After the release of the 9/11 report, the government has been working closely with the private sector to develop and implement various disaster prevention and response policies and strategies. The 9/11 Commission Act directs the government through the DHS to develop and promote a preparedness strategy for the private sector. The private sector firms are expected to comply with the developed standards (Parfomak, 2008).
Since the occurrence of 9/11, the government has been promoting processes that support informed, cooperative decision making (Parfomak, 2008). The government has the responsibility of promoting widespread and multidirectional sharing, among the private and public sector, of crucial awareness about potential incidents. Examples of this information sharing are TRIPwire program, Homeland Security Information Network-Critical Sectors (HSIN-CS) and National Coordinating Center (NCC) (Parfomak, 2008).
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The private sector plays the role of not only implementing the disaster preparedness strategies but also making the public aware. The private sector has the responsibility of providing information on critical issues. The government is expected to handle the information in a manner that is in line with applicable regulations and statutes; for example, the Protected Critical Infrastructure Information policy that gives exemptions from disclosure so as to provide unauthorized access to sensitive company information (Parfomak, 2008).
An example of a complication in the relationship between the government and the private sector in managing threats against infrastructure is the issue of tension involving organizational autonomy and independence of constituent environments (Auerswald et al., 2005). This makes communication and cooperation difficult. For any strategy to work, coordination must play a critical role, when many organizations are involved. The struggles for superiority and dominance, together with business competition, brings about tension between organizations making it difficult for them to share critical infrastructure information (Auerswald et al., 2005).
References
Auerswald, P., Branscomb, L. M., La Porte, T. M., Michel-Kerjan, E., & MICHEL-KERJAN, E. R. M. A. N. N. (2005). The challenge of protecting critical infrastructure. Issues in Science and Technology , 22 (1), 77-83.
Parfomak, P. W. (2008, September). Vulnerability of concentrated critical infrastructure: Background and policy options. Library of congress Washington DC Congressional research Service.
