The next disaster. Collaboration, risk communication and action capacity in Norway after the 22.07 terror

The research project NEXUS has studied changes and learning processes that have taken place after the terrorist acts in Oslo and Utøya on July 22, 2011. The findings are the result of interviews with 50 employees in different public agencies and at different levels of management, all with a role in Norwegian social security and preparedness.   NOU 2012: 14 Report from the 22-July Commission (the Gjørv report) points to several fundamental challenges related to risk understanding and safety culture in several of the agencies responsible for societal safety and emergency preparedness in Norway. Among other things, the need to understand and improve communication, collaboration and information flow between various public and private actors involved in the work on societal safety is highlighted. In addition, the Gjørv commission issues questions regarding the action capacity of public authorities and agencies, i.e. the ability to use results from risk assessments to implement risk mitigation measures. Based on this diagnosis, we have been looking for signs of a clear "crossroads" in the work on Norwegian societal safety as of 22 July. Our main findings can be summarized as follows: - Risk acknowledgement in society in general, and among actors working with societal safety and emergency preparedness, has improved. The terrorist attacks on July 22, 2011 appear to have had a similar effect on the societal safety and emergency preparedness area that the Alexander Kielland accident had on HSE work in Norwegian petroleum activities. This is expressed by an increased awareness that events with low probability and major consequences must be on the agenda and prioritized. - More emergency preparedness exercise are performed. The exercise scenarios are more demanding than before - not only in terms of larger and more events, but also through involvement of more actors and increased focus on collaboration. - A comprehensive range of measures has been implemented in the justice sector. However, the vast majority of these are of a structural nature, while the main conclusions of the Gjørv Commission largely pointed to cultural challenges. - In the period after July 22, 2011, a lot of resources were spent on societal safety in a relatively short period of time. However, these resources have been disproportionately divided between the different levels of management. The municipal and regional level has not been strengthened to the same extent as the departmental and directorate level. This despite the fact that the expectations of the municipalities' work on social security are increasing, among other things through regulations on municipal emergency preparedness. The coordination problem seems not to be resolved. A new collaboration principle has been introduced, but we can not see that this in itself is sufficient for the resources to find each other. Coordination associated with preventive work between different agencies and management levels has the greatest improvement potential.

The NEXUS project studies the way organizational culture and cultural dynamics influence on collaboration, risk communication and action capacity between public agencies involved with creating and maintaining societal safety. These are topics that are des cribed as the main challenges to societal safety and emergency preparedness in Norway. We ask: To which extent and in what way have the general lessons from the 22.07 terror acts been translated into concrete measures that increase the level of societal safety and emergency preparedness? This is operationalized in the following research questions: - How has public agencies at different levels translated the lessons from the 22.07 commission into concrete safety measures? Are fundamental challenges addr essed, or are symbolic actions prioritized? - How has these measures (if any) been implemented? Which agencies or actors are perceived as the driving forces in making sure measures are actually implemented? - How does cultural traits and cultural dynamic s influence on the exchange of information, coordination, collaboration between different actors involved in creating and maintaining societal safety? - Have the lessons from 22.07 involved cultural changes in public agencies involved in creating societa l safety and emergency preparedness. - Do the actors involved have a differentiated or an integrated understanding of risk? - What are the framework conditions (e.g. incentive structures, division of labour and responsibility) facilitating or hindering c ollaboration, action capacity and risk communication between the actors involved in creating societal safety and emerganecy preparedness? - What are the most important measures that can be suggested to improve exchange of information, coordination and co llaboration between different public agencies? These research questions will be answered by a broad interview study (100 informants) covering public agencies, emergency preparedness and crisis management personnel.