We are back in the office following a great week in California for our second experience at Camp Roberts for Joint Interagency Field Exploration (JIFX). The objective of JIFX is to bring together people from industry, government, and academic institutions to field test hardware, software, and ideas to explore the potential of new capabilities in addressing various challenges. The environment is explicitly experimental, and promotes great collaboration between participants. I spent the week working closely with FEMA operations on the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) survivor registration process, experimenting with ways to make the survivor assistance process more efficient and field-friendly, while also remaining the most helpful for stressed survivors in need. Zac and Coleman participated in various additional experiments involving Fulcrum.
The Fulcrum team + FEMA Staff, FEMA Corps Green One, and the team from Mandus Group who provided us with an air conditioned workspace
FEMA’s primary goal for this experiment was to determine the most efficient ways for staff to interact with disaster survivors. For our JIFX experiment, we aimed to evaluate how well Fulcrum performed in a post-disaster environment. We created two versions of three different forms within Fulcrum to compare their effectiveness. These forms were designed to assess survivor needs during door-to-door interviews or discussions at a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). FEMA’s experiment specifically explored the potential for a triage process within a DRC setting. The objective was to engage with each survivor efficiently, provide essential information, and guide them on accessing necessary services.
JIFX Day 1
We spent the first day at JIFX preparing for the experiment. This involved training FEMA Corps Green One on how to use Fulcrum and designing the various forms: a questionnaire, a checklist, and a minimal form.
The questionnaire form was heavy on the use of visibility rules in order to help guide the FEMA employee through a series of relevant questions for the survivor. The checklist also made use of visibility rules, and both forms had extensive business logic in place to output “results” for each survivor. Since Fulcrum doesn’t really have a way to “calculate results”, we did this by pairing the conditional logic with label fields to display directions for each survivor. After testing this out, we came to the conclusion that a report would allow the survivor to receive a printed document (from a printer in a DRC) with a custom set of survivor-specific information, or receive this information in an email.
While Coleman and I were making the questionnaire and checklist, Julia Moline (who was in charge of this experiment), quickly made a ‘minimal form’. This form basically consisted of a list of services provided by FEMA and the correlating instructional information.
JIFX Day 2
On Tuesday, the experiment actually began, with a group of volunteers roleplaying as disaster survivors. There were three rounds of interviews, the first using the questionnaire form, the second using the checklist, and the third using the minimal form. The 6 FEMA Corps team members spoke to every volunteer using the three different forms, so this took up almost the entire day. At the end of the day, we got some feedback on how well each of the three forms worked for the situation.
JIFX Day 3
We spent the morning of the third day discussing necessary changes to the forms, revising all three, and testing the updates. Fulcrum streamlined this process by allowing us to duplicate the original forms and modify the copies as needed. This feature saved significant time, enabling us to complete second versions of all three forms within just 30 minutes. Throughout the afternoon, various JIFX attendees visited the mock DRC to participate in interviews. FEMA Corps members had the flexibility to choose any of the three revised forms based on the interview scenario.
JIFX Day 4
We spent the final day gathering feedback from FEMA Corps team members who conducted survivor interviews during the experiment. Their insights will help FEMA refine its approach to identifying survivor needs and improve overall disaster response efforts. The feedback was also valuable for us as we continually work to enhance the Fulcrum platform. Since FEMA Corps teams operate on the front lines of disaster response, their firsthand perspectives are incredibly important. We will brainstorm ways to apply their input and refine both the process and toolset for future deployments.
The FEMA Corps team found that the most effective form varied depending on the survivor’s personality and situation. For highly emotional survivors or those hesitant to share details, the structured questionnaire worked best for gathering information. Survivors who remained calm and wanted to share their story in depth responded better to the checklist or minimal forms. The team appreciated having a simple form that allowed them to focus on the survivor while capturing key details.
Additionally, the team found that the questionnaire helped keep them on track and ensured no critical details were missed. They also noted that Fulcrum’s intuitive interface made the process seamless and stress-free. It was reassuring to hear they could focus entirely on interviews without worrying about app functionality or potential crashes.
We had a great time collaborating with FEMA during this experiment and were glad Fulcrum played a role in improving disaster assistance. Helping refine tools that support those in need remains a priority, and we look forward to future opportunities to contribute.