Key challenges in multi-agency collaboration during large-scale emergency management

This paper reports the results of a workshop studying the challenges of collaboration during emergency response in Norway. The findings from the workshop reveal three categories of challenges linked to collaboration both within and across emergency agencies: (1) communicating within and across emergency agencies, (2) establishing and maintaining shared situation aware-ness, and (3) inter-organizational understanding. Underlying barriers hindering efficient collaboration are identified for each of the three categories. Against this backdrop, the paper discuss opportunities for ambient intelligence technol-ogy that can help mitigate the identified challenges.