NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW, vol. 88, no. 2, Summer 1999 © Jossey-Bass Publishers 91

Community Leadership Is the Key to Meeting the Y2K Challenge

Steven C. Davis

Many local governments and other community institutions are now racing tofix year 2000 problems in their computer systems. However, few of these orga-nizations are taking the necessary steps to ensure the delivery of citizen-criticalservices. As part of their Y2K efforts, civic leaders need to develop compre-hensive community contingency plans to ensure continued public service andto minimize public impact in the event of Y2K disruptions. Here I use the termcommunity in its broadest sense: the combination of entities and individuals inthe public sector, the private sector, our civic institutions, and our society as awhole.

Given the late date, communities and their leaders have little time remain-ing to deal with the host of issues that Y2K presents. Few organizations havefully assessed the impact of this far-reaching crisis on their operations, theircommunities, or their local economies. Nor have these agencies fully plannedand prepared for potential Y2K disruptions from external factors such as prob-lems in the global supply chain and the economy.

Y2K Is a Different Kind of Threat

It is now a generally accepted reality that the Y2K problem is pervasive andcomplex. A recent report from the U.S. Senate1 indicates that the multiple lay-ers of interdependent systems increase the potential for Y2K problems to bedisruptive. Because the year 2000 problem can affect the basic infrastructureand the supply chain, it may have extensive implications and may threaten thedelivery of basic services and supplies.

We have recently heard from the president’s Y2K Council and the Fed-eral Emergency Management Agency that we can model our preparations forY2K problems on preparing for a typical winter storm. However, Y2K is verydifferent from a typical natural disaster. Although Y2K-related failures may

Note: More information on Y2K community preparedness may be found at www.davislogic.comand at www.coalition2000.org.

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cause disruptions similar to those arising from natural disasters, these dis-ruptions may occur simultaneously across broad areas and tie up sources ofoutside assistance. Many of the anticipated problems may occur throughout1999 and 2000, presenting long-term problems. In addition, disruption atvarious points along the supply chain may be nagging and ongoing and maycascade into larger long-term problems. Emergency plans must be updatedto reflect these new and different scenarios.

Communities need to respond quickly to the unique aspects and broadscope of the year 2000 problem and its risks. The public is looking to the gov-ernment for information and assistance as it grapples with the personal issuesthat Y2K presents. Governments will be expected to fix their own problems andcontinue to provide leadership, assistance, and information to their constituentsas well. However, local governments may not be up to this challenge. Indeed,many local governments are doing nothing. It is going to take broad-based andinnovative approaches to deal with the host of issues that Y2K presents.

How to Respond to the Challenge

Given the scope of the challenge, it would be appropriate for local govern-ments to work with private and civic institutions to take a Manhattan Projectapproach to dealing with potential Y2K disruptions. Executive-level commit-ment and participation in the process is critical. But Y2K is also going to takea different kind of leadership than many local leaders may be comfortable with.This challenge is going to take more than a top-down approach; Y2K is toocomplex and pervasive to be handled successfully solely by the government.Communities need real public-private partnership and collaboration at all lev-els, including neighborhoods and individuals.

We need to think differently about Y2K; we need to meld top-down andbottom-up initiatives, with the top enabling bottom-up initiatives to succeedand the bottom creating public responsiveness to top-down initiatives. Oneway for governments to frame this issue is to look at community organizationsand citizens not so much as clients or problems but as creative resources to beapplied to the Y2K challenge. These resources (local citizens and civic groups)should be involved in the design and implementation of any Y2K efforts thatare targeted at them and the people and things they care about. Once we seepeople as resources, we realize they are resources to be nurtured. At the grass-roots, people can activate people; government can encourage and facilitate that.If government fails to nurture citizens as resources, those citizens becomedead-weight when the government must move them around and serve themduring a catastrophe—a very unpleasant prospect for all concerned.

How to Prepare for Disruptions

It will take a highly coordinated effort to reduce the risk of negative impact onthe government and the community. We need to develop scenarios based onthe risk of major failures and prepare contingency plans accordingly. A special

Y2K task force should be developed in every community, with representativesfrom key government organizations and from business and civic organizations.This task force will need to focus on maintaining the public’s safety and basicservices and on ensuring a strong local economy through maintaining the via-bility of businesses, organizations, and residents. The Y2K event managementprocess should include these actions:

• Identifying all possible disruption scenarios that could affect delivery of ser-vices, the impact of such events, the time requirements for restoration ofservices, and the steps necessary to reduce probability and impact.

• Developing contingency plans based on these disruption scenarios for allcritical systems and operations. Quick-fix strategies may suffice for someprojects. New and innovative Y2K contingency and emergency plans thatprovide workable solutions are needed as well.

• Developing continuity strategies to ensure the availability of essential servicesin the event of disruptions and to ensure the resumption of full services.

• Updating disaster plans based on Y2K scenarios. Plans should include thesteps required to stabilize an emergency situation, such as a power outage,and to respond to potentially large demands for emergency and social ser-vices. Emergency management officials should conduct desktop and func-tional exercises and training on various what-if scenarios.

• Developing and implementing a public education campaign to ensure thateveryone knows what the Y2K problem is and what the strategy is for deal-ing with it.

• Encouraging individual and neighborhood preparedness to ease the strainon emergency service providers.

We need to keep in mind that these efforts will make us more resilient asa community and leave us better prepared to weather any storm, regardless ofits origins. Every member of the community has an obligation to make pre-paredness a top priority. Civic leaders will be judged by how well they respondto the challenge, inform and prepare the public, plan for the impact of theproblem, and survive and prosper after the year 2000.

Note

1. Available on the Web at www.senate.gov/~y2k.

Community Leadership Is the Key to Meeting the Y2K Challenge 93

– One line – Optimal– One line Steven C. Davis is president of DavisLogic, LLC, and coauthor of Y2K Risk Management,

and he supports the efforts of Coalition 2000.