Enhancing Disaster Resilience: A PMs Perspective on Lessons Learned and Best Practices from Japan by Ryu Saito

1. Enhancing Disaster Resilience: A PMs Perspective on Lessons Learned and Best Practices from Japan
Ryu SAITO (PMI Japan member)
AM 4:15-4:55 (GMT)

2. - Introduction
- History of disasters in Japan
- Tools & Techniques in Disaster
Management
- How PMs can help? –Case study
- Conclusion
AGENDA

3. With 20 years of experience in project management, specialized in consulting and software services.
Recently, focused on enhancing disaster resilience through SaaS solutions and consulting for Japanese
enterprises and government agencies. Experienced unique projects including followings:
SELF INTRODUCTION
https://reals.org/ https://oneconcern.com/
An NGO that works primarily in
conflict zones, providing social
psychological support and capacity
building for conflict prevention.
In Turkey&Syria, they have
supported Syrian refugees in
Turkey and Internal Displayed
Peoples(IDPs) in Syria since before
the earthquake.
Resilience-as-a-Service provider
HQed in the States with technology
disaster risk assessment for
‘preparedness’ and real-time
damage simulation for ‘response’.
In Japan, conducted pilot projects
with local government to increase
their capability to manage disasters
such as seismic and flood.
Conducted baseline survey on
community safety for creating
succeeding project to build
communities’ capacity so that they
can strengthen own security on
their own.
It helps to prevent further conflict
at community level.
Ryu SAITO

4. Today's presentation will cover the following bolded Themes in particular, based on personal experience
and practices in Japan, but might be relevant to others.
PM TOPICS TO BE COVERED
1. Panels - Discussions about what project managers can do to help?
2. Testimony - People who work in disaster zones or with refugees
3. Relief Projects - Disaster or support projects
4. Agility and adaptability - Delivering projects and programs in chaotic situations
5. Technical - Tools & techniques to use in extreme situations
6. Business- Philanthropy and CSR (corporate social responsibility)
You’ll gain insight from our experiences in Japan and apply to your own project in Syria/Turkey or even in
your own communities to enhance disaster resilience.

5. HISTORY OF
DISASTERS IN JAPAN

6. Like Turkey and Syria, Japan has periodically suffered from major earthquakes. In this context, both the
country and its civil society have increased their resilience, especially in the wake of recent major events.
RECENT KEY EVENTS AND EVOLUTION OF
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
1995 2011 2016
Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Great East Japan Earthquake Kumamoto Earthquake
- Stricter earthquake resistance standards.
- Clarify volunteer org legal status to
promote “mutual help” activities
- “National Resiliency Plan” was newly formulated
- Not only NPOs, but also companies were
involved in the recovery not only through
philanthropy but also through a CSV approach
- Set resilience standards for not only
constructions but soil due to residential damages
- Further collaboration among civil societies and
companies based on lessons learned from 2011.

7. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, PMIJ launched so-called “Social PM Study Group” to cope
with challenges in social mission driven projects on the ground and allied to following disasters.
HOW PMIJ RESPONSE TO DISASTERS
2011 2016
Great East Japan Earthquake Kumamoto Earthquake
Established “Social PM” SG and
came up with the frameworks
Implemented the framework to
NOGs on the field

8. TOOLS & TECHS
IN DISASTER
MANAGEMENT
(c) Iwate Prefecture
(c) The Mainichi Shimbun
#1. Hybrid PM approach
#2. Stakeholder management

9. Depending on the Disaster management life cycle, PM approach can be predictive/waterfall as well as agile.
It needs to be considered as a hybrid depending on the stages.
#1.PM APPROACH – AGILE VS WATERFALL
Response
Responding safely to an
emergency
Recovery
Recovering from an
emergency
Disaster
Mitigation
Preventing future
emergencies or minimizing
their effects
Preparedness
Preparing to handle an
emergency
WATERFALL

10. Not only the disaster management life cycle but also nature of projects, “hard/physical” and “soft/social”
infrastructure measure affect on PM approaches to be taken.
#1. “HARD/PHYSICAL” VS “SOFT/SOCIAL”
Response Recovery Mitigation Preparedness
Hard/
Physical
Soft/
Social
- Setting up temporary
shelters, restoring critical
infrastructure
- Provision of food, clothing,
and other minimum
essentials for survival
- Communicating emergency
information
- Repairing damaged
infrastructure, rebuilding
homes and buildings
- Restoring essential services
- Providing financial &
psycho-social assistance
and counseling to affected
businesses and individuals
- Reinforcing more resilient
infrastructure that meets
new resistance standards
- Relocating buildings
- Promoting community-
based disaster risk
reduction activities
- Developing emergency
response plans and
procedures
- Establishing warning and
communication systems
- promoting community-
based preparedness
- fostering partnerships and
collaboration among
stakeholders

11. Hard countermeasures in the "Recovery" to "Mitigation" phases are basically waterfall approaches.
In Japan, disaster prevention measures are cascaded by local governments and communities in accordance with
national policies, and budgets are allocated for hard measures and implemented as needed.
#1. “HARD/PHYSICAL” INFRA MEASURES
National Resilience Plan - Government
Regional Resilience Plan – Municipalities/ Counties
Community Resilience Plan – Communities

12. On the other hand, the soft aspects of the project depends on many uncertainties, and incremental/agile
approach is required over the medium to long term. (e.g., migration and resettlement issues due to the
nuclear power plant damage, psychological care, etc. after the 2011 Earthquake)
#1. “SOFT/SOCIAL” INFRA MEASURES
1-yr span 5-yrs span 10-yrs span
Challenges
Solutions
- Temporary housing and living conditions
- Mental health issues and stress
- Loss of jobs and income
- Disruption of community ties and social
networks
- Provision of temporary housing and basic
necessities
- Mental health support through counseling
and community programs
- Job placement assistance and financial
support
- Community-building events and initiatives
to foster connections among evacuees
- Long-term housing and community
reconstruction
- Ongoing mental health issues
- Rebuilding the local economy and job
opportunities
- Decontamination and return of evacuees
to their original homes
- Development of permanent housing and
reconstruction of communities
- Continued mental health support and
programs to address social isolation
- Economic revitalization efforts
- Decontamination and monitoring of
affected areas, along with assistance for
evacuees returning to their homes
- Ensuring the sustainability of reconstructed
communities
- Addressing the long-term mental health needs
- Encouraging the return of younger generations
to revitalize communities
- Ongoing monitoring and management of the
Fukushima nuclear power plant
- Support for sustainable community
development and local businesses
- Long-term mental health care and social
support programs
- Incentives and programs to attract younger
generations to return and rehabilitate
- Continued efforts to safely decommission the
Fukushima nuclear power plant

13. In chaotic situations, an agile approach is inevitable and even effective. However, from a medium- to long-
term perspective, the traditional predictive/waterfall approach is still valid once a certain resilience standard
is set by a government authorities.
The current trend in disaster management is to "Build Back Better”. In order to enhance disaster resilience
over the medium to long term, PM plays an important role in clarifying project goals and steadily
implementing them to build a more resilient infrastructure.
#1. PM APPROACH - CONCLUSION

14. In PMBOK 7th ed, the importance of stakeholder management is emphasized in both "Principles" and
"Performance Domains", but the disaster In disaster management, however, this becomes even more
complex and important.
#2. STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

15. Public and social projects such as disaster management always have beneficiaries, and service providers
must plan and execute projects based on the benefits to these beneficiaries.
#2. WHY IT’S SO COMPLEX & IMPORTANT?
Service Providers Beneficiaries
Governments
Int’l organizations
NGOs
Misc. voluntary groups
Vulnerable people(e.g. Women,
Children, Refugees/IDPs, physically
challenged people etc)
Ethnic / religious monitories
Severely damaged people

16. In order to properly plan projects in disaster management, it is effective to start with the beneficiary and
implement Benefit Realization Management in individual projects in a realistic manner.
#2.HOW TO FILL IN THE GAP?

17. Treatments for ethnic minorities are essential for social stability after a disaster. In Japan, especially for non-Japanese
speakers, the following challenges have been made during disasters, and projects for improvement are underway.
These examples can be used as a reference in Syria and Turkey as well.
#2.E.G. ETHNIC MINORITIES
Japan Syria/Turkey
Challenges
Solutions
- Non-Japanese natives
- Minor religious groups(e.g. Islamic)
Minorities
- Language barrier
- Cultural differences
- Limited access to support service
- Social isolation
- Employment and financial issues
- Multilingual information
- Cultural sensitivity training
- Translation and interpretation services
- Community integration
- Access to support services
- Syrian refugees in Turkey who doesn’t
understand Turkish
- Other minorities such as Kurd
- Syrian refugees might have a difficulties to
access information for assistants and other
difficulties as non-Japanese native in Japan
- NGOs might take key role to offer solutions
for them due to lack of resources for each
government

18. HOW PM CAN
HELP?

19. In Japan, "public-help," "mutual-help," and "self-help" are the pillars of disaster management. It is
presumed that Syria and Turkey are probably weaker in "public-help" than Japan, and the need for
"mutual-help" involving civil society and/or international community such as PMI could be consistently
required in mid-long term.
“MUTUAL-HELP” BY INT’L COMMUNITIES IS
MORE EFFECTIVE SYRIA & TURKEY
Public-help
Mutual-help Self-help
Relatively weaker in
Syria /Turkey than
Japan?
Domestic & international
mutual-help might be
more important in this
context.
Especially in Syria, the
conflict made many
people too vulnerable to
help themselves.
!

20. PMIJ used the “Social PM frameworks” drafted and validated after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake to
provide support after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake through PMO for NPOs of intermediary support
organizations.
CASE STUDY: PMIJ SUPPORTS FOR NPO
PMO by “Social
PM” frameworks
IT DART NPOs/Voluntary groups
Provide disaster
related information,
ICT equipment etc..
PMI Japan

21. NPOs and voluntary projects generally have challenges that are not present in normal business-oriented
projects because they involve diverse interest groups in the absence of a centralized authority. The “Social
PM Framework” aims to provide solutions to such project challenges.
OVERVIEW OF “SOCIAL PM” FRAMEWORK
Challenges Solutions – “Social PM” Framework
1. Hard to identify needs and set goals
2. Diverse stakeholders involved
3. Project outcomes are not easily recognized
4. Progress does not proceed as planned
5. Difficult to prioritize tasks
6. Issues with sustainability
i. Social Design Thinking
ii. Social Stakeholder Management
iii. Social Benefit Management
iv. Social Agile Management
v. Social Portfolio Management
vi. Social Business Model Design

22. Firstly, reconfirmed the benefits provided by the NPO using a logic model to checking the alignment of
outcomes. And secondly, PMO-like support from ideation using social design thinking to MVS formulation
and implementation using lean thinking.
APPLICATION TO THE NPO
Step1:Benefit Analysis Step2:Social Service Iteration

23. We found that the social PM approach we developed from our experiences in the field of the Great East
Japan Earthquake since 2011 can be applied to the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and subsequent disasters
as follows：
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PROJECT
take actions by "goodwill" and not fully linked
between their activities and outcomes/benefits .
enable to connect between their vision and
outcomes/benefits by envisioning with internal and
external stakeholders
be difficult to prioritize actions to take in front of
piled up issues in the fields.
Practitioners tend to… Project managers can…
help the implementation of the innovation process
by creating MVS in an agile manner using Design
Thinking and Lean Thinking. This kind of project
management method was also found to be effective
in the context of disaster management.

24. Recovering from a disaster, building resilient infrastructure, and preparing for the next disaster requires
continuous efforts.
This kind of initiative should not be a one-time event, but rather a medium- to long-term effort by PMI
members to support the recovery of disaster-stricken areas where we can make the most of our expertise.
CONCLUSION
10 years after from the
2011 earthquake
Japanese government has invested apx. 400B USD to enhance the resiliency.
PMs should play key roles to execute the plan.

25. Your Questions and
Comments are important -
We will use the Q&A section
to capture your input
GO AHEAD - ASK
US ANYTHING

26. Thank you!

27. BACKUP SLIDES

28. HIGH-LEVEL WORKFLOW OF “SOCIAL PM”
Input
(Resource)
Project
(Activities)
Output
(Result)
Outcome
(Achievem
ents)
Impact
(Social
Impact )
Logic Model = Analysis on Service Provider
Benefit List
Stakeholders
Business Plan =
Benefit Realization Plan
Governance

29. DESIGN THINKING AND AGILE
Plan Execution
Agile mindset
Design thinking mindset
Agile/Design thinking innovation process
Assum
ptions
Visions
Biz model
Roadmap
Design thinking
Agile
MVP: Minimum Viable Product
MVS: Minimum Viable Service
Backlog

30. PMO SUPPORT BY LATEST IT TOOLS
Store discussion notes on Google docs Tracking progress on Kanban board
Promote self-driven communication to realize MVSs
NPOs tend to be technology laggards, but PMIJ promoted appropriate IT tools which are widely use in for-
profit agile projects to accelerate their activities.