Bridging the theory and practice gap in emergency services research: a case for a new journal

Wankhade, Paresh; Murphy, Peter

doi:10.1108/20470891211239281

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This has occurred in parallel to rising expectations on service delivery in society in general, and corresponding demands for increased efficiency and quality of public services (Wankhade and Murphy, 2012). Also, public challenges are becoming increasingly complex and extensive, reflecting current societal challenges of e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Pilemalm

Lindgren

Ramsell

2016

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Purpose This study aims to explore recent public sector trends, inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations, and analyzes these in terms of implications for participative development of information systems (IS). These trends are understood as being part of emerging forms of e-government. Initial suggestions for how to develop IS in the new contexts are provided. Design/methodology/approach Three cases involving the trends described above, taking place in the Swedish emergency response system, are studied and used as basis for identified participative IS development challenges and suggested adaptation needs. Data collection involves semi-structured interviews, focus groups and future workshops. Findings The identified challenges concern balancing ideological versus practical needs, lack of resources, lack of know-how and design techniques and tool challenges. Some practical implications for participative IS development include more extensive focus on stakeholder and legal analysis, need for interdisciplinary design teams, merging of task and needs analysis for yet-undefined user tasks and using on-line alternatives for interacting with users. Research implications/limitations The study is exploratory where the three cases are in different, but at the same time interrelated, collaboration contexts. The identified implications and challenges provide proposals that in future research can be applied, formalized and integrated when developing practically feasible participative IS development approaches. Originality/value It is argued that the results point toward a current emerging form of e-government initiatives directed toward certain demarcated groups of citizens actually carrying out certain tasks for their co-citizens and society rather than the broad masses, having far-reaching practical implications and complicating the issue of IS development.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Pilemalm

Lindgren

Ramsell

2016

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“…trauma and deviant behaviour. However, the management and organization of fire and rescue services receives relatively little discussion and less still relating to accountability and transparency in its governance arrangements (Wankhade andMurphy, 2012: Farrell 2018). This is perhaps surprising, given fire and rescue services can be considered a universal service, delivered by central and local governments, private sector providers and the third sector (including volunteer services) in different parts of the world (Murphy and Greenhalgh, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stating the obvious

Spencer

Hayden

Murphy

et al. 2019

IJES

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the form, content and reporting arrangements of “statements of assurance” required from Fire and Rescue Authorities in England since their introduction in 2012 and identify potential improvements for future implementation. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method approach was adopted which commenced with an analysis of the current official guidance, an exploration of the accessibility and structure of the current statements produced; followed by a review of those statements through a desk based analysis complemented by a series of elite interviews. Findings The current guidance was found to be too broad and open to interpretation to be fit for purpose. This has led to some significant variations in reporting, limiting the statements’ usefulness to key users and stakeholders. Most authorities provided some form of report on their website but inconsistencies in respect of length, structure, name and content, limit their value. The research found that 30 per cent of authorities did not have an up to date statement available online. These findings were supported by the series of interviews. The result has led to confusion amongst authorities as to the statement’s role and the risk of it being perceived as a “box ticking” exercise rather than a real contribution to public assurance. Practical implications This paper provides potential lessons which could be adopted to inform future guidance in respect of the preparation and publication of the statement of assurance and its role within the wider public assurance regime for fire and rescue authorities. If adopted, these would improve the accountability, transparency and public assurance of Fire and Rescue Authorities which is a key objective of their governance arrangements. Originality/value The statement of assurance has only been a requirement of authorities since the current National Framework for Fire and Rescue was published in July 2012 and has not been subject to independent research since its inception. The government have recently issued a consultation on a new national framework, but this proposes changes to the statements of assurance. The findings will therefore be of value to the government, the fire and rescue sector and the recently appointed regulators for the service Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

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“…A major challenge in the emergency management field is to continue to improve ERSs by reducing response time and increasing the quality of response and to maintain public services in a time of scarce resources and rising public expectations (Wankhade & Murphy, 2012). Moreover, societal challenges such as climate change, migration, urbanisation, an ageing population, and increasing socioeconomic differences and segregation leading to social unrest have put enormous strain on ERSs and emergency management-related organisations.…”

Section: Including Organisations Technologies Procedures and Rulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Forms of Collaboration in Emergency Response Systems: A framework for participatory design of information systems

Mojir¹

2016

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An emergency response systems (ERS) is usually responsible for delivering essential services to save lives and minimise environmental damage in case of small, frequent or large-scale emergencies. The ongoing global financial crisis, lack of professional resources, public sector cuts and rising public expectations are some of the challenges ERSs currently are facing. At the same time, societal trends in form of large-scale disasters such as tsunamis, storms, forest fires, terror attacks, and wars in the Middle East leading to mass migration have intensified recently and globally, increasing demand for these services in the public sector. As a result, emergency response actors are often under extreme pressure, and may need to seek assistance from and cooperate with other resources in society in order to become more effective. An emerging trend in ERSs in response to the challenges, in Sweden and internationally, is to create new forms of collaboration in emergency management (e.g., cross-sector collaboration, involving citizens in e-government, and involving volunteers). While research and practice have started to show the benefits of organising ERSs in new ways, the increasingly broad set of heterogeneous stakeholders involved in the collaborations introduce various challenges. Legal issues, unclear responsibilities of actors, difficulty in the categorisation of tasks, job insurance problems, diversity in education and background of actors, and difficulty determining actors' specific needs for IS support are some examples. Analysis of collaborations thus becomes increasingly complex, and must incorporate many aspects. Rudimentary analyses may result in failure of related projects and IS development, and ultimately in less effective collaborations. New forms of collaboration must therefore be analysed and understood rigorously, generally and in each specific context in order to develop them for ERSs and the public sector and to support actors with effective IS tools.This thesis develops and presents a framework for analysing new forms of collaboration in ERSs. It also provides an initial suggestion on how to apply the framework with a specific focus on IS development. The study was carried out as a qualitative case study based on three kinds of collaboration in the Swedish ERS: co-operative, cross-sector use of resources, involving civil volunteers in response operations and co-location of actors. The framework has fifteen dimensions. Sociotechnical systems theory and participatory design principles were applied to make the framework usable in the IS field. The framework can be used generally to analyse new forms of collaboration in ERSs in order to understand its different aspects and emergent challenges, such as actors' tasks, relevant laws, leadership and organisational factors, which may otherwise be overlooked, into the analysis process. As to IS development, the framework can contribute to organisational analysis and needs analysis in the participatory design of IS for ERSs, e.g. by helping to identi...

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Bridging the theory and practice gap in emergency services research: a case for a new journal

Cited by 15 publications

References 7 publications

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Emerging forms of inter-organizational and cross-sector collaborations in e-government initiatives

Stating the obvious

New Forms of Collaboration in Emergency Response Systems: A framework for participatory design of information systems

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