P3: HIEMA’s Public-Private Partnership
Preparedness is a shared responsibility
Emergencies and disasters affect every part of Hawaiʻi: Families, communities, government, nonprofits, and the businesses and infrastructure we rely on every day. HIEMA’s Public-Private Partnership (P3) program strengthens statewide readiness and resilience by building trusted relationships and clear coordination pathways with private sector and nonprofit partners before, during, and after an incident.
P3 supports faster coordination, better situational awareness, and more effective stabilization of essential services by connecting the people who own, operate, supply, and restore critical capabilities across our islands.
Why partner with HIEMA?
Partnerships between public and private entities improve incident management efficiency and help reduce burdens on government while supporting faster recovery for businesses and communities.
Benefits for P3 Members:
- Two-way situational awareness to support operational decisions and continuity actions
- A reliable coordination pathway to share impacts, constraints, and restoration timelines
- Better alignment with response priorities and resource coordination structures
- Stronger relationships and points of contact established before an emergency
- Opportunities to participate in planning, training, and exercises to strengthen readiness
Benefits for Hawaiʻi:
- Improved understanding of cross-sector interdependencies and cascading impacts
- Faster stabilization and restoration of essential services and supply chains
- More coordinated distribution of critical goods and services
- Stronger whole-community resilience across government, nonprofits, and business/industry
What P3 focuses on:
HIEMA’s P3 program strengthens coordination in high-impact areas, including:
- Critical infrastructure and key resources, including service status and restoration priorities
- Supply chain and logistics, including food, water, fuel, and essential commodities distribution
- Communications and shared situational awareness to support coordinated decision-making
- Public information coordination with external affairs partners and trusted messengers
- Donations and volunteer coordination in collaboration with Hawaiʻi VOAD and partner organizations
Partnership operations: Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC)
During major incidents, HIEMA may use a Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) concept to support the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) by managing the private sector interface. The BEOC is a coordination and information hub built to improve two-way communication and problem-solving between emergency management and businesses/industry partners.
BEOC coordination can support:
- Business community, critical infrastructure, and supply chain impact reporting
- Requests for information and status reporting to improve situational awareness
- Connection to the appropriate State Emergency Support Function (SESF) for coordination
- Engagement with registered partners, associations, and chambers of commerce
Private Sector Resilience Training (PSRT)
A key part of P3 is strengthening readiness through shared training and exercise opportunities. HIEMA’s Private Sector Resilience Training supports organizations that want to improve continuity and be prepared to coordinate effectively during disruptions.
PSRT topics may include:
- Continuity basics, including continuity options (telework, relocation, mutual aid) and activation roles
- Backup communications and IT considerations for operating during disruptions
- How to coordinate with emergency management during incidents (what to report, when, and how)
- Supply chain disruption considerations and cross-sector interdependency awareness
- Tabletop exercises and improvement planning to turn lessons learned into action
Who PSRT is for:
- Critical infrastructure owners and operators
- Businesses and industry partners, including logistics and commodity distribution
- Nonprofits, voluntary organizations, and partner networks supporting community services
- Associations, chambers, and sector groups seeking a shared baseline of readiness
Hawaiʻi-focused examples of partnership in action:
Examples from statewide planning and coordination highlight how public-private collaboration strengthens resilience:
- Coordinated distribution planning that recognizes private sector and government distribution efforts can operate simultaneously to support communities
- Private sector-led preparedness initiatives, such as a disaster Recovery POD proof-of-concept capability supporting readiness for post-incident feeding needs
- Coordination and assessment efforts supporting resilience analysis to strengthen planning and decision-making
Aligning with national emergency management standards:
HIEMA’s P3 and PSRT approach aligns with widely used national emergency management doctrine emphasizing whole-community partnership, interoperable coordination, and shared responsibility across government, private sector, nonprofits, and the public. This includes national concepts supporting:
- Pre-incident collaboration to enable effective coordination during response
- Integration of private sector partners into planning, training, and exercises
- A focus on stabilizing essential services and community lifelines
- Critical infrastructure partnership and information-sharing practices
Get involved
HIEMA welcomes participation from businesses, infrastructure operators, nonprofits, and associations committed to strengthening Hawaiʻi’s preparedness and resilience.
Ways to engage:
- Join the P3 partner network for coordination and situational awareness
- Designate a primary and alternate point of contact for emergency coordination
- Request Private Sector Resilience Training for your organization or sector group
- Participate in joint planning meetings, workshops, and exercises
- During incidents, share operational status updates (impacts, constraints, restoration timelines) to support coordinated solutions
To get connected:
Fill out the P3 registration form online, call us at 808-798-5908 or email HIEMA Community Outreach Director John Vierra at [email protected].