Recent U.S. high consequence events have made clear the importance of government collaboration with industry. The benefits of such collaboration were clearly seen as a lesson from Hurricane Katrina. The resources owned and controlled by American industry dwarf those available to local, state and even the federal government departments. Better agreements and incentives to bring the full capabilities of industry squarely into the national response agenda will be indispensable in effectively responding to large-scale catastrophes. General Russel Honoré who led the National Guard response to Katrina has said, “We need the partnering between local, state, and federal governments; but the biggest partner should be industry…because people in industry, if they understand the problems, can take them on as business opportunities.”

To foster the development of public-private-partnerships, JMU in cooperation with the Federal Facilities Council of the National Research Council organized a symposium held on May 22nd, 2008 at the National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. The event program was structured to illuminate successful public-private partnerships at the local, regional, and national level as models and consider steps to develop and improve public-private partnerships for the future. The program included presentations by recognized experts from government and industry engaged in operating and securing critical infrastructures. This article summarizes major points made by symposium keynote speakers and panelists.