Jiri Trnka

Role-playing exercises to strengthen the resilience of command and control systems

In this paper, we describe how role-playing exercises can be used to strengthen the resilience of command and control systems in emergency management. Through role-playing exercises, the participants gain experience with adapting to changing demands and risk relative to challenges to their ability to predict future risk, adapt, and recover from harmful events. Role-playing exercises at the same time enable researchers to analyse how resilient behaviour emerges, or how the resilience of complex socio-technical systems may be improved. Two role-playing exercises, one concerning forest fire fighting, the other concerning power grid restoration, are discussed to illustrate these concepts.

The Effect of a Geographical Information System on Performance and Communication of a Command and Control Organization

This article tests the claimed benefits of using geographical information systems (GIS) in emergency response. An experimental study, which compares command and control (C2) teams using (a) a C2 tool with GIS-functionality and (b) traditional paper maps in a forest firefighting scenario, is presented. A total of 132 persons, forming 22 teams, participated in the study. Eleven teams had access to a C2 tool with GIS-functionality, which provided real-time data about the position of the firefighting units and the fire outbreak. The other 11 teams were using traditional paper maps. The result shows that the teams with access to the C2 tool with GIS-functionality performed significantly better than the teams using the traditional paper maps in terms of saved area. Communication volume was reduced in the case of the C2 teams using the C2 tool with GIS-functionality. The content of exchanged messages was also significantly different in the two settings.

Collaborative Command and Control Practice: Adaptation, Self-Regulation and Supporting Behavior

This thesis concerns command and control (C2) work at the tactical level in emergency and crisis response operations. The presented research addresses two main research questions. The first question is whether it is feasible to simulate and study C2 work in the initial stages of response operations by means of role-playing simulations. If so, the second question is how to develop and execute role-playing simulations in order to explore this type of C2 work in a methodologically sound way. The presented research is based on simulations as methodological means for qualitative research. The utilized simulation approach is scenario-based real-time role-playing simulations grounded in models of C2 work and response operations. Three simulations have been conducted based on this methodology and are reported in this thesis. Simulation I focused on the work practice of cooperating commanders whose activities may be enhanced by the use of artifacts. Simulation II concerned the issues of operationalizing advanced technological artifacts in rapid response expert teams. Simulation III gave attention to the role improvisation in C2 teams designated for international operations. The results from the simulations and from the work conducted and presented in this thesis contribute with knowledge and experience from using role-playing simulations to study C2 work. This includes the methodological aspects of designing and conducting role-playing simulations such as scenarios, realism, evaluation and simulation format and control. It also includes the identification of the main application and problem areas for which the methodology is suitable, that is explorative qualitative inquiries and evaluation studies. The thesis provides new insights in C2 work with respect to adaptive behavior and improvisation. The thesis also identifies areas that need to be considered in order to further develop the role-playing simulation approach and its applicability.

Satellite Based Information to Support European Crisis Response

This chapter presents a critical review of current state of development of European capacities in the domain of satellite based information for civil crisis response in Europe and worldwide. New global security challenges require new technological solutions to answer the civilian security monitoring tasks of an enlarged European Community, acting in a more globalised world. Different crisis types and patterns require different analysis and response capacities. Various initiatives and projects exist today, which work towards European satellite analysis capacities for civil security issues. Mechanisms like the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’, the EC initiative on Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) or the Group on Earth Observation Systems of Systems (GEOSS) provide a basis for forging and expanding such capacities. Today, especially the scientific community and research initiatives provide substantial information support and analytical capacities to member states and the bodies of the European Community. One very interesting and promising tool to further develop satellite intelligence for civil security issues through the conduct of coordinated analytical exercises in distributed research networks and thus to test strengths and weaknesses of the current state of the art technology and methods available. It can be concluded that the first elements of a European civil security analysis infrastructure are materializing; however, further efforts and coordination mechanisms are necessary to build respective operational and fully analytical and coherently acting capacities within Europe.

Informing crisis alerts using social media: Best practices and proof of concept

Social media has become an integrated part of human communication, both as a means to establish and maintain social relationships, and as a means of sharing and co-creating information. Social media comes with an array of possibilities for individuals as well as organizations, corporations, and authorities. Within the field of crisis communication, social media possibilities such as online sharing and social networking have had an impact on the way crisis information is disseminated and updated. This paper addresses the issues related to using social media for communicating crisis information and broadcasting alert messages to the general population, discusses the role of social media in future pan-European crisis alerting, and presents a prototype system demonstrating the possibilities. An extensive systematic literature review was carried out to identify factors that affect the use of social media for alerting and warning. These factors were mirrored in experiences, collected through interviews, obtained by emergency management organizations in three European countries (Sweden, Czech Republic, and Spain). The factors finally form the basis for suggestions and recommendations regarding the design of technological tools for both communication and information collection to serve as an integral part of a future pan-European crisis alerting system.

Resilient Emergency Response: Supporting Flexibility and Improvisation

The focus of this chapter is the design and development of Information and Communication Technologies that support collaborative work and processes in command and control teams, more specifically, in joint emergency response operations. The unique contexts and varying circumstances of response operations have an impact on how collaborative work and interactions among commanders emerge, as well as on the extent to which Information and Communication Technologies are used.