Using Information Technology for Effective Emergency Response

1. Using Information Technology for Effective Emergency Response Stella Shen Michael J. Shaw University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2. Emergency and Emergency Response • Emergency • Any natural or man-caused situation that results in or may result in substantial harm to the population or damage to property • Unique characteristics of emergency response • Time criticality • High degree of uncertainty • Dynamic assembly of diverse response agencies • Dynamic arrivals of events • Mixed array of incorrect or conflicting information • Emergency response system • A socio-technical system that comprises of not only IT, but also social organizational components, such as networks of emergency workers (Calloway & Keen’s, 1996) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 2

3. Problems in Emergency Response • Too many people reporting to one supervisor • Different emergency response organizational structures • Lack of reliable incident information • Inadequate and incompatible communications • Lack of structure for coordinated planning among agencies • Unclear lines of authority • Terminology differences among agencies • Unclear or unspecified incident objectives Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 3

4. Dynamic Planning • Case-based dynamic planning • Scenario planning • Effectiveness of the methodology • IT Capabilities • Communication support • Information processing support Emergency • Integration • Types of integration: information, communication, process • Method of integration Response FIT Agents • Coordination • Sources of coordination problems • Coordination mechanisms (process & structure) • Effectiveness of coordination Emergency Response IT-Facilitated Emergency Response Management Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 4

5. Dynamic Planning • Case-based dynamic planning • Scenario planning • Effectiveness of the methodology • IT Capabilities • Communication support • Information processing support Emergency • Integration • Types of integration: information, communication, process • Method of integration Response FIT Agents • Coordination • Sources of coordination problems • Coordination mechanisms (process & structure) • Effectiveness of coordination Emergency How can IT help improve inter-agency coordination? Response Research Focus Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 5

6. Conceptual Framework • Premises: • Coordination is the problem that happens when groups of people trying to work together • As increasing number of novel tools and technologies being developed, the coordination effect of information technologies has been more and more widely recognized and accepted • Theories: • Coordination theory (Malone and Crowston, 1999) • Theory of task/technology fit (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995; Zigurs and Buckland, 1998) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 6

7. Inter-dependencies • (Malone & Crowston, 1999) • Sharing • Flow • Fit • Coordination • Mechanisms • Process • Structure FIT (Goodhue & Thompson, 1995; Zigurs & Buckland, 1998) • IT Capabilities • Communication support • Information processing Emergency Response Conceptual Framework Model of IT-Enabled Coordination for Emergency Response Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 7

8. Research Method • Case study (Yin, 1989) • The questions under study are “how” or “why” questions • It’s important to study the phenomenon in its own context • The researcher is seeking to explain the linkages between causes and effects • Site selection • Organizations engaged in responding to public safety emergencies • First responders • Supporting response agencies • Training centers • Emergency management and coordination agencies • Government offices • Military training center Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 8

9. Research Method • Sampling • The director or the main coordinator of each agency site • They know the overall context of emergency operations • They are the veterans for their particular functions • They are the ones who participate in various inter-agency emergency response and management trainings • Data sources • Semi-structured face-to-face interviews • Written documentation • Non-participant observations • Data analysis • Constant comparative technique (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 9

10. Finding – Dependencies in Emergency Response (I) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 10

11. Finding – Dependencies in Emergency Response (II) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 11

12. Finding – Coordination Mechanisms in Emergency Response (I) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 12

13. Finding – Coordination Mechanisms in Emergency Response (II) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 13

14. Finding – Coordination Mechanisms in Emergency Response (III) Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 14

15. Fit Between IT and Coordination Mechanisms (I) • Coordination by prioritizing requires most updated, correct information collected from the field and transmitted to the decision-makers • Using the boundary spanner introduces a lot of synchronous communications between the boundary spanner and individual agencies • Synchronized activities can be achieved by the real time correspondences of orders and quick status reports between the boundary spanner and various agencies. Proposition 1:Managing sharing dependencies in emergency response requires real time information collection, validation and transmission. Communication needs to take place via any possible connection and in any possible format, synchronously or asynchronously. Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 15

16. Fit Between IT and Coordination Mechanisms (II) • Having the ability to automatically track some given emergency situations and notify the relevant agencies of any changes will allow the distributed, or even dispersed groups of agencies to coordinate their activities. • Information manipulation capability, particularly all kinds of analytical, modeling and simulation tools can serve as a great support for dynamic planning. • Traditional synchronous voice communication, such as telephone, will not be sufficient for the amount and type of communication needed, such as real time notification, between distributed, diverse groups of agencies. Proposition 2:Managing flow dependencies in emergency response calls especially for technologies that support information manipulation, tracking and notification. More asynchronous communications in format other than voice will be used in addition to the traditional, synchronous voice communication. Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 16

17. Fit Between IT and Coordination Mechanisms (III) • When databases of experts or resources are shared among agencies and jurisdictions, by performing some easy data query, authorized personnel can locate the expert or the particular resource needed for the task immediately • Computational capabilities can be utilized to generate different response consequence scenarios or simulate the combined result of individual responses • The communication media should be rich and powerful enough to facilitate near face-to-face meetings among group members who might be physically distributed Proposition 3:Managing fit dependencies in emergency response entails database and knowledge management technologies, and modeling and simulation capabilities. Communications will take place using more diverse media choices and covering larger geographic areas. Shen et al., UIUC, 4/02/05 17