Author's Guidelines | Advertising Policy | 2024 Special Focus Issues | Bulletin Archives | Contact the Editor: John Osborne

About the Bulletin

The IAEM Bulletin, the official newsletter of the International Association of Emergency Managers, is published monthly by IAEM to keep members abreast of association news, government actions affecting emergency management, and research and information sources. The Bulletin – which is in its 41st year of continuous publication – is also intended to serve as a way for emergency management colleagues to exchange information on programs and ideas. The members-only IAEM Bulletin, generally 24-40 pages, moved from print to electronic publishing in 2014. Past issues are available in the members-only IAEM Bulletin Archives.

Readership

The Bulletin is distributed electronically via the members-only archives to more than 6,000 emergency management officials each month, representing all levels of government, industrial, commercial, educational, military, private, non-profit and volunteer organizations. The newsletter is also shared with allied organizations and legislative representatives with a role in emergency management issues.

Article Submissions

Please read the Author's Guidelines before submitting an article for the IAEM Bulletin. For the issues that are not special focus issues, articles on any topic of interest to emergency management professionals are welcome. Feature article length should be 750-1,500 words, and articles should be emailed to the editor as attached Word documents (no PDF submissions, please). Photos or illustrations must be emailed as separate image attachments (JPG or PNG). Learn more here.

Advertising Policy

The IAEM Bulletin Advertising Policy includes information about placing display ads in the IAEM Bulletin, including ad sizes, ad formats, ad costs, and IAEM member discounts.

2024 Special Focus Issues

Four times a year, the IAEM Bulletin includes a special focus section on a selected topic of interest to emergency management. The other eight issues of this monthly publication include articles on a wide variety of topics related to emergency management.

March 2024 IAEM Bulletin | Article submission deadline: March 1, 2024

Messaging and Alerting. In the March edition, the IAEM Bulletin will take a look at messaging and alerting. As a major portion of communicating to impacted individuals, messaging and alerting are areas where split-second decisions can mean the difference between avoiding the worst of an emergency or looking back on an incident as a true tragedy. In this issue, we’ll be examining:

• Case studies in messaging and alerting.
• Lessons learned (the good and the bad) from emergency managers' experience issuing and coordinating alerts.
• Mistakes in messaging/poorly executed alerts.
• Language barriers and how to address this problem in alerting.
• Accessibility needs in alerting.
• Tools, tips, and must-know information for creating alerts and messages.
• Policies and plans that impact messaging and alerts.

NOTE: Articles received by the deadline will be considered for the March issue. Articles on this topic received after the deadline will be considered for a future issue.

May 2024 IAEM Bulletin | Article submission deadline: April 20, 2024

AI in Emergency Management.

In the May issue of the IAEM Bulletin, we’ll be examining all things AI. From the good to the bad; the benefits versus risks; AI as a tool versus AI as a threat—AI will surely have a continued impact on emergency management, emergency managers, and the populations we serve. Will this technology make your job easier and the community you serve safer? Or do the threats outweigh the potential benefits? Consider:

• Will AI make planning and responding easier?
• Will AI allow emergency managers to become more efficient?
• What cybersecurity threats does AI pose to emergency management?
• What policy changes, workflow changes, or differences in planning  have you experienced firsthand with the rise of AI technology?

NOTE: Articles received by the deadline will be considered for the May issue. Articles on this topic received after the deadline will be considered for a future issue.

August 2024 IAEM Bulletin | Article submission deadline: July 20, 2024

Changing Landscape of EM

The “Civil Defense days” are in the rearview mirror for emergency management. The landscape is undeniably changing; new risks, new specializations, and new opportunities are emerging on what seems to be a daily basis for emergency managers. In August, we’ll be taking a look at the changing landscape of emergency management. Consider these—and other—concerns where emergency management has changed in recent times:

• Language issues.
• Medical/mental health.
• International/global issues.
• CERT/first responders.
• Border issues.
• Drugs.
• Community preparedness.
• Emerging threats.
• Interconnectivity of the world.
• Power grid.
• Communication tools.
• Reliance on internet.
• Cybersecurity.
• Election Security.
• Political unrest.
• Limited resources (doing more with less).

NOTE: Articles received by the deadline will be considered for the August issue. Articles on this topic received after the deadline will be considered for a future issue.

October 2024 IAEM Bulletin | Article submission deadline: September 20, 2024

IAEM 2024: Emergency Management Ascending

The last special focus issue in October 2024 will be based on the overall theme of the IAEM 2024 Annual Conference & EMEX, “IAEM 2024: Emergency Management Ascending.” Your article should be related in some way to the overall conference theme. The October 2024 IAEM Bulletin will be our “conference issue.” Those who will be presenting at the conference are highly encouraged to submit an article based on their session topic. This article should not be an advertorial for your session. This could be “bonus content” for your session if you are speaking at the Annual Conference.

If you are a speaker who plans to submit an article:

• There is no need to incorporate your session’s time, date, or location in your submission. This information will be added during the editing process.
• All submissions must follow the Author Guidelines; be especially mindful of the word-count requirement (750-1500 words).
• Due to the popularity of this special focus issue, the IAEM Editorial Committee may have to split this special focus issue between several months of publication.
• IAEM offers this special focus issue as a publicly accessible resource for one year—non-members will be able to access this issue’s articles.  

The conference theme focuses on four key areas: 

• Emergency Management Ascending:  In Long Beach, California, we celebrate the 71st year of IAEM. Now, it is time to look toward the future. Over the past several years we have witnessed unpredictable and unprecedented events that have drastically impacted the field of emergency management. As we move to the next step in our collective journey, what actions have been taken to ascend toward the needs of today and the future? How has your work environment changed? How are you approaching training and exercises? What planning activities have been of great value or need to be included or updated? What does recovery look like in the wake of all these new funding streams? How are you addressing the latest concerns when it comes to our vulnerable populations and those most in need? How are you partnering with others in your community? What “best practices” in leadership are you using that the rest of us can learn from and implement?
• The Diverse Nature of Emergency Management:  We have experienced many benefits as the field of emergency management grows and becomes more diverse. We’ve made progress, but there is still more to do to encourage and sustain diversity. How do we ascend to new heights, making the most diverse profession in the world understand, adjust, and work in an ever-changing world, in which professional emergency managers must always be in touch with a widely diverse audience of community stakeholders?
• A Profession of Collaboration, Coordination, Communication, and Cooperation:  The past few years have shown us that the importance of partnerships, collaboration, and best practices cannot be overstated. With limited resources, more global interconnections, and greater challenges, we must work efficiently and effectively. How do we work within the confines of grant funding and subsequent requirements? What have you done to build successful partnerships with private industry and other important stakeholders in your communities? How do we collaborate to ascend from private sector competitor to private sector partner? Who are our stakeholders and allied partners? Where do you find yourself being continually challenged? What are some innovative, outside-the-box ideas you want to share about collaboration, coordination, communication, or cooperation?
• Rocky Mountain High: In the past decade, as a profession, we have gone to great lengths to prepare and protect our communities.  All around the world, we have encountered issues that have tested us at very high levels, increasing the stress load and mental health issues within our profession. We have had major disasters and technological disasters; civil unrest and community divide; and the list is endless. All of this can create issues for our profession, and our professionals. How as a profession that often is expected to be “all things to all people,” and is “never allowed to say ‘no,’” can we do a better job of preparing and protecting our communities, while protecting our emergency management professionals?

NOTE: Articles received by the deadline will be considered for the October issue. Articles on this topic received after the deadline will be considered for a future issue.