Harvard Crisis Leadership Summits for Preparedness 2026–2027: Bring Harvard NPLI Crisis Leadership Training to Your Community

The Crisis Leadership Summits for Preparedness bring Harvard-trained crisis leadership education directly into local communities, creating an opportunity for leaders from government, business, nonprofit organizations, public safety, public health, faith-based organizations, human services, and other sectors to prepare collectively for increasingly complex emergencies.

Convened within participating communities and taught by Harvard NPLI faculty and experienced crisis leaders, these 1–1.5-day summits are designed around the reality that effective disaster preparedness cannot depend on a single institution or sector. Modern crises often cross organizational, geographic, and professional boundaries. Communities therefore need leaders who can communicate across sectors, understand interconnected systems, coordinate under pressure, and work toward a unified response.

The initiative is accepting applications for 2026 and 2027, allowing communities to bring the training to their own local networks and develop stronger preparedness relationships before an emergency occurs.

What Are Crisis Leadership Summits for Preparedness?

The Crisis Leadership Summit is a community-based leadership training seminar developed through the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI) at Harvard.

The program is built around the concept of Meta-Leadership, a leadership approach developed through more than two decades of research, teaching, and practical experience in crisis preparedness and response. Rather than focusing only on the responsibilities of a single organization, Meta-Leadership emphasizes the ability to understand the wider system, connect different organizations, and coordinate leadership across institutional and sectoral boundaries.

The Summit brings together leaders who may have different responsibilities during a crisis but whose decisions and actions are interconnected.

Participants can include representatives from:

• Government and local authorities
• Public safety and emergency management
• Public health organizations
• Hospitals and healthcare institutions
• Local nonprofit organizations
• Human service organizations
• Businesses and private-sector organizations
• Faith-based organizations
• Community organizations
• Educational institutions
• Political and civic leadership
• Other organizations involved in community preparedness and crisis response

The central objective is to help these leaders establish relationships and a shared leadership framework before an emergency occurs, rather than attempting to build coordination for the first time during a disaster.

Bring Harvard NPLI Faculty and Crisis Leadership Training to Your Community

One of the defining features of the program is that the Summit is convened within the community itself.

Rather than requiring every local leader to travel to a distant training center, participating communities can bring Harvard NPLI faculty and experienced crisis leaders into their own community.

This allows the Summit to focus on the specific characteristics, institutions, vulnerabilities, and risks of the participating community.

The training includes:

• Harvard-developed Meta-Leadership concepts and practices
• Practical crisis leadership tools
• Cross-sector leadership development
• Community preparedness discussions
• Crisis response and recovery considerations
• Customized crisis simulations
• Networking between local leaders
• Shared approaches to crisis communication and coordination
• Systems thinking and decision-making exercises
• Lessons derived from extensive crisis leadership research and practice

The result is intended to be more than a one-day training event. The Summit is designed as a launch point for continuing community connectivity and preparedness.

 

Why Cross-Sector Crisis Leadership Matters

Disasters rarely affect only one organization.

A major flood, wildfire, pandemic, cyber incident, infrastructure failure, public health emergency, extreme weather event, or other crisis can simultaneously affect government services, businesses, healthcare systems, schools, transportation, community organizations, families, and vulnerable populations.

For example, during a major disaster:

1. Government agencies may coordinate emergency management and public services.
2. Public safety organizations may manage immediate response and evacuation.
3. Healthcare institutions may face increased demand for emergency and medical services.
4. Businesses may need to maintain critical services and supply chains.
5. Nonprofits and community organizations may provide food, shelter, financial assistance, or other support.
6. Faith-based organizations may assist with community outreach and emergency support.
7. Human service organizations may work with populations facing heightened vulnerability.
8. Political and civic leaders may communicate with the public and coordinate community-level action.

These responsibilities are interconnected.

A breakdown in communication between organizations can create delays, duplication of efforts, gaps in services, or confusion over responsibilities.

The Crisis Leadership Summit therefore focuses on strengthening relationships before a crisis happens.

The underlying principle is simple: communities should know who they need to work with before they need to work together under emergency conditions.

Understanding Meta-Leadership

The Crisis Leadership Summit curriculum is based on Meta-Leadership, a framework developed through extensive research, practice, and teaching at Harvard.

Meta-Leadership focuses on leadership beyond the boundaries of a single organization.

Instead of asking only:

“How can my organization respond?”

leaders are encouraged to consider broader questions such as:

• What is happening across the entire system?
• Which organizations and leaders are affected?
• What information does each sector possess?
• Where are the dependencies between organizations?
• How can leaders coordinate their actions?
• How can organizations communicate effectively during uncertainty?
• Where are potential gaps in the response?
• How can leaders work collectively toward a common objective?

This systems-oriented approach is particularly relevant to complex emergencies where no single organization possesses all the information, resources, authority, or capabilities required to address the situation independently.

Customized Crisis Simulations

A major component of the Summit is its use of customized crisis simulations.

Rather than relying exclusively on theoretical discussion, the program can incorporate simulations designed around the participating community’s unique risk profile.

This provides leaders with an opportunity to explore how they might respond when confronted with a rapidly evolving crisis.

A community’s simulation could be informed by risks relevant to its particular context, such as:

• Natural disasters
• Extreme weather
• Public health emergencies
• Infrastructure disruption
• Community safety challenges
• Supply-chain disruption
• Major emergencies affecting essential services
• Complex events requiring coordination between multiple organizations

The simulations are intended to help participants practice leadership and coordination in conditions where information may be incomplete, circumstances may change rapidly, and multiple organizations must act simultaneously.

What Participants Can Gain From the Summit

The program is designed to strengthen both individual leadership capabilities and broader community preparedness.

1. Stronger Cross-Sector Collaboration

Participants have the opportunity to meet leaders from sectors that they may need to work with during an emergency.

Building these relationships in advance can help establish communication channels and familiarity between organizations.

The program’s approach can be summarized by the idea of exchanging business cards before an emergency, rather than attempting to identify key partners for the first time in the middle of a crisis.

2. A Shared Crisis Leadership Framework

Different organizations often use different terminology, procedures, priorities, and decision-making structures.

The Summit introduces a shared leadership vocabulary and framework that can help participating leaders communicate more effectively across organizational boundaries.

3. Practical Leadership Tools

The program focuses on pragmatic tools that leaders can use when navigating:

• Crisis disruption
• Emergency response
• Uncertainty
• Recovery
• Complex decision-making
• Cross-organizational coordination
• Communication challenges

The objective is to provide approaches that can be applied during emergencies as well as in everyday leadership situations.

4. Systems Thinking

Complex crises require leaders to understand how different parts of a community interact.

Systems thinking encourages participants to look beyond their own organization and consider the wider network of institutions, people, resources, risks, and dependencies involved in a crisis.

This can support more coordinated decision-making and help leaders identify potential gaps before an emergency occurs.

5. Greater Community Resilience

Preparedness is not solely about emergency response plans.

It also involves relationships, leadership capacity, institutional coordination, information sharing, and community networks.

By bringing leaders together, the Summit seeks to strengthen the broader ecosystem that supports community resilience.

6. Improved Crisis Decision-Making

During a crisis, leaders may have to make important decisions despite uncertainty and rapidly changing circumstances.

The Summit provides participants with frameworks and practical exercises intended to strengthen decision-making before, during, and after crises.

7. Stronger Coordination During Response and Recovery

The leadership relationships developed during the Summit can provide a foundation for continued cooperation.

This can be particularly important when recovery requires coordination between public agencies, private organizations, nonprofits, healthcare institutions, and community groups.

Benefits for the Community

The value of the Summit extends beyond individual participants.

A successful preparedness program can contribute to a more connected local leadership network.

Potential community-level benefits include:

• Stronger relationships between government and non-government organizations
• Better understanding of local crisis-response responsibilities
• Greater awareness of organizational capabilities and limitations
• Improved communication across sectors
• More coordinated emergency leadership
• Greater preparedness for complex and evolving crises
• Stronger community resilience
• Continued collaboration following the Summit
• Improved capacity to navigate disruption and recovery

The Summit is therefore positioned as a starting point for a broader preparedness network rather than simply a standalone educational seminar.

Impact in Action: Springfield, Missouri Summit

The program highlights the Springfield, Missouri Crisis Leadership Summit, held in October 2025, as an example of the initiative’s community-level reach.

The reported figures include:

• 316 cross-sector community leaders
• 65 organizations represented
• 4 customized crisis simulations

These figures demonstrate the scale at which a community-based crisis leadership program can convene leaders from different sectors around preparedness and coordinated response.

The Springfield Summit provides an example of how the model can bring together a broad network of organizations and use customized simulations to explore crisis leadership within a specific local context.

Summit Curriculum

The Crisis Leadership Summit curriculum combines leadership education, practical exercises, community engagement, and crisis simulations.

The curriculum includes several interconnected components.

Crisis Leadership Education

Participants are introduced to the principles and practices of Meta-Leadership and how they can be applied to complex emergencies.

Crisis Simulations

Customized scenarios provide participants with an opportunity to apply leadership concepts to realistic crisis situations.

Community-Specific Preparedness

The Summit considers the particular risk environment and organizational landscape of the participating community.

Cross-Sector Networking

Participants interact with leaders from different sectors, creating opportunities to establish relationships and understand the capabilities of other organizations.

Practical Leadership Application

The program emphasizes tools and frameworks that participants can apply beyond the training environment.

Sample Preparedness Summit Agenda

A typical Summit can combine several different formats rather than relying exclusively on lectures.

Depending on the community and program design, activities may include:

1. Opening and introduction to the Summit
2. Introduction to crisis leadership and Meta-Leadership
3. Cross-sector leadership discussions
4. Exploration of community preparedness challenges
5. Leadership tools and practical frameworks
6. Crisis simulation exercises
7. Facilitated discussion and reflection
8. Cross-sector networking
9. Application of lessons to local preparedness
10. Discussion of continued community collaboration

The precise structure can be tailored to the participating community and its preparedness needs.

Who Can Benefit From Participating?

The Summit is particularly relevant to communities seeking to strengthen relationships among leaders responsible for preparedness, response, public services, business continuity, healthcare, social support, and community resilience.

Potential participants can come from a wide range of sectors, including:

Government and Public Administration

Local government officials, public administrators, emergency management professionals, and other public-sector leaders can use the Summit to strengthen coordination with organizations outside government.

Public Safety

Police, fire, emergency management, and other public safety professionals can benefit from stronger relationships with organizations that provide essential services during emergencies.

Public Health and Healthcare

Public health departments, hospitals, healthcare organizations, and health-sector leaders play a critical role in responding to emergencies that affect community health and wellbeing.

Nonprofit and Human Services Organizations

Nonprofits and human service organizations often work directly with communities and populations requiring assistance during emergencies.

Businesses

Private-sector organizations can play an important role in maintaining essential services, supporting employees and communities, and sustaining economic activity during disruptions.

Faith-Based Organizations

Faith-based organizations can serve as established community networks and may play important roles in outreach, communication, shelter, and community support.

Civic and Political Leadership

Civic and political leaders can contribute to community communication, coordination, decision-making, and public engagement during emergencies.

Why Preparedness Needs to Begin Before a Crisis

One of the central ideas behind the Crisis Leadership Summit is that effective crisis leadership should not begin when the emergency begins.

By the time a major disaster occurs, organizations may already be operating under intense pressure.

Leaders may be dealing with:

• Limited information
• Rapidly changing circumstances
• High public expectations
• Resource constraints
• Communication challenges
• Multiple competing priorities
• Increased demand for services
• Interdependencies between organizations

Establishing relationships before these pressures emerge can create a stronger foundation for coordination.

Preparedness therefore involves not only plans and infrastructure but also people, relationships, leadership practices, communication, and trust.

A Community-Based Approach to Resilience

The Summit’s community-based format recognizes that preparedness is highly dependent on local conditions.

Every community has a different combination of:

• Geographic characteristics
• Infrastructure
• Population needs
• Economic conditions
• Public institutions
• Healthcare capacity
• Emergency-response organizations
• Community networks
• Environmental risks
• Critical services

A standardized crisis-response model may therefore need to be complemented by locally informed leadership preparation.

Customized simulations provide a mechanism for exploring how leadership coordination could function under the particular conditions of a participating community.

Partnering With NPLI at Harvard

Communities interested in organizing a Crisis Leadership Summit can explore opportunities to partner with the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard.

The program brings together Harvard NPLI faculty and experienced crisis leaders to deliver the Summit within the participating community.

The partnership model is intended to connect Harvard’s crisis leadership research and teaching with local preparedness networks.

Through this approach, communities can combine external expertise with knowledge of their own local institutions, risks, resources, and leadership networks.

History and the Current Summit Initiative

The Crisis Leadership Summit initiative builds on the broader work of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative and its development of Meta-Leadership through research, teaching, and practical crisis leadership experience.

The current initiative provides communities with a way to translate this body of work into locally focused preparedness training.

Its emphasis on cross-sector leadership reflects the increasingly interconnected nature of modern emergencies.

A crisis affecting one part of a community can rapidly create consequences for multiple sectors. Effective preparedness therefore requires leaders to understand not only their own responsibilities but also how their actions connect with those of other organizations.

Program Details at a Glance

Program Feature	Details
Program	Crisis Leadership Summits for Preparedness
Format	Convened within the participating community
Duration	1–1.5 days
Availability	2026 and 2027
Participants	Local cross-sector leaders
Faculty	Harvard NPLI Faculty and experienced crisis leaders
Core Framework	Meta-Leadership
Key Training Element	Customized crisis simulations
Focus	Preparedness, crisis leadership, collaboration, response and recovery
Community Objective	Build a stronger cross-sector leadership network

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Crisis Leadership Program Application – NPLI

 

What Makes the Program Community-Focused?

The Summit does not treat preparedness as the responsibility of one institution.

Instead, it recognizes the importance of creating connections among the organizations that collectively make up a community’s crisis-response ecosystem.

A community may have excellent emergency-management personnel, healthcare professionals, nonprofits, businesses, public safety agencies, and government officials. However, preparedness can be strengthened when these leaders understand one another’s roles and establish communication pathways before an emergency occurs.

This cross-sector approach is one of the central features of the program.

 

From Training to Long-Term Preparedness

The Summit is designed to serve as a launch point for continued community connectivity.

The training itself lasts approximately 1–1.5 days, but the relationships developed during the program can potentially support longer-term collaboration.

Following the Summit, participating leaders can continue to:

• Maintain cross-sector relationships
• Share preparedness information
• Identify emerging risks
• Coordinate preparedness initiatives
• Exchange lessons learned
• Strengthen organizational connections
• Continue conversations around community resilience
• Improve understanding of each sector’s capabilities

This longer-term connectivity is particularly important because preparedness is an ongoing process rather than a one-time activity.

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Conclusion

The Crisis Leadership Summits for Preparedness provide a community-based approach to strengthening crisis leadership, preparedness, and cross-sector collaboration. Through Harvard NPLI faculty, Meta-Leadership education, practical leadership tools, networking, systems thinking, and customized crisis simulations, the program brings together leaders who may be called upon to work together during complex emergencies.

With Summits available for 2026 and 2027 and a format designed to be convened directly within communities, the initiative provides a framework for connecting government, business, nonprofit, public safety, public health, faith-based, human service, and civic leaders before a crisis occurs.

The broader objective is to build communities in which leaders are not meeting for the first time during an emergency, but already have relationships, shared language, an understanding of their interconnected responsibilities, and practical tools for navigating disruption.

For communities seeking to strengthen preparedness and develop a more connected network of crisis leaders, the Summit offers a structured opportunity to bring Harvard NPLI’s crisis leadership education directly into the local context.

 

Deadline

No specific application deadline is stated in the provided program information. The program is listed as accepting applications for 2026 and 2027.

 

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