New Orleans is often affectionately referred to as the Birthplace of Jazz. Whether through the city’s festivals that attract hundreds of thousands of attendees each year, its legendary musicians, or its dark and smoky clubs, this genre of music that demands both creativity and style—and where the concept of improvisation lies at the core of its successful performance—has become as synonymous with New Orleans as Mardi Gras. It is unfortunate, then, as we consider the loss of life and level of destruction left in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September, 2005, that lack of improvisation at the organizational and multi-organizational level appears to be closely related to some of failures in the overall response.

Systematic research is needed to fully understand the successes and shortcomings in how organizations and citizens responded to the storm and subsequent overflowing of the city’s levees. However, a timeline of official statements as well as anecdotal accounts from individuals involved in the early operations suggests both a significant hesitancy to act and, perhaps more importantly, an inability to develop a shared understanding of roles, responsibilities, capacities, and the dire circumstances citizens were encountering.