Through research, teaching, and work with governments and practicing professionals, the Program on Crisis Leadership (PCL) seeks to improve society’s capacity to deal with natural disasters; infrastructure, technology, and systems failures; emergent infectious disease; and terrorism. PCL takes a comprehensive perspective, looking at risk reduction strategies, emergency preparedness and response, and disaster recovery.

Affiliated faculty members teach in Harvard’s degree and executive education programs while, together with program staff and students, they conduct research, develop curriculum materials, and support action research projects in conjunction with federal, state, and local government officials in the United States and other countries.

Faculty Co-Directors of the Program on Crisis Leadership are Arnold M. Howitt and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard | People

A program of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

When Disaster Strikes

 "The World Is Too Much With Us:" President Drew Faust discusses crisis leadership scholarship and training programs at HKS in 2013 Harvard Commencement Speech.

Boston Marathon Tragedy: Arn Howitt, PCL Faculty Co-Director, is interviewed on MSNBC about the response to the bombings and ensuing manhunt.

Boston Marathon Tragedy:
Dutch Leonard, PCL Faculty Co-Director, discusses the challenges of securing large-scale events like the marathon on CNBC.

Boston Marathon Tragedy: Juliette Kayyem, PCL Faculty Affiliate, writes about the emergency response that unfolded at the finish line in Boston.

Hurricane Sandy: Joseph Pfeifer, PCL Senior Fellow and FDNY's Chief of Counterterrorism and Emergency Preparedness, discusses responding to the fires that ravaged Breezy Point.

Events
Past Event Highlights
 Congressional Hearing: Protecting the Homeland Against Mumbai-Style Attacks and the Threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba
June 12, 2013
Featuring Testimony by PCL Senior Fellow Joseph Pfeifer


Haiti: Progress and Challenges Three Years Later, a JFK Jr. Forum Panel
February 26, 2013


 Asia Public Policy Forum: Disaster Management in Asia
May 13 - 15, 2012







 Research

New Discussion Paper: Leonard and Howitt, "Preliminary Thoughts and Observations on the Boston Marathon Bombings."

Featured Case Studies: Harvard Kennedy School has published The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Politics of Crisis Response, a two-part case study profiling how the Obama administration coordinated the massive inter-agency, inter-governmental response to the disaster.