Abstract: A proactive and unifying systems-based method for total emergency management supported by an information technology architecture. The use of an embedded process for collaboration among a myriad of agencies fulfills newly recognized critical needs for interconnectivity and coordinated relationships among the public, private, nonprofit, and not-for-profit sectors in community preparedness, improved camaraderie among members of separate agencies, and a coordinated, integrated, and synchronized emergency response. Knowing and agreeing upon the actions that precede and succeed an integrating action among entities is the critical output of the synchronization matrix process for the present invention. The concept of tying these integrating actions to hazard actions and to decision points, so that timing of alert and notification, population protection, and response actions can be assessed against what needs to be initiated and when, serves to minimize community impacts from routine and catastrophic emergencies.