Speaker/Author: Katie Wagner
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Collections Emergency Response Ring

A fledgling initiative of the National Collections Program, the Preparedness and Response in Collections Emergencies (PRICE) team provides support, in all levels of emergencies, to Smithsonian collections upon request. The goal of PRICE is to mitigate, prepare, recover, and respond to a disaster by providing staffing, developing unit-level and pan-institutional interdisciplinary collections emergency response policy and procedures, and by providing training and logistical support before, during and after a collections-related disaster. Part of the Incident Command System (ICS) for emergencies, the PRICE initiative integrates into this system as a reporting node to the incident commander. In preparing for an emergency, PRICE is streamlining logistics by locating existing and establishing new indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts (IDIQs) with vendors, mapping emergency routes, and identifying spaces, equipment and supplies the can be shared prior to a disaster. Through brown bag lectures, May Day training with interdepartmental staff members, outreach, and by providing information and support to staff, the PRICE team has enlivened Smithsonian emergency response management in its first year.

Summary by Stephanie Cashman, Graduate Conservation Intern at the National Museum of the American Indian