Why officials deny any form of self-activation varies. It can be from a lack of trust of the unit leaders, a desire to enforce control no matter what, an inability to see benefits that can be derived, or policy from higher up in the government.
Can that be changed to provide for some realistic form or type of self activation? If it is just to satisfy unit participants, the answer often is no. But if to truly assist a government agency the unit serves, it often can be altered in a way customized to the specific officials. It is a matter of finding a 'benefit' and successfully communicating that at a "I want it level" to where the official reaches out and grasps that which is then "wanted".
In almost any course on management, marketing and sales, the consistent underlying theme is that people migrate towards and acquire things (physical or mental) that they "want". Hence the clue is to create the "want" in their mind to where the idea of 'possessing it' is theirs, not yours. Sometimes that takes very creative thinking to accomplish. If you want examples, just turn on your television, turn down the sound and watch the commercials and movies ads and see which ones you are tempted to turn the sound back on to find out more about the message in the advertisement.
Sometimes the way to get a form of 'self-activation' is for an astute lead officer (of an EMCOMM unit) to just go into the agency more often in NON-emergency situations and keep his eyes open. This helps to develop familiarity and sets the way for him to be there in a future emergency just by showing up. You can defuse the situation months before hand in seemingly unrelated ways. In one situation, the unit lead officer noticed that cartons had been stacked in a new office for several weeks. He commented on it to an administrative assistant who said they haven't been able to get them assembled. He asked if one of the volunteers might take care of it. With a grateful "yes" response, it was done. While not 'communications' in the sense that we think of it, it was a powerful interpersonal message that said 'I see a problem I can solve for you and presented a solution'. The point is that there are side-doors that are more productive than trying to crash the front or back door. It can lead to the officer just showing up again and again and becoming comfortable to the paid staff and before you know it, he is "self-activated" on every emergency because his 'comfort level' is WANTED (albeit unconsciously) by someone on the paid staff. A saying that comes to mind is 'comfortable as an old shoe.' I recall a situation where, just as I entered such an office, I heard one paid-staffer say to another that (such an officer) was "the best thing that ever happened to the agency". Obviously, he (or she) has to convert that relationship to the unit and its communications abilities. But, that is another subject.
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