D3.3.1. First report on the strategic use of emerging communication technologies for crisis stakeholders

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report examines the use of new technologies to satisfy strategic communication goals of relevant stakeholders during crises. These are examined at three different levels, namely:

♦ among responders/law enforcement agencies
♦ between responders and the public
♦ among the public themselves

The findings regarding the strategic use of emerging technologies by different stakeholders will be used in conjunction with WP4, which focuses on emergency communication by the public.

The report is split in two parts, one treating the strategic communication goals and the other presenting emergency response scenarios and the role of social media in them. As the first part has identified, there are four strategic goals relating to communication that are essential for stakeholders to be able to utilise communication to enhance their abilities to manage a crisis situation. These strategic goals include: two-way communication, one-way communication/alerts, information sharing, and situational awareness. Our findings show that each of these goals should not be treated in isolation, but rather, should be considered in relation to one another as, under some circumstances, they are dependent on each other for enhancing crisis management. For instance, during a flood, in order for the public to assist responders in gaining situational awareness, information sharing (e.g., photographs or video content), two-way communication (e.g., being able to verify information, or request further information) are essential to building situational awareness which in turn can contribute to decision making to help coordinate response efforts.

The second part of the report shows scenarios on how new technologies can potentially meet these inter-connected strategic goals for each of these stakeholder groups across the different phases of a crisis. Scenarios for emergency response have to be based on field experience and information available to rescue organisations taking part in the course of a crisis incident. To this end, we examined the basic aspects of such scenarios from two points of view:

• The organisation’s mode of operation in specific events via their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• The application of those to real-life situations as experienced by the COSMIC partner the Hellenic Rescue Team

In both categories, our findings show that the presence of social media appears particularly important. The additional evidence supplied by Standard Operating Procedures of stakeholder responder organisations and the real-life situations confirm that social media:

• Provide help towards responders by completing the building of situational awareness
• Are able to supply additional information, in particular at the first stages of a catastrophic incident, which can be decisive in attracting external funds and sponsoring and therefore enabling the participation of voluntary organisations (NGOs) such as the HRT
• Can provide valuable information able to direct rescuers of survivors
• Are a means of publishing information towards the public concerning rescue efforts and other vital to life information

The present document is to be supplemented by a second part, which will enrich the existing treatise and also investigate other strategic goals such as the creation of partnerships between stakeholders for the improvement of services or the opportunities offered by the interoperability between different systems and the exchange of data.