Research Brief
Principal Researcher(s)
Amy Leggate

Advisor
Amy Severson

Instructor
Beth Larcombe

Research Field
After-Action Reviews in
Emergency Management

Program
Bachelor or Emergency
and Security
Management Studies

Course
19WI BESMS
Capsto
ne

Funding Sources
N/A: Course-based
Project.

Emergency Management After-Action
Review Processes to Influence Ontario
Municipalities
This project reviews the current process for after-action reviews
(AAR) completed by municipalities in Ontario under the direction
and influence of the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency
Management (OFMEM). It is found that there is a lack of guidance
provided from the OFMEM regarding the AAR process. This project
discusses how the OFMEM can better encourage the standardized
use of the AAR by municipalities in Ontario. The research question
asks what literature is available to assist the OFMEM when making
AAR process suggestions to municipalities in Ontario.
Without proper guidance from the OFMEM in Ontario, the lessons
learned process may be avoided when a municipality experiences
an incident or exercise. Lessons learned can increase an
organizations agility and allows municipalities to build a wellrounded, broader, and strategic approach after an event (Friesen,
Kelsey & Legere, 2017).
Questionnaires were sent to Ontario municipal emergency
management professionals to discuss their AAR processes. The
results were tallied into a table and utilized to compare against each
other, the template offered by the OFMEM, and the literature. The
literature collected focused on the essential elements of AAR’s;
culture, best practices, active learning, and reflective learning.
The inexpensive AAR process can deliver great results if completed
properly. The benefits of the AAR are found to enhance strengths,
address limitations and allow organizations to learn from
experiences. The OFMEM may play a large part of the AAR process
that municipalities choose to use within their emergency
management divisions to promote active and reflective learning.

JIBC Research Brief
Structured Abstract
Introduction: The research question is what literature is available to assist the OFMEM when making
AAR process suggestions to municipalities in Ontario? Without proper guidance from the OFMEM in
Ontario, the lessons learned process may be avoided when a municipality experiences an incident or
exercise. This is unfortunate because lessons learned will increase organizational agility and play an
important role in EM (Friesen et al., 2017). Municipalities may not build well-rounded, broader, and
strategic approaches to lessons learned without proper steps taken after an incident or event (Friesen
et al., 2017). Errors may be repeated in the future if there is no organized system that considers their
rectification. Further, if municipalities do complete the AAR process, what method do they use to input
and track the changes they have identified? What recommendations are there for sharing the
information with others inside and outside of the organization? And what research studies are available
to assist with these recommendations?

Methods: A literature search was completed to gather existing data regarding
essential elements of the AAR. A questionnaire was sent to emergency
management professionals in Ontario and the answered data was compared to each
other and the template provided by the OFMEM. The literature provided
information to encourage useful information for the OFMEM to create a
comprehensive AAR process.

Results/Findings: Common themes discovered in the literature review
pertaining to AAR’s was the importance of organization culture, AAR best practices,
active learning and reflective learning.

Discussion: The AAR provides an opportunity for municipalities to address
limitations and enhance strengths within their organization. By taking the time
after an incident to discuss the results of an incident or exercise the municipalities
can increase their agility and ensure due diligence is completed.

Practical Applications: If the OFMEM creates a complete AAR process
recommendation for municipalities in Ontario to utilize, they may increase resilience
within the province. Increased resilience may save lives and funding in the future.

References:
Friesen, S. K., Kelsey, S., & Legere, J. A. (2017). Defining a risk-informed framework for whole-ofgovernment lessons learned: A Canadian perspective. Journal of Emergency Management, 15(4),
219–232. https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2017.0331