Abstract

The 13th of November terrorist attacks in Paris highlight a critical need within the emergency management (EM) domain to demonstrate the value of technological system capacities that support decision making. The world watched scores of police, paramedic, and fire teams communicating and coordinating together to save innocent civilian lives. Many researchers agree that systems should be designed informed by the “cognitive processes” used to respond to unanticipated emergencies. Mindfulness, within emergency management organizations (EMOs,) is created by the complex engagement of five organizational principles. They activate processes which produce capabilities uniquely supported by technology to anticipate and contain unexpected incidents for the EM domain. This paper explores organizational mindfulness (OM)) as a theoretical and methodological mechanism for design, assess and evaluation of emergency management information systems (EMIS). Mindfulness provides a basis for understanding both the EM domain and the organizational capabilities which allow for multiagency coordination. Design Science is proposed to conceptualize an IS artefact that refines our understanding of coordinated real- time decision making (CRDM). This research-in-progress paper adds to literature focused on system utilization and performance through the lens of the EM domain focusing on EMIS utilization to engage in CRDM within operational centres.

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