Disaster Mitigation Programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma: An Examination of Organizational Survival

Abstract

This study uses qualitative analysis to examine how Tulsa Project Impact, a formalized emergent citizen group, survived a major external environmental change. Tulsa Project Impact was formed from FEMA Project Impact, a federal grant that provided funding for disaster mitigation programs in local communities. This grant ended abruptly in 2000, leaving managers in Tulsa searching for ways to continue the city's mitigation programs. Using qualitative interviews and document analysis, the conditions for organizational survival are examined. Based upon the data gathered throughout the course of this study, it is apparent that three conditions affected Tulsa Project Impact's ability to survive the environmental change. The conditions that affected organizational survival were organizational goal transformation, professional networks, and resource mobilization. Tulsa Project Impact was able to survive the change because they established a flexible, broad goal that allowed managers to expand the scope of the organization, and to pursue new grant opportunities. If the organization had narrow goals, new programs may not have been added because they would not be aligned with existing goals. In addition, the networks the organization had built were critical to survival. Tulsa Project Impact used networks to recruit new partners to support their programs. Perhaps most vital to the survival of Tulsa Project Impact was their ability to mobilize resources. The programs offered were funded from grants and donations. Tulsa Project Impact established a non-profit agency, which allowed for acquisition of donations and non-profit grants. This organization was vital after FEMA Project Impact ended, and allowed Tulsa's organization to survive. The combination of organizational goal transformation, professional networks, and resource mobilization allowed Tulsa Project Impact to survive after FEMA Project Impact ended.