My work focuses primarily on local capacity building for emergency management and Homeland Security. The sociopolitical, as well as legal, environment is one in which authority is fragmented, resources are dispersed, and capacities are uneven. It is an environment that requires intergovernmental, inter-sector, and inter-organizational collaboration. Disasters, including terrorism-related disasters, also require considerable flexibility and improvisation. Identifying mechanisms that encourage effective collaboration at the organizational and individual levels is the goal.