Supporting the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN): Bringing agencies and communities together to build a coordinated response to disaster management

The maze of social service agencies that support the nation's most vulnerable populations are extremely difficult to navigate. They present quite a challenge to those who are in most need of assistance, particularly after a disaster. Inequitable distribution of valuable resources occurs when agencies duplicate assistance due to a lack of shared knowledge about victims. Seven of the nation's leading nonprofit disaster relief organizations have collaboratively assessed lessons learned from recent disasters such as 9/11. The group concluded that both national and local disaster relief agencies did not have a unified way of sharing information with one another. The lack of an integrated system spurred the development of the Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) to change the face of disaster relief by bringing agencies and communities together to build a holistic technological response to long-term disaster case management. CAN's secure Web site provides data that is instantly accessible to all CAN partners, helping to ensure timely delivery of services without duplicating effort. This grant provides support for 38 percent of CAN's FY 2008 budget.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $730,000.00

Awarded on: 10/29/2007

Time frame: 12/1/2007 - 11/30/2008

Grant Number: 57295