Sharing incident and threat information for common situational understanding

The objective of the INSITU project has been to develop knowledge and solutions for effective information sharing among emergency responders. Despite increasing access to digital information services relevant for emergency prepredness and response, an overview is lacking of how this information can be effectively collected and of the needs for information sharing between the agencies collaborating in a crisis situation. Different terminologies are also being used across disciplines, causing possible challenges for effective crisis communication and coordination of resources. Further, there is a lack of standardised map services for supporting cross-agency collaboration. In the INSITU project we have analyzed and developed possible solutions for establishing a common situational understanding in complex operations requiring collaboration between several agencies. This has involved systematic analysis of existing information sources and information needs in different stages of a crisis situation. The project has developed a software application for efficient terminology search in relevant sources (INSITU TERMER) and methods for terminology harmonisation and definition of concepts. An archive of emergency map symbols has been developed to support harmonised understanding of use of such symbols in different map systems. Existing functionality in different map systems currently in use by organisations involved in emergency management has been analyzed, and an inventory of functions of map-based tools useful for establishing a common operational picture (COP) is created. In addition, a prototype of an interactive visual interface for testing different map functions supporting situational understanding has also been developed. Further, an application called Square application has been developed as a pilot for an electronic collaboration platform, where relevant emergency responders can be invited in to share information and interact in a common map interface. User friendliness is emphasized, the system has proven useful in the planning, conduct and evaluation of emergency exercises. By including a playback function for the user interactions in the system during an incident, the Square application supports systematic evaluation and learning. The INSITU partners have interdisciplinary expertise in emergency management, information systems, geographic information science and systems (GIS), collaboration support, and terminology harmonisation. The project work has involved close collaboration with actors who are responsible for different sectors and areas in societal security and emergency preparedness, including the project reference group as well as other contacts established throughout the project. In addition to interviews and focus group discussions, we have arranged annual workshops and two emergency exercises to validate the project results. All results and deliverables in the project are available from the project web page (insitu.uia.no), including project reports, scientific publications and software applications. We have also made a video (in Norwegian) presenting the main results from the project (see https://insitu.uia.no/resultater/). The project deliverables presented above has a significant potential for contributing to more effective collaboration between organisations involved in emergency preparedness and response. The TERMER application is installed on the web pages of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres, and the Norwegian Industrial Safety Organisation and can be deployed in the planning and execution of cross-sectoral emergency exercises (such as Barents Rescue). The application will also be used to support further work on standardisation of terminology within security and resilience (ISO 22300). TERMER is also planned to be included in educational programs for emergency management. The results from the work on map support for COPs has identified several weaknesses in existing systems, and presented concrete suggestions for functionality that needs to be included in tools for developing a map-based situational picture. The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) have incorporated these recommendations in their further work on upgrading their map support for emergency response organisations. The Square application will also be used for supporting planning and conduct of emergency exercises in DSB related to the Norwegian Emergency Public Safety Network. The functionality in Square for systematic evaluation can contribute to more effective learning from exercises, which today is often reported as difficult and resource-demanding from the stakeholders involved. By conducting a large digital tabletop exercise on a forest fire scenario, the project identified several important areas in need of improvement related to tools, procedures and training for managing large forest fires. These results are also relevant for other large scale scenarios and are taken further by DSB.

The knowledge and solutions developed in the project contribute to more effective information sharing for establishing common situational understanding between emergency stakeholders at the tactical, operational and strategic levels during and after complex emergency events. This contributes to strengthened societal resilience through more effective response capability and more systematic learning from exercises and real events. More specifically, the project has developed a set of software tools and resources that support common understanding and use of terminology, map symbols and map functions among emergency responders. Further, an application called Square has been developed as a pilot for an electronic collaboration platform, where relevant emergency responders can be invited in to share information and interact in a common map interface. This tool has potential to be further developed into a commercial product used for conducting and evaluating emergency exercises. Lack of systematic evaluation and learning from exercises is a challenge pointed to be several emergency stakeholders today, and contributing to more effective practices for this can thus have a significant impact. The INSITU TERMER application supporting terminology search is already in use by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres and the Norwegian Industrial Safety Organisation (NSO). Possible integration of the TERMER and Square applications with the CIM system developed by F24 is currently being considered. CIM is the main crisis management system in use in Norway with approximately 900 organisations in public and private sector as customers. Such integration thus will have a potential for further widespread dissemination of the project results among Norwegian organisations. The Square application is also in a commercialization process at University of Agder. DSB will use Square for planning and conducting exercises in the Department for Emergency Communication (Avdeling for Nød- og beredskapskommunikasjon), as a tool for visualizing the operational status of critical communication infrastructure during emergencies. There is also a further potential for utilising the project results in education and training of emergency responders from different sectors.

Emergency responders lack support to effectively share information and establish a common operational picture (COP), for reaching shared situational understanding of threats and incidents. This challenge is multifaceted: 1) lack of a systematic overview of information elements that are critical to share in different crisis scenarios; 2) no common map interface in place using standard symbols; and 3) different terminologies used across disciplines, resulting in possible communication problems in multi-agency collaboration. The INSITU project will address these challenges by developing systematic support for enhanced situational understanding. The solution will provide a common map interface, integrating harmonisation of terminology and collaboration support for information sharing and synthesis. The enhanced COP will also support evaluation and learning from exercises and incidents. The project is coordinated by the Centre for Integrated Emergency Management (CIEM) at the University of Agder, in collaboration with NTNU, Tingtun AS, One Voice AS, the County Governor of Agder, Center for Advanced Research in Emergency Response at Linköping University, and the University of Sydney. A reference group of key emergency stakeholders secures close interaction with end users. An interdisciplinary team of experts in emergency management, geographic information systems, terminology harmonisation and digital collaboration, will work together to solve the R&D challenges related to information synthesis, geovisualization, terminology harmonisation, interoperability and collaboration scripting. The project will result in improved capabilities for emergency responders in sharing and using information from different sources, which ultimately will strengthen societal resilience. Close interaction with end users, and participation from technology developers and vendors will facilitate uptake of the project results among emergency stakeholders.