Information systems (IS) seem prevalent in modern societies and are also used in the digitalisation of emergency response; for example, for decision support, communication, information exchange and resource positioning. Failures in these IS can contribute to failure in collaborative rescue operations, which in turn can endanger people’s lives. Public-sector cutbacks, lack of professional resources, natural disasters and terrorist threats are some examples of challenges that have intensified in recent decades. At the same time, frequent, small-scale accidents continue to occur both in urban and sparsely populated areas. Therefore, emergency response actors (e.g. fire services) are often under severe pressure. An emerging trend in response to the challenges, both in Sweden and internationally, is to create cross-sector forms of collaboration, involving and using alternative resources from various sectors. Since these collaborations are relatively recent and involve heterogeneous stakeholders, there is a need to explore the needs for IS in order to develop appropriate solutions. This thesis therefore aims to explore IS-related opportunities, challenges and needs in order to support heterogeneous actors in emerging cross-sector collaboration in Swedish emergency response. Three case studies, related to the co-location of actors, co-operative use of resources, and involving semi-professionals were performed. As part of achieving the objective, user participation activities to involve stakeholders in the development process is applied, and the related experiences are also presented as part of the results. In relation, a context-specific framework was developed to systematise various important aspects of cross-sector collaboration. The framework can also be used as a support tool in development processes. The results indicate that the need for IS varies from simple smartphone applications to systems for managing alarms, positioning and the dispatching of resources, to more sophisticated tools for sharing and viewing incident data. IS in the context do not need to be designed from scratch but development will be more about integration and adaptation; e.g., adding cross-sector collaboration functionality to authorities’ and response organisations’ existing IT artefacts/infrastructures. The results also suggest that the collaborations’ major potential is pooling of competencies to increase the total capacity of Swedish emergency response, if they are supported by adequate IS/IT support. The major challenges are organisational, economic and juridical and the most prominent relate to ambiguities in actors’ tasks and responsibilities, and how to prioritise between ordinary work and ‘new’ first response tasks. The results also indicate that the actors have substantial basic needs for training (e.g. fire extinguishing, CPR, information handling) and emergency supplies (e.g. fire extinguishers, healthcare kits).
Information Systems Development
for Emerging Public Sector
Cross-sector Collaborations
Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences, No. 750
Kayvan Yousefi Mojir
Ka
yv
an Y
ou
sefi M
ojir
2
018
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences, No. 750, 2018
Department of Management and Engineering, Information Systems Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
www.liu.se
The Case of Swedish Emergency Response
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Kayvan Yousefi Mojir holds a Bachelor in Software Engineering (2003) and a Master’s degree in ’Engineering and Management of Information Systems’ (2011). He started his PhD studies in 2012 in ’information system development’ where he has been involved in multidisciplinary research, education and institutional activities. His research focuses on user-centred IS development and the related socio-technical and institutional factors affecting it. The context of his research is emergency response, in specific where organisations (e.g. fire services) need to create cross-sector collaboration with other societal resources to increase their capacity.
Information systems (IS) seem prevalent in modern societies and are also used in the digitalisation of emergency response; for example, for decision support, communication, information exchange and resource positioning. Failures in these IS can contribute to failure in collaborative rescue operations, which in turn can endanger people’s lives. Public-sector cutbacks, lack of professional resources, natural disasters and terrorist threats are some examples of challenges that have intensified in recent decades. At the same time, frequent, small-scale accidents continue to occur both in urban and sparsely populated areas. Therefore, emergency response actors (e.g. fire services) are often under severe pressure. An emerging trend in response to the challenges, both in Sweden and internationally, is to create cross-sector forms of collaboration, involving and using alternative resources from various sectors. Since these collaborations are relatively recent and involve heterogeneous stakeholders, there is a need to explore the needs for IS in order to develop appropriate solutions. This thesis therefore aims to explore IS-related opportunities, challenges and needs in order to support heterogeneous actors in emerging cross-sector collaboration in Swedish emergency response. Three case studies, related to the co-location of actors, co-operative use of resources, and involving semi-professionals were performed. As part of achieving the objective, user participation activities to involve stakeholders in the development process is applied, and the related experiences are also presented as part of the results. In relation, a context-specific framework was developed to systematise various important aspects of cross-sector collaboration. The framework can also be used as a support tool in development processes. The results indicate that the need for IS varies from simple smartphone applications to systems for managing alarms, positioning and the dispatching of resources, to more sophisticated tools for sharing and viewing incident data. IS in the context do not need to be designed from scratch but development will be more about integration and adaptation; e.g., adding cross-sector collaboration functionality to authorities’ and response organisations’ existing IT artefacts/infrastructures. The results also suggest that the collaborations’ major potential is pooling of competencies to increase the total capacity of Swedish emergency response, if they are supported by adequate IS/IT support. The major challenges are organisational, economic and juridical and the most prominent relate to ambiguities in actors’ tasks and responsibilities, and how to prioritise between ordinary work and ‘new’ first response tasks. The results also indicate that the actors have substantial basic needs for training (e.g. fire extinguishing, CPR, information handling) and emergency supplies (e.g. fire extinguishers, healthcare kits).
Information Systems Development
for Emerging Public Sector
Cross-sector Collaborations
Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences, No. 750
Kayvan Yousefi Mojir
Ka
yv
an Y
ou
sefi M
ojir
2
018
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Linköping Studies in Arts and Sciences, No. 750, 2018
Department of Management and Engineering, Information Systems Linköping University
SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
www.liu.se
The Case of Swedish Emergency Response
In
for
m
ati
on
S
ys
te
m
s D
ev
el
opm
en
t for
E
m
erg
ing
Pu
blic
Sec
to
r C
ro
ss-sec
to
r C
olla
bo
ra
tio
ns
Kayvan Yousefi Mojir holds a Bachelor in Software Engineering (2003) and a Master’s degree in ’Engineering and Management of Information Systems’ (2011). He started his PhD studies in 2012 in ’information system development’ where he has been involved in multidisciplinary research, education and institutional activities. His research focuses on user-centred IS development and the related socio-technical and institutional factors affecting it. The context of his research is emergency response, in specific where organisations (e.g. fire services) need to create cross-sector collaboration with other societal resources to increase their capacity.
