amaca ulaşmak adına farklı disiplinlerin öz perspektiflerinden ve devlet birey ilişkilerini merkeze alan teorilerden faydalanılmıştır. Makalede ayrıca DKY ve DY ile alakalı literatüre geniş bir açıdan bakılmakta, yönetişim, vatandaşın yönetime katılması ve devlet birey ilişkileri genel hatları ile okuyucunun ilgisine sunulmaktadır. Mevcut literatür hem DKY hem de DY çıkış noktası olarak 1990'larda en parlak günlerini yaşayan Yeni Kamu Đşletmeciği (YKĐ) akımının birer devamıdır denebilir. Bu yaklaşımın köklerinde devleti yönetim olarak özel sektör mantığına yaklaştırmak ve bu yolla verimliliği ve etkinliği artırmak düşüncesi yatmaktadır. Fakat DKY ve DY arasındaki ortak noktalar sadece YKĐ ile sınırlı değildir. Vatandaşın yönetime katılması da son yıllarda gittikçe ağırlık kazanmaya başlayan ve hem DKY hem de DY'in ortak yönlerinden olan bir gelişmedir. Đki yaklaşım, farklı perspektifler-

Course Description: This course focuses on leadership in public service from both theoretical and... more Course Description: This course focuses on leadership in public service from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Students will have opportunities to explore their strengths and weaknesses as managerial leaders and to develop competencies in these areas. While students will learn about the major theoretical frameworks, they will focus on an applied action research model that is useful in analyzing and developing oneself and others for public service in public and nonprofit organizations. The main goals of this course are (1) to help students deepen their appreciation of the importance of public service leadership in our democratic scheme of governance; (2) to enhance their ability to think analytically about prospects and challenges of leadership in public service; and (3) to enhance their ability to make good arguments concerning how public service leadership issues might be addressed. By the end of this course (combined with their own experience and skills), students will be able to recognize and define public service leadership issues at all levels of government, to offer insightful analysis of public governance issues that they encounter in practice, and to ask critical questions, offer good suggestions, and make sound arguments concerning how such issues might be addressed or solved. The focus is not so much on the material as it is on you—your personal vision or model of leadership and the development of competencies to help you become a better leader of self, groups or teams you might work with, organizations, and also within boundary-crossing or community contexts. This course emphasizes experiential learning, meaning you will be asked to look for ways to apply what you have learned in your real life, outside the classroom, and reflect on what experience teaches you. You will also have the opportunity to work with colleagues in a team project to try out ideas and practices from the readings. It may sound cliché, but it is very true that what you get out of this course will be a direct reflection of what you choose to put into it.

This seminar is about big ideas that drive methodological debates in the public policy research. ... more This seminar is about big ideas that drive methodological debates in the public policy research. These debates are about the philosophy of methods, not the methods themselves, and this is why we use the term methodology. The aim of methodology is to examine critically the underlying philosophical, epistemological, and sociological arguments used to justify different methods of inquiry. By studying methodology we hope to expand the range of research methods and theories available to us as practicing social scientists, protecting us from the dogma that there is one set of “approved” methods and from the despair that comes from believing there are none. Students are encouraged to question what they know and how they know it in this seminar.

The purpose of the Capstone course is to bring together areas of knowledge and skills gained thro... more The purpose of the Capstone course is to bring together areas of knowledge and skills gained through the MPA program, and apply them, in an integrative manner, to the most up-to-date challenges facing public managers. This course provides graduating students with a summative experience that allows them to tie together what they have learned over the course of the program. This course is designed to help students recognize and develop further their knowledge, understanding, and skills for working effectively in organizations and networks. The aim is for students to build on their strengths as an effective leader and public manager.

Emergencies and crises create an extraordinarily difficult set of challenges for public managers.... more Emergencies and crises create an extraordinarily difficult set of challenges for public managers. In disaster situations, public managers are legally responsible for the protection of life, property, and continuity of operations in their respective communities. Yet, they suddenly are confronted with situations they have never encountered before. How do they assess the situation? What resources are available to them? How do they formulate a strategy of action to bring the situation under control? What information do citizens need to protect their own lives and property? How do they make informed decisions under the urgent stress of disaster and crises, and when lives and property are at risk? What is the most effective means of reducing the damage, destruction and disruption to lives and communities that unmitigated disasters bring? Do short-term policy goals limit or facilitate long-term strategies for disaster reduction in urban environments exposed to risk? As the population of the world increases, the incidence of disasters, both natural and man-made, also increase as people move into vulnerable coastal regions and megacities.

The seminar will bring together perspectives of practitioners, policy-makers, and academic resear... more The seminar will bring together perspectives of practitioners, policy-makers, and academic researchers on network theory and its relevance to public policy and management. It will also provide a unique opportunity to critically explore current thinking on the role of networks and look at the relationship between networks and public management from both a policy and operational viewpoint. In this seminar, we will examine networks in its various forms along with its effects on behavior within and between organizations including: drawing on literature from sociology, policy sciences, organizational studies, economics, and business strategy; covering the basic theoretical models of networks and investigating different methods that have been used in network research; approach our investigation from multiple levels of analysis and incorporate guest lecturers from the UCF faculty and community members who are interested in collaborative public management; and discuss various applications of network theory dependent on the interests and backgrounds of students. Students will learn network analysis techniques using a recent version of UCINET. In addition, several network analysis examples from different settings including policy implementation networks, emergency response and management networks, and more informal power networks, will be presented. It is expected that students will employ the network analysis concepts and tools in their final project.

The presentation provides summary of a recent research on the state of network research and netwo... more The presentation provides summary of a recent research on the state of network research and network analysis applications in Public Administration.

As the number of complex transnational problems have continued to grow, so too has the desire to ... more As the number of complex transnational problems have continued to grow, so too has the desire to combat them through global partnerships and collective action. In response, the United Nations (U.N.) and member states created the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. This study provides a background on international organizations and efforts in collectively moving towards sustainable development goals. It examines the SDGs (specific emphasis on Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus) and means of governance and implementation at the global level. It also seeks to describe and visualize partnerships and collective action using network analysis tools and techniques. The network visualization demonstrates the organizations working together and towards the SDGs, which provides the type of structure and key actors and arrangements for implementation at the global stage.

The development and use of the portfolio has become a critical feature of many Master of Public A... more The development and use of the portfolio has become a critical feature of many Master of Public
Administration (MPA) programs. The portfolio assignment has grown out of deepened appreciation
of learning theory and the application of both performance measurement and management systems
in MPA program curricula. The portfolio assignment as part of a capstone experience can contribute
to the development of professional practitioners of public service. Based on review of the literature
on the use of portfolios in professional degree programs and a case study of two MPA programs,
this article seeks to deepen our understanding of the portfolio as an effective pedagogical tool and
assessment strategy, and it offers conclusions about best practices in using portfolios.

This brief editorial introduction highlights the importance of policies and effective governance ... more This brief editorial introduction highlights the importance of policies and effective governance for disaster resilience including communities, individuals, institutions, and organizations through the execution of deliberate choice and collective action. Effective facilitation of development and implementation of disaster policies can lead to more resilient communities in the aftermath of disasters. The success of design, development, and execution of disaster resilience policies require engagement of the " whole community " .

Journal of Public Affairs Education, 2013

Emergency management academic programs continue to strive toward linking students' theoretical an... more Emergency management academic programs continue to strive toward linking students' theoretical and practical knowledge before they enter the evolving and challenging field of emergency management. This article recommends including service-learning pedagogy in the development of emergency management programs and curriculum to help meet this educational challenge. Results from a national survey of emergency management and homeland security academic programs indicate that many programs are incorporating service-learning projects in some courses. This article concludes by discussing the benefits and challenges associated with using service learning in emergency management programs and by presenting advice for program directors and faculty considering implementing this pedagogy.

Public Administration Review

In light of recent disasters, it is evident that more research is needed to understand how organi... more In light of recent disasters, it is evident that more research is needed to understand how organizations can effectively coordinate disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. This research assesses the effectiveness of interorganizational coordination and collaboration in response to the Boston Marathon bombings. After reviewing the major changes in federal emergency management policies and frameworks since September 11, 2001, this article applies a social network analysis to compare the disaster response networks embodied in formal disaster preparedness plans with the actual response networks. Data come from content analyses of the Boston Emergency Operations Plan, national and local newspaper articles, after-action reports, and situation reports. The timely response to the bombings is attributable to long-term institutionalized planning efforts; multiple platforms established for frequent interorganizational interactions through formal plans, training, and exercises prior to disasters; and an integrated communication system.

With the vast number of fragmented, independent public safety wireless communication systems, the... more With the vast number of fragmented, independent public safety wireless communication systems, the United States is encountering major challenges with enhancing interoperability and effectively managing costs while sharing limited availability of critical spectrum. The traditional hierarchical approach of emergency management does not always allow for needed flexibility and is not a mandate. A national system would reduce equipment needs, increase effectiveness, and enrich quality and coordination of response; however, it is dependent on integrating the commercial market. This article discusses components of an ideal national wireless public safety system consists along with key policies in regulating wireless communication and spectrum sharing for public safety and challenges for implementation.