Abstract: Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by major disasters. Information scientists working to improve disaster planning and mitigation efforts in these communities often involve first responder (practitioner) groups in collaborative design; however, less emphasis has been placed on developing long-term, sustainable crisis informatics partnerships at the population level. Community-based participatory research approaches are gaining attention in the US as an important element in translational science efforts designed to move innovations “from the bench to the curbside.” Community Engagement in Research (CEnR) is a community research approach adopted US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve public health intervention. CEnR has implications for improving the generalizability of ISCRAM research, may provide a roadmap for Public/Private/Community disaster research partnerships, and suggests modifications to training for information scientists working in this arena. The CEnR approach also recognizes conflicts that can occur in community/government partnerships, emphasizing the importance of predicting and preventing these situations. © 2012 ISCRAM.

Abstract: This paper reports on the initial findings of the first phase of a study funded by San Jose State University, USA to provideinsightregardinghowpubliclibrariescanbe moreinvolvedincommunity-wide disasterplanning,strengtheningtheirroleascoremembersof theircommunities?disasterpreparedness and responseinfrastructure. The first phase of the study involves a nationwide survey of public library directors and library staff who are involved in coordinating disaster planning for their institutions. A survey was carried out during December 2014 and January 2015 to explorewhatpubliclibrariescanbringtocommunity-wideplanningefforts and thetypesofpartnershipsthatarepossible. The findingswillprovidelibraryleaderswithvaluableinsighton how to proactivelyengageindialogueandplanningwiththeirlocalemergencymanagement community. The second phase emerging from the research will involve follow-up in-depth explorations of the exemplary disaster planning models.

Abstract: Community-based disaster response is gaining attention in the United States because of major problems with domestic disaster recovery over the last decade. A social network analysis approach is used to illustrate how community-academic partnerships offer one way to leverage information about existing, mediated relationships with the community through trusted actors. These partnerships offer a platform that can be used to provide entré into communities that are often closed to outsiders, while also allowing greater access to community embedded physical assets and human resources, thus facilitated more culturally appropriate crisis response. Using existing, publically available information about funded community-academic partnerships in Wisconsin, USA, we show how social network analysis of these meta-organizations may provide critical information about both community vulnerabilities in disaster and assist in rapidly identifying these community resources in the aftermath of a crisis event that may provide utility for boundary spanning crisis information systems.

Abstract: Emergency preparedness for CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) communities has been identified as a significant gap in DRM (disaster risk management) research and practice. Using a community engagement approach, a practitioner in Wellington, New Zealand implemented a Citizen Translation project to have volunteers from 15 communities facilitate translations for a new local Earthquake Preparedness Guide, in partnership with local Civil Defense and an international crisis translation team, INTERACT. Initial findings have shown that consultation with community members over the translation of their language has been a powerful way to establish initial links into the community and instigate discussion and feedback about emergency preparedness; it has led to further projects including emergency messaging translations. This work in progress raises an important and often overlooked discourse on inclusiveness in DRM activities and the potential for community engagement to play a role with CALD community preparedness.

Abstract: Information and supporting information systems is a key element in an effective emergency response. From
creating situational awareness to informed decision making, information enables responders to optimize their
decisions and operations. Today, with the increased availability of information technology around the globe, a
new active player in the field of information management is emerging as communities are becoming increasingly
active in the field of information gathering, analyzing and sharing.
However, communities may have specific requirements and approaches to using information systems in crisis
situations. Moreover, connecting information systems between communities and responder pose specific
challenges due to the different information needs, capacities and incentives to use them. In this paper we build on
the DERMIS premises and explore through a case study if and how these principles apply to inclusive information
systems. We present the initial findings of this work of designing information systems involving both communities
and formal responders.

Abstract: This paper analyses the collaborative dynamic of community in response to urgent situations. Community emergencies arising from natural or man-induced threats are considered as exogenous events that stimulate community resources to be unified around the response, action, and recovery activities related to the emergency. A structured equation model is derived to depict the actions of the community system. The system is described in terms of its resources including the propensity to trigger community action and collaboration among diverse groups. The community is profiled with respect to its ability to respond. The system defines the trigger mechanisms that are considered to be the drivers of collaborative action. A simulation model is presented to enact the system emergencies, community profiles, and collaborative response. The results develop an improved understanding of conditions that engage community collaborative actions as illustrated by examples from community research in the EnRiCH and the C-Change community research projects.

Abstract: The role of common citizens within the emergency management (EM) process is crucial in order to support efficiently the operators' activities during the response phase. Moreover, their participation is strictly related to their profile and their experience in previous events. In a previous contribution we identified the different roles that the citizens can play for an effective cooperation with the EM workers. In this paper, we introduce an emergency tool based on a mobile application designed to support the activities of the citizens acting as Agent. The Agents have specific capabilities recognized by the EM Operation Center (OC) to execute actions under the remote supervision of the EM operators. The proposed tool allows the Agents to receive information from the OC and to visualize it through an advanced visualization modality. In particular, available information is previously collected by the center from the witnesses and the affected people that have alerted about it.

Abstract: Face mask scarcity in the United States hindered early infection control efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Areas with a history of racial segregation and poverty experienced differential COVID-19 death and morbidity rates. Supplying masks equitably and rapidly became an urgent public health priority. A partnership between a local manufacturer with available polypropylene fabric and the Medical College of Wisconsin, which had the capability to assemble and distribute masks, was formed in April, 2020. An improvised logistics framework allowed for rapid distribution more than 250,000 masks, and later facilitated hand-off to other organizations to distribute over 3 million masks. Using an action research framework three phases of the effort are considered, 1) initial deliveries to community clinics, 2) equitable distribution to community agencies while under “safer at home” orders, and 3) depot deliveries and transfer of logistics management as larger agencies recovered. A multi-actor view was used to interrogate the information needs of faculty and staff remotely directing distribution, medical student volunteers delivering masks, and the manufacturer monitorng overall inventory. Logistics information was managed using Google Sheets augmented with a small SQLite component. A phenomenological view, toggling back and forth from the “socio” to the “technical” provides detailed insight into the strengths and limitations of digital solutions for humanitarian logistics, highlighting where paper-based processes remain more efficient. This case study suggests that rather than building bespoke logistics software, supporting relief efforts with non-traditional responders may benefit from extensible components that augment widely used digital tools.