Abstract: Combined Systems is aimed at exploring distributed decision support systems in open, complex chaotic environments. On a general scale, Combined is all about decision-making: observing the environment, making decisions and effectuating these to manage the current situation. Crisis management is a typical domain in which Combined-type systems can prove their value. For this reason the Combined project uses crisis management as primary case-domain. In this paper we highlight the key technologies that are subject of the Combined research, and we describe them in the light of crisis management. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.