Throughout the summer of 2010, Pakistan experienced severe flooding that overtook a large portion of the country, displacing millions of people, causing extensive physical damage, and resulting in significant economic losses. This case focuses on the role of the National Guard (and of the U.S. military, more broadly) in the international relief effort that unfolded alongside that of Pakistan's government and military. In particular it highlights how various Guard and U.S. military assets that had been deployed to Afghanistan as part of the war there were reassigned to support the U.S.'s flood relief efforts in Pakistan, revealing the successes and challenges of transitioning from a war-footing to disaster response. In exploring how Guard leaders partnered with counterparts from other components of the U.S. government, Pakistani officials, and members of the international humanitarian community, the case also examines how they navigated a set of difficult civilian-military dynamics during a particularly tense period in US-Pakistan relations.
From 2010 through 2013, the Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division conducted its first health impact assessment (HIA), a process in which a public health organization draws on an array of analytical techniques to gauge the likely health effects of a policy or proposal in another sector (in this instance, the HIA examined the potential effects of wind farms - which constituted a large and growing element of the state's alternative energy strategy - on residents' health). After situating the HIA in the context of the state's "health in all policies" approach (which calls for public health to deepen its connection to other sectors), the case captures the genesis of the HIA, the implementation process, and the response following its publication. The case focuses on how the public health division's relatively small staff managed the HIA's surprisingly large workload and how the public health team worked to incorporate the perspectives of a diverse-and sometimes opposed-set of stakeholders, most notably grassroots opposition groups and representatives of the renewable energy sector. Case number 2038.0
In July 2012, a gunman entered a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado and opened fire, killing 12 people, injuring 58 others, and traumatizing a community. This case briefly describes the shooting and emergency response but focuses primarily on the recovery process in the year that followed. In particular, it highlights the work of the Aurora Public Schools, which under the leadership of Superintendent John L. Barry, drew on years of emergency management training to play a substantial role in the response and then unveiled an expansive recovery plan. This included hiring a full-time disaster recovery coordinator, partnering with an array of community organizations, and holding mental health workshops and other events to support APS community members. The case also details the range of reactions that staff and community members had to APS' efforts, broader community-wide recovery efforts, and stakeholders' perspectives on the effectiveness of the recovery. HKS Case Number 2024.0.