Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a regional crisis competence centre in Sweden. The overall research approach utilizes action research methodology to support the development process. The overall development process is divided into three steps; early need finding, the organizational platform, and business development. This paper is devoted to the first phase – early need finding – which deals with the specific needs and demand of four municipality organizations and how these requirements can be converged into a organizational setting that correspond to national crisis management strategies as well as regional responsibilities in crisis management. The research approach is action based and the theoretical considerations to support progress in development activities are from the Actor Network Theory (ANT). The main conclusion from the research is that the formation of a crisis competence centre revolves around sharing competences, and compromising between internal and external objectives in the progress towards a common goal.