Toward a system approach of distributed information awareness to support emergency response

Abstract : This paper describes the system approach of a Distributed Information Awareness in Crisis Response (DIACRS) to support inter-organizational collaboration and communication in crisis management. The proposed approach is based on literature review and empirical study conducted in France. This study showed that the different actors and organizations involved in crisis response encounter problems of information awareness which affect the communication, the collaboration, the decision making and the time of response. The idea of this approach is to support emergency response by providing system based on (1) dynamic actors' network and (2) automatic mechanism of push and pull based on activities dependencies to disseminate and distribute needed information in order to achieve awareness, make decision and achieve action at the right time.