Stress-testing systems before the real stress arrives
Emergency Response Risks and Capabilities Assessment
Emergencies test both preparedness and system resilience. To respond effectively, organizations must identify capability and capacity gaps and optimize resource allocation. Understanding the scale of the emergency—and the resources required to match it—is critical. Decision support tools and models that can shape both advance planning and real-time response, ultimately determining the scope of impact and the speed of recovery, to protect people, property, and the environment.
How RSI delivers Emergency Response Risks and Capabilities Assessment
RSI conducts scenario-based emergency assessments, comparing response strategies and evaluating readiness at both system and organizational levels. We support whole-of-society approaches to disaster prevention and mitigation, integrating public, private, and civil actors across a wide range of emergencies—natural (e.g., flooding, seismic events) and intentional (e.g., terrorism, civil unrest). Drawing on real-world and planning experience, we bring operational insight into areas such as backup communications, first aid resources, and infrastructure dependencies. Our interpretive support helps leaders manage uncertainty and build resilience under pressure.
Why RSI is trusted to deliver
RSI’s team includes experts with emergency planning experience, risk analysts with an understanding of post-emergency assessment, and IT specialists who have developed an emergency planning framework and software. Our insights derive from work on natural disaster readiness, biological threat mitigation, critical infrastructure resilience, and emergency health systems in Canada, the United States, and abroad, including in war zones.
Understanding, managing, and communicating risk
Why this image?
Effective emergency response begins long before a crisis—and depends on understanding both the risks and the capabilities at hand. The image of a man seated at a computer in an Emergency Operations Center represents the calm at the heart of the storm: situational awareness, coordinated response, and evidence-based decision-making. RSI supports agencies and institutions in assessing readiness, identifying gaps, and strengthening the systems that allow emergency response to be not just reactive—but strategic, adaptive, and resilient.