In order to ensure public safety and security in disasters, effective crisis management requires efficient communication and access to critical information before, during and after operations. Inter-connectedness and cooperation between different rescue teams is essential for saving lives and protecting assets.

Despite the abundance of expertise, knowledge, and know-how in disaster risk reduction, the risks associated with disasters in Europe are increasing. Europe is facing unique challenges which include an open space with 28 member states responsible for security, an increasing number of cross-border crises, such as climate change, global pandemics, and cross-border security threats, as well as a lack of First Responders (FR) and domain experts’ feedback during standardisation efforts in the crisis management domain.

These are only some of the challenges that STRATEGY, the newly launched H2020 funded project, will address over the next three years.

The STRATEGY project aims to improve the interoperability of systems, tools and operational procedures serving the crisis management domain. This will be accomplished by developing a Pan-European pre-standardisation framework. The framework will be validated and evaluated by practitioners and technology providers within a rich training programme comprised of 8 Table-Top Exercises (TTXs) and 1 Full-Scale Exercise (FSX).

STRATEGY project’s vision is to materialise the above activities primarily into a set of CEN-CENELEC Workshop Agreements (CWA), hence enhancing interoperability in EU crisis management domain. The project also fosters collaboration with the European Defence Agency’s initiatives in particular within the CBRN-E area (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives).

Based on the needs identified from previous EU initiatives and the EU priorities, the project will address eight streams within the Crisis management cycle, namely Critical Infrastructures Protection, Response planning, Search & Rescue, Command & Control, Early Warning Systems and Rapid Damage Assessment, CBRN-E, Training and Terminology.

After selecting and implementing existing, evolving and new standards within solutions, tools and procedural guidelines and recommendations, STRATEGY will streamline and validate Technical and Organisational Interoperability by implementing uses cases involving EU and National Standardisation bodies.

STRATEGY is coordinated by Satways in Greece and brings together first responders, technology developers, policy makers, civil protection bodies and researchers from 23 organisations across 14 European countries. It merges end-user, industry and academic competencies from a range of research partners, including large companies, SMEs, standardisation bodies, potential users, and public institutions.

The project partners involved in STRATEGY are:

• SATWAYS LTD, (STWS, EL) (Coordinator)
• FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V (FhG-INT, DE)
• WOITSCH CONSULTING OY (WCO, FI)
• INOV INESC INOVACAO – INSTITUTO DE NOVAS TECNOLOGIAS (INOV, PT)
• SINTEF AS (SINTEF, NO)
• DEEP BLUE SRL (DBL, IT)
• NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK (TNO, NL)
• CENTER FOR SECURITY STUDIES (KEMEA, EL)
• ATOS IT (ATOS, SP)
• AUSTRIAN STANDARDS INTERNATIONAL (ASI, AT)
• FINNISH STANDARDS ASSOCIATION (SFS, FI)
• ASOCIACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE NORMALIZACIÓN (UNE, SP)
• ROMANIAN STANDARDS ASSOCIATION (ASRO, RO)
• SWEDISH INSTITUTE FOR STANDARDS (SIS, SE)
• MINISTÉRIO DA DEFESA NACIONAL (CINAMIL/UMLDBQ, PT)
• SAMU DE PARIS – EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE (SAMU AP-HP, FR)
• MINISTERO DELL’INTERNO (CNVVF, IT)
• HELLENIC POLICE (HP, EL)
• MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENCE (HMOD, EL)
• EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR SECURITY (EOS, BE)

 

For more information about STRATEGY visit the project website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

Author: Nuala Polo, Trilateral Research

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 883520