چارچوب بررسی قابلیت همکاری در مدیریت بحران A framework for interoperability assessment in crisis management

1. Introduction Regardless of its nature, a crisis is considered an abnormal situation, usually resulting from an instability that impacts a part of society with unacceptable consequences. A crisis situation can emerge in different contexts – political, military, economic, humanitarian, social, technological, environmental or healthcare. Lately, it is noticeable that authorities are increasingly seeking solutions to improve the management of crises. Part of this growth is due to increased citizen participation. Through the ubiquitous use of technology, people are both more collaborative in crisis moments and demanding more transparency by closely monitoring measures taken by the responsibles [1]. In this sense, crisis management is becoming more and more relevant. Managing a crisis involves the participation of various entities working together in an action cycle based on four main phases: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery [2]. The response phase is both relevant for meeting performance requirements and critical for the support that may be provided to any impacted group of individuals. Efficiency in managing a crisis is measured by the speed and precision with which information is managed and exchanged among partners (i.e., organizations, people, and devices involved in the collaboration). This efficiency and performance therefore depend not only on information systems, but on associated dimensions such as strategy, processes, services and roles that guide the coordination of the entities involved. Thus, successful crisis management, particularly in response actions, requires full integration of all of the involved parties through different inter and intra-organizational concerns [3]. It is possible to analyze the management of a crisis considering the viewpoints of two important entities directly involved in this kind of unexpected situation – firefighters and police officers. For instance, in the case of notification of a large crash on a highway, information usually arrives simultaneously at more than one police or fire departments without proper control and information sharing. This results in more than one rescue team being sent to the scene and impairs mobility due to the concentration of rescue vehicles. This scenario may be even more complex when involving more extreme environments, such as the seas and oceans [4]. This highlights the importance of information exchange and integration of different services involved in providing response to an incident and shows the relevant role interoperability among these entities plays in these situations.