Researchers from Cardiff University (CU), Robert Gordon University (RGU) and from the Natural Hazard Research Australia (the Centre) are undertaking a project titled Enhancing Decision-making in Emergency Management. As part of this project, they are seeking to engage with UK multi-agency incident commanders to participate in the first phase of their research study. This research is supported by the UK’s National Fire Chiefs Council, National Police Chiefs Council and Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.
The study seeks incident commanders from various work and shift patterns to provide input on current practices in operational decision-making in ambulance, fire and rescue, and police services. The research aims to understand how people currently make decisions, their tools, and the gaps in training and organisational doctrine on decision-making.
The project aims to gain a perspective on the operational decision-making of UK incident commanders that will contribute toward an analysis of the current practice and future requirements of such decision-making. The project includes a survey that will remain open until the end of April 2024. The project aims to develop a set of prototype training and learning products for Australian emergency managers that support the needs of decision-makers working in a variety of operational environments, and a skills acquisition framework to assist in understanding operational decision-making.