@book {bnh-8330, title = {A guide to non-technical skills in emergency management}, year = {2022}, pages = {58}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

A guide to non-technical skills in emergency management\ by Dr Peter Hayes, A/Prof Chris Bearman and Donald Gyles is the first book of its guide developed for emergency management. It was developed as observations from the authors\ indicated the need\ to better manage non-technical skills during emergency and incident\ management; non-technical skills continue to be an area highlighted in\ investigation reports and inquiries; and\ discussions with agency partners indicated a a resource like this book would help to educate practitioners deepen their understanding of the non-technical skills literature.

What is in the book?

A guide to non-technical skills in emergency management\ seeks to:\ introduce and highlight the importance of\ non-technical skills; identify some of the issues\ and pitfalls that can occur; and describe tools\ that can help people better manage non-technical\ skills in operational situations.

The content of the book necessarily draws heavily\ on research conducted during by the\ Improving decision-making in complex multi-team environmentsproject conducted between 2014{\textendash}2021.\ By writing this book the authors hope to provide a\ consistent framework that allows agencies\ to manage the various aspects of non-technical\ skills in a more holistic way. This\ also encourages agencies to adopt a shared\ language to discuss, promote and manage these\ important but often neglected sets of skills.

Who is the book for?

The book is designed for emergency\ management practitioners and instructors\ who wish to understand more about non-technical skills. This may be because they want to improve their own knowledge and practice or be better prepared to coach, mentor or\ instruct others. Learning and development practitioners may find the book a useful reference source for developing non-technical skills training materials or for enhancing these skills within more technically oriented training units (for example, teaching communication\ skills in the context of relay pumping).

The approach

Some readers will be familiar with these skills\ and will have used them working in various\ teams. For others, it may be the first time they\ have encountered them. For the group who
are encountering non-technical skills for the\ first time, the authors have provided a simple overview of each skill and how it can be observed in\ both training and real operations. For the more experienced practitioners of non-technical skills the authors have included a set of information\ and challenges to help people to think more\  deeply about that non-technical skill.

}, isbn = {978-0-6452058-2-4}, issn = {978-0-6452058-2-4}, author = {Peter Hayes and Christopher Bearman and Donald Gyles} } @article {bnh-8133, title = {Embedding non-technical skills as part of core business in emergency management - Final project report Part A}, number = {693}, year = {2021}, month = {07/2021}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {MELBOURNE}, abstract = {

Non-technical skills are increasingly being seen as a vital part of effective performance in industries where there is a high potential for catastrophic outcomes (such as medicine, maritime, aviation and the military). In these industries non-technical skills have become an integral part of core business and a variety of tools and training programs have been developed to support and enhance their use. Emergency management has been somewhat slower to adopt non-technical skills management programs, although such programs are now starting to emerge. The Bushfire \& Natural Hazards CRC has been instrumental in facilitating research in non-technical skills over the last 10 years and a reasonable body of work has emerged on non-technical skills. This project draws together much of this body of work by providing an overarching integrative framework and by developing a set of training materials that can be used to train people in emergency management. This set of materials is an important resource that can help the adoption of non-technical skills by agencies so that they come to be seen as core business.

}, keywords = {Emergency management, non-technical skills, teamwork}, issn = {693}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Peter Hayes} } @article {bnh-6537, title = {Decision making, team monitoring \& organisational learning in emergency management annual report 2018-2019}, number = {531}, year = {2020}, month = {01/2020}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

This project explores aspects of teamwork, decision making and organisational learning with the aim of better supporting people working in complex strategic operations centres.\  We have adopted a human-centred design method to produce practical tools that are designed around how people use these tools in their workplace.\  As part of this process end-users are embedded into the research process. Bringing end-users into the research process creates a partnership where the researchers contribute their knowledge of literature, theory and the research process and the end-users contribute their requirements, operational knowledge and understanding of the barriers to utilisation and adoption.\  Using the human-centred design method we have created a number of practical tools that are at various stages of development.\  These tools focus on managing teams, how to make better decisions, and how to better utilise the products of research.\  For the tools that have reached (or are close to reaching) the end of their evaluation we have also developed training to support their use by end-users.\  We have seen extensive operational use by end-users of the tools we have developed, with a number of agencies amending their standard operating procedures to facilitate use of the tools. \ In addition, research from the project has formed the basis of several key publications (e.g. the Resilience Expert Advisory Group{\textquoteright}s {\textquotedblleft}A practical guide for crisis decision making.{\textquotedblright}). Into the future we will be continuing to develop new tools to support teamwork, decision making and organisational learning and expect to see further utilisation by agencies both in Australia and worldwide.

}, keywords = {Decision making, education, Emergency management, teams}, issn = {531}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Peter Hayes and Heather Stuart} } @article {bnh-7801, title = {Improving decision making, teamwork and organisational learning in emergency management {\textendash} final project report}, number = {641}, year = {2020}, month = {01/2021}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Background: Each year Australian emergency management organisations coordinate the response to thousands of emergency events. While a successful outcome is achieved in the vast majority of these events, notable and ongoing concerns are being raised as to how well some of the emergency management teams have functioned.\  Often the problems are not based on technical skills (such as the use of equipment) but on the non-technical skills, such as: communication, coordination, situation awareness, and decision making. In addition, skills such as creativity and divergent thinking may be important in helping people to manage ever more complex emergencies. This project seeks to develop simple practical tools that can help people to better manage their teamwork, improve their decision making and develop more creative solutions.\  In addition to developing these tools this project also considers how organisations utilise the outcomes of research.\  Application of research in support of organisational learning is critical not just for organisational growth, competitiveness and sustainability but also for wide-scale industry development, community and economic well-being. However, maximising organisational learning from research often falls short. As part of this project we will seek to develop a tool to help agencies to utilise research more effectively.

Method: The tools were developed using a human-centred design approach. This approach placed the end-user very much at the heart of the development process so that the tools were effectively co-created with end-users. Embedding end-users into the research and design process has two goals, 1) to produce effective tools that are designed around the end-user and 2) to create the right context for the adoption of the tools by emergency management agencies. In this way we have brought utilisation to the centre of the project, embedding it within the research process so that utilisation informs and is informed by the research from the beginning of the project.

Research and tool development: A number of tools were developed to help people to better manage their teamwork and decision making. These tools include:

In addition to creating tools that help better manage teams and make more effective decisions, members of the project team have also developed methods to help people to act more creatively during operations (such as stretch thinking loops for team decision making). To help end-users to diagnose their capacity to utilise research a self-assessment tool was developed (known as the self-assessment research utilisation maturity matrix or RUMM). This tool can be used by practitioners to identify steps needed to move along the path towards research implementation.

Utilisation: These tools have now seen excellent utilisation by emergency management agencies in Australia and have attracted growing interest from international partners in the UK and Spain.\  The teamwork tools have been used to help manage both simulated and real-life emergencies; to conduct debriefs and after-action reviews; to design response plans; and to evaluate emergency management arrangements. The research utilisation maturity matrix (RUMM) has been used to inform future research planning, to assess existing capability in research utilisation and to inform future policy decisions.\  The tools that we have created have been included in a number of key industry publications (such as AFAC Lessons Management Handbook) and a number of agencies have changed their standard operating procedures to facilitate use of the tools.

Conclusion and next steps: This project has developed a number of products that can help people in emergency management to better manage non-technical skills, improve creativity and assess their ability to utilise the products of research.\  The next steps are to help agencies to better embed these tools so that they become part of normal everyday business.

}, keywords = {Decision making, Emergency management, organisational learning, teamwork}, issn = {641}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Peter Hastings and Heather Stuart} } @article {bnh-7700, title = {Non-technical skills for emergency incident management teams: A literature review}, journal = {Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management}, year = {2020}, month = {12/2020}, abstract = {

Every year, incident management teams (IMTs) coordinate the response to hundreds of emergency events across Australasia. Larger scale emergencies such as a storms, floods, wildfires, oil spills and chemical explosions can place a lot of pressure on an IMT. Non-technical skills play a central role in the performance of these teams. This article reviewed the broader non-technical skills (NTS) literature before focusing on the NTS required for emergency management. It was found that most NTS frameworks share four to five common skill categories, although there were greater differences at the element and behavioural marker level. A variety of issues were identified in the literature that highlight that emergency management is very different from other domains where NTS systems have been developed. The literature on NTS in conjunction with this set of issues was used to develop a proposed NTS framework for emergency IMTs. This framework comprises 7 skill categories (i.e. communication, coordination, cooperation, decision-making, situation awareness, leadership and coping, stress and fatigue management). The 7 skills can be further delineated into 16 elements and 44 behavioural markers. The framework provides a prototype that can form the basis for further research in this area.

}, keywords = {decision-making, Emergency management, incident management, non-technical skills, teams, teamwork}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12341}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-5973.12341}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Philip Butler and Owen, Christine} } @article {bnh-6773, title = {Staying on task: a tool to help state and regional-level emergency management teams}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {35}, year = {2020}, month = {01/2020}, pages = {38-44}, abstract = {

The demands on teams coordinating emergency management at state and regional levels can be considerable. These teams may be supporting multiple incidents and are prioritising resources, liaising with other organisations and managing public interests. Also, during large-scale emergencies, teams will be working under conditions of stress and fatigue, which are known to impair cognitive processes such as memory and decision-making. This paper describes a checklist-based cognitive aid that can be used by teams to help retain their focus on tasks that need to be completed. This checklist is based on a hierarchical task analysis that was developed with emergency management agencies using observations, subject matter expert advice and prototype piloting. The checklist is a simple, straightforward set of prompts that help managers keep track of operational tasks and, thus, helps to reduce mental workload and improve cognition. The checklist can be used as a prompt to help emergency managers address the tasks they have oversight for, as a training and development resource, and as a diagnostic and monitoring tool to assess how well a control centre is operating. This can be assessed in real time and through the after-action review process. The checklist is a flexible tool that can help people better manage emergency response activities.

}, keywords = {decision-making, Emergency management, teams}, url = {https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-january-2020-staying-on-task-a-tool-to-help-state-and-regional-level-emergency-management-teams/}, author = {Peter Hayes and Christopher Bearman and Mark Thomason and Peter A. Bremner} } @article {bnh-6566, title = {Using the human centred design method to develop tools for non-technical skills in emergency management}, number = {532}, year = {2020}, month = {01/2020}, institution = {Bushfire \& Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Human Centred Design (HCD) is a widely used design process that seeks to ensure that products are designed to efficiently and effectively support the needs of the human user.\  At the heart of the HCD process is an iterative cycle of development and testing in conjunction with end-users.\  This places the humans who play such a central role in emergency management at the centre of the design activity.\  The BNHCRC project: team monitoring, decision making and organisational learning has used the human centred design approach to develop a number of tools that support human decision making and team management during emergencies.\  This report introduces the human centred design process and shows how it was used to develop the decision making and team management tools.

}, keywords = {Decision making, education, Emergency management, human centred design, team management}, issn = {532}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin} } @article {bnh-6723, title = {Why don{\textquoteright}t bushfire warnings work as intended? Responses to official warnings during bushfires in New South Wales, Australia}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {45}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

Australian fire services provide two broad types of warning to people in bushfire (or wildfire) risk areas. Fire Danger Ratings communicate the possible consequences of a bushfire due to its rate of spread, intensity and difficulty of suppression. Warnings are also issued to alert people to impending bushfires and advise them how to respond. This paper examines how people threatened and affected by bushfires in New South Wales, Australia, in 2017 understood, interpreted and acted upon warning messages they received. The research involved 113 semi-structured interviews and an online survey of 549 households. Results indicate that while most people found warnings easy to understand and useful, many did not respond in ways intended by fire services. Many waited until they were threatened before they evacuated, while others stayed to defend houses and property, assist or rescue other people, and protect pets and animals. Notably, the research highlights the tendency for people to seek confirmation of the bushfire threat before taking protective action, most commonly to avoid unnecessary evacuation and its associated costs. Furthermore, the research identifies three key messages in bushfire warnings that are not personally meaningful for many people because they do not align with how they are likely to respond to a bushfire. These include: (1) people should leave bushfire risk areas on days of Catastrophic fire danger, before there is a fire; (2) houses are not defendable under Catastrophic conditions; and (3) people should {\textquoteleft}leave early{\textquoteright}. The paper offers suggestions on how fire authorities can provide better information to help people to make more effective decisions by acknowledging and working within the context in which warnings are understood, interpreted and acted upon.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, defence, Evacuation, information, preparation, Warnings, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101476}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420919304625?dgcid=author}, author = {J Whittaker and Mel Taylor and Christopher Bearman} } @article {bnh-6036, title = {Managing cognitive biases during disaster response: the development of an aide memoire}, journal = {Cognition, Technology \& Work}, year = {2019}, month = {05/2019}, pages = {1-13}, abstract = {

Disasters are highly complex with often extreme consequences and are often exacerbated by decision errors. Human behaviour in this domain offers a fertile ground for studying decision-making and identifying opportunities for improvement. This research sought to improve the quality of decision-making by developing an aide memoire for managing cognitive biases in emergency management. Based on the appropriate literature, 58 of Australia{\textquoteright}s leading marine spill disaster response experts identified and ranked the most important cognitive biases in a group setting. The results were translated into language relevant to emergency management practitioners and reframed into a series of questions. The identification of nine cognitive biases in the aide memoire can first be used to assess the available information, intelligence and decisions, and then used to determine the meaning of the information, intelligence and decisions. The paper discusses the applicability of the aide memoire to decision errors identified in recent man-made and natural disasters. Finally, the article addresses a criticism that research findings are often not useful to industry by suggesting how the aide memoire can be used in practice.

}, keywords = {Cognitive bias, Decision aid, decision-making, disasters, Emergency management}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-019-00564-5}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10111-019-00564-5$\#$citeas}, author = {Brooks, B and Steve Curnin and Owen, Christine and Christopher Bearman} } @article {bnh-5007, title = {Australian wildland-urban interface householders{\textquoteright} wildfire safety preparations: {\textquoteleft}Everyday life{\textquoteright} project priorities and perceptions of wildfire risk}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, year = {2018}, month = {10/2018}, abstract = {

Globally, many residents of wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities are at risk of wildfire attack but do not undertake adequate preparations. Householder wildfire risk perception has been proposed as an important influence on risk mitigation preparatory actions. However, research findings have been inconsistent. We conducted a meta-analysis of 10 studies and found the average correlation between wildfire risk perception and risk mitigation actions to be small: r = 0.17. In order to investigate wildfire risk perception and mitigation further we conducted two studies of Australian WUI householders{\textquoteright} wildfire risk perceptions and mitigation actions in the context of their everyday life activities conceptualised as {\textquoteleft}household projects{\textquoteright}. Study 1 involved 32 interviews. Both household wildfire safety project priority rankings (r = 0.47) and wildfire risk perception ratings (r = 0.44) were related significantly to number of completed wildfire preparation actions. Study 2 involved 127 householders completing an online survey, with 83 providing household wildfire safety project priority rankings. These rankings were related significantly to number of completed wildfire safety preparation actions (r = 0.38), but risk perception ratings were not related significantly (r = 0.08). Implications of viewing wildfire preparation actions as being situated in everyday life contexts are discussed.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, everyday life, personal projects, risk mitigation, WUI risk perception}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.09.017}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420918308719$\#$!}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Jim McLennan and Kubra Koksal and Danielle Every} } @article {bnh-5034, title = {Decision making, team monitoring and organisational learning in emergency management: annual project report 2017-18}, number = {420}, year = {2018}, month = {10/2018}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, abstract = {

The focus of this project is on providing simple practical tools that can help people to make better decisions and manage teams more effectively in emergency management.\  In addition to the creation of the tools themselves we are also seeking to understand how agencies can better utilise the products from research.\  The project therefore has three streams: team monitoring, decision making and organisational learning.

}, issn = {420}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Heather Stuart} } @article {bnh-5135, title = {Enhancing learning in emergency services organisational work}, journal = {Australian Journal of Public Administration}, year = {2018}, month = {01/2018}, abstract = {

The paper aims to assist emergency services organisations to learn how to learn so that managers better understand how to embed effective learning practices and systems into their organisation{\textquoteright}s culture. Learning in emergency services organisations occurs in a range of contexts. These include after-action reviews, externally led inquiries, and practice-led research projects. The paper outlines key themes from the work-related learning literature and introduces a modified experiential learning framework to ground real-world experiences. Interviews were conducted with 18 emergency services practitioners. The findings provide examples of the broad challenges that agencies need to manage to enhance and sustain learning. These include shifting value from action post an event, to reflection, focusing on the bigger picture and allowing enough time to effectively embed new practices after an emergency. No organisation can forgo learning. All experiences provide opportunities for learning to occur. A key insight for agencies interested in facilitating improvements in learning is to locate potential weak links in the learning cycle and to develop a better understanding of how to learn.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12309}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8500.12309}, author = {Owen, Christine and Brooks, B and Steve Curnin and Christopher Bearman} } @article {bnh-5134, title = {Human error during the multilevel responses to three Australian bushfire disasters}, journal = {Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management}, volume = {26}, year = {2018}, month = {03/2018}, abstract = {

The scale and complexity associated with the coordinated response to natural disasters inevitably produce human errors. However, little is known about the frequency and distribution of human error at different levels of coordination during disasters. The purpose of this research was to explore this phenomenon for selected catastrophic bushfires in Australia. To accomplish this, we used the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System that has been widely applied to accidents but is untested with respect to the complexity and temporality of disasters. The results identified that decision errors made during these disasters differed depending upon the level of coordination but were associated with information uncertainty, fatigue, coordination complexities, procedural violations, and degraded personal interactions.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12221}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-5973.12221}, author = {Brooks, B and Steve Curnin and Christopher Bearman and Owen, Christine} } @article {bnh-5084, title = {A literature review of methods for providing enhanced operational oversight of teams in emergency management}, journal = {International Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {14}, year = {2018}, month = {08/2018}, abstract = {

Teamwork is an important component of effective emergency management. From time to time teamwork will break down in the complex situations involved in managing emergencies. It is important for people who have operational oversight of these teams to be able to detect breakdowns quickly and effectively. However, there is typically little guidance within many agencies about how best to do this. This paper reviews the literature on team monitoring by observers in emergency management and related domains and identifies four key approaches to monitoring teams: 1) coordination, cooperation and task-related communication; 2) information flow; 3) linguistic analysis; 4) team outputs. These methods provide a number of different options that agencies involved in emergency management can use as the basis for developing enhanced operational oversight of teams.

}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2018.094237}, url = {https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=94237}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Rainbird, Sophia and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin} } @article {bnh-5064, title = {Should we leave now? Behavioral factors in evacuation under wildfire threat}, journal = {Fire Technology}, year = {2018}, month = {07/2018}, pages = {30}, chapter = {1}, abstract = {

Wildfires pose a serious threat to life in many countries. For police, fire and emergency services authorities in most jurisdictions in North America and Australia evacuation is now the option that is preferred overwhelmingly. Wildfire evacuation modeling can assist authorities in planning evacuation responses to future threats. Understanding residents{\textquoteright} behavior under wildfire threat may assist in wildfire evacuation modeling. This paper reviews North American and Australian research into wildfire evacuation behavior published between January 2005 and June 2017. Wildfire evacuation policies differ across the two regions: in North America mandatory evacuations are favored, in Australia most are advisory. Research from both regions indicates that following a wildfire evacuation warning some threatened residents will wish to remain on their property in order to protect it, many will delay evacuating, and some residents who are not on their property when an evacuation warning is issued may seek to return. Mandatory evacuation is likely to result in greater compliance, enforcement policies are also likely to be influential. Self-delayed evacuation is likely if warnings are not sufficiently informative: residents are likely to engage in information search rather than initiating evacuation actions. The wildfire warning and threat histories of a location may influence residents{\textquoteright} decisions and actions. The complexities of behavioral factors influencing residents{\textquoteright} actions following an evacuation warning pose challenges for wildfire evacuation modeling. Suggestions are offered for ways in which authorities might reduce the numbers of residents who delay evacuating following a wildfire warning.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, delay, Evacuation, human behavior, modeling, Wildfire}, doi = {10.1007/s10694-018-0753-8 }, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10694-018-0753-8}, author = {Jim McLennan and Barbara Ryan and Christopher Bearman and Keith Toh} } @article {bnh-3345, title = {On the concept of denial of natural hazard risk and its use in relation to householder wildfire safety in Australia}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {21}, year = {2017}, month = {03/2017}, pages = {176-186}, chapter = {176}, abstract = {

Denial has often been used to explain why some residents at risk from natural hazards do not take appropriate threat mitigation actions. However, there has been little critical discussion of the concept of denial in relation to natural hazards. We examined the origins and development of the concept and noted that denial, as an explanation for inaction, is an inferred construct, not an observable phenomenon. We reviewed accounts that proposed denial as an explanation for residents failing to mitigate their natural hazard risk. We concluded that the concept has been used so inconsistently as to be meaningless without an explanation of the intended sense of the term. We discuss findings from reports of post-event interviews with residents threatened by severe Australian wildfires, and from a survey of agency community safety senior managers. The reports indicated that small percentages of residents in high-risk communities could be described as perhaps being in denial. The survey found that none of the wildfire agencies employed the concept formally. We suggest that it may be more useful to view most householders{\textquoteright} failures to mitigate their wildfire risk as resulting from potential threats being entwined with more immediate higher priority competing demands of everyday life.

}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.12.006}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420916306720}, author = {Jim McLennan and Danielle Every and Christopher Bearman and Wright, Lyndsey} } @article {bnh-4218, title = {Decision making, team monitoring and organisational learning in emergency management: annual project report 2016-17}, number = {345}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Strategic level emergency management is becoming ever more sophisticated as emergencies caused by natural hazards become more complex and dynamic. If we are going to expect people to operate in this increasingly complex environment we need to make sure that they have the necessary skills and tools.\  This is especially true of non-technical skills such as teamwork and decision making.\  This project aims to develop simple practical tools that help people to make better decisions and manage teams more effectively.\  As part of this work we are also interested in understanding some of the enablers and barriers to effective research utilization.\  The project therefore has three streams: team monitoring, decision making and organizational learning.

In the team monitoring stream, two teamwork checklists have been developed based on an extensive literature review and discussions with our end-user partners.\  These checklists (known as EMBAM \& TPC) have been trialed during exercises, real time operations and debriefs with encouraging results.\  Qualitative and quantitative studies have so far shown that these checklists are clear, concise and provide useful information that can be used to improve teamwork.

In the decision making stream, we have conducted three interrelated studies that examined how emergency management organisations maintain, assess, and improve the quality of their decisions. The three studies included using a critical decision method to explore strategic decision making during an international disaster, exercising teams in simulated emergency events and training focused on improving decision making skills and knowledge. The resultant qualitative and quantitative research has identified several consistent themes in terms of where participants perceive their organisations to be performing well and areas that can lead to improvements in decision-making. Further tranches of data collection have been scheduled to verify these results across 2017.

The key aim of the organizational learning stream is to help emergency management staff to function more effectively in increasingly complex environments. Its overall approach is to help agencies to {\textquoteright}learn how to learn{\textquoteright}, so they understand how to embed effective learning practices and systems into their organisation{\textquoteright}s culture. The experiential learning model, which is grounded in real-world experiences rather than classroom training, is a key focus of this research. No organisation can forgo learning. All experiences provide opportunities for learning to occur. A key insight for agencies interested in facilitating improvements in learning is to locate potential weak links in the learning cycle and to develop a better understanding of how to learn.

}, issn = {345}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Rainbird, Sophia and Heather Stuart} } @conference {bnh-3886, title = {Enhancing team performance}, booktitle = {AFAC17}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Sydney}, abstract = {

Effective teamwork is vital when managing emergencies.\  Emergencies can exert extreme pressures on emergency teams, their leaders and co-responders. These pressures sometimes cause breakdowns in teamwork that can lead to impaired operational response.\  This project helps to improve teamwork through better real-time identification and resolution of teamwork issues. To do this the project has developed two tools: the Emergency Management Breakdown Aide Memoire (EMBAM) and the Team Process Checklist (TPC). The tools{\textquoteright} flexibility and ease of use helps emergency managers to strengthen teamwork before, during and after emergencies. The tools can be used during training, in actual emergencies, and in after-action reviews. End-users have so far found the tools to be highly valuable.

}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Rainbird, Sophia and Owen, Christine and Brooks, B and Steve Curnin} } @article {bnh-4389, title = {From research outcome to agency change: mapping a learning trajectory of opportunities and challenges}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {32}, year = {2017}, month = {10/2017}, abstract = {

A key theme within the Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC Cognitive Tools and Decision Making project is to understand how practitioners learn from research outcomes and how they can use them. Translatingresearch outcomes into practice is a complex process and can be beyond the control of the project team and end-user representatives. Using {\^O}lessons{\~O} terminology, it is suggested that observations and insights can be identified from reviewing research outcomes. However, the lessons that are derived from insights are only {\^O}learnt{\~O} when they instigate sustainable change (Commonwealth of Australia 2013). To create the best conditions for organisational learning a literature review of learning lessons in emergency management was conducted. Practitioners were also interviewed to understand the contexts and challenges faced in implementing research insights and in facilitating change. This paper presents two studies that examine aspects of organisational learning. In the first study, the challenges to learning from action and experience and from reflection and planning are examined. In the second study, the systems for learning used in emergency services organisations are considered and a preliminary theory of research utilisation maturity is proposed. The initiatives reported help to maximise the value of research and supports innovation through utilisation.

}, url = {https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-32-04-19}, author = {Owen, Christine and Noreen Krusel and Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B} } @article {bnh-3595, title = {Identifying and resolving coordinated decision making breakdowns in emergency management}, journal = {International Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {13}, year = {2017}, month = {2017}, abstract = {

Effective coordination is an essential part of managing large-scale emergencies. It is important for key personnel in emergency management agencies to be able to identify and resolve breakdowns in coordination quickly and effectively. This paper focuses on how this is done by Australian regional coordinators. Eleven regional coordinators from three emergency management agencies in Australia participated in individual simulated table-top emergency management exercises involving a concurrent semi-structured interview. Results indicated that two breakdown identification strategies were used: internal (information and intuition-based) and external (network). Two breakdown resolution strategies were identified: response and preparedness. Five {\textquoteright}response{\textquoteright} resolution strategies were employed: delegating representatives, providing additional resources, asserting authority, mentoring staff and replacing disruptive staff. Two {\textquoteright}preparedness{\textquoteright} breakdown resolution strategies were employed: preplanning and building a cooperative culture. These results contribute to our understanding of how people identify and resolve breakdowns in coordination from the position of operational oversight.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2017.081198}, url = {http://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJEM.2017.081198}, author = {Grunwald, J and Christopher Bearman} } @conference {bnh-3873, title = {Identifying lessons from exercising and training for emergency management decision-making}, booktitle = {AFAC17}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Sydney}, abstract = {

Decision-making is a skill that permeates every emergency event and every level of emergency and disaster management. \ The decision environment is often complex and uncertain, with challenging physiological contexts such as fatigue, and major consequence for poor decisions. This makes for a fertile ground for decision scholars, and significant opportunities to support the continual improvement of the management system. Emergency management organisations maintain, assess, and improve the quality of decisions in a number of ways. \ These include exercising teams in simulated emergency events and training focused on improving skills and knowledge.\ 

We report on a series of training and exercising related studies that specifically examined this area. \ Study One included observation and surveying participants following multiple exercises in a range of end-user organisations. \ Study Two included detailed analysis of the set of decisions made by a commander during a Search and Rescue deployment to evaluate the core skills utilised. Study Three involved a training intervention {\textendash} a one day decision- making course where participants were provided with both knowledge and tools to assist them in their decision-making.

Our results identify several consistent themes in terms of where participants perceive their organisations to be performing well, and several lessons are identified that can lead to improvements in decision-making. \ 

Finally, we describe how the BNHCRC Research project {\textquoteleft}Practical Decision- Tools for Improved Decision-making in Complex Situations{\textquoteright} is building and testing cognitive decision tools based on these results.\ 

}, author = {Brooks, B and Steve Curnin and Christopher Bearman and Owen, Christine} } @article {bnh-3593, title = {Tools for monitoring teams in emergency management: EMBAM and TBM}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, volume = {32}, year = {2017}, month = {2017}, abstract = {

Effective teamwork is an important component of emergency management. However, from time-to-time teamwork may break down, particularly in a complex system like emergency management. It is important that people who have operational oversight of teams are able to detect if a team has a problem and can help the team modify its functioning. A literature review identified methods of monitoring teams from the position of operational oversight. Based on this review two methods of team monitoring were chosen for further evaluation. A preliminary evaluation study of each tool during a simulated emergency exercise suggests they both have potential. This is the first stage of an ongoing research program where team monitoring tools will be further developed using iterative design cycles of development and evaluation. In this way methods of monitoring teams from the position of operational oversight that are effective in an emergency management context can be developed. - See more at: https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-32-01-10$\#$sthash.IHFPYwWm.dpuf

}, url = {https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-32-01-10}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Grunwald, J and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine} } @article {bnh-5076, title = {An assessment of the opportunities to improve strategic decision-making in emergency and disaster management}, journal = {Australian Journal of Emergency Management}, year = {2016}, month = {10/2016}, abstract = {

The management of major emergencies is strongly influenced by the decisions made during the event. Decisions guide the distribution and subsequent deployment of assets, the removal of people from harm{\textquoteright}s way, how objectives are established and a myriad of other actions. Decision-making is therefore an important skill for emergency managers that permeates every emergency event and every level of disaster management. The vast majority of decisions made during an incident are effective enough in both process and outcome, but the drive for continual improvement and the need to manage more extreme events requires decision-making to become sophisticated and to achieve even higher levels of reliability. So how well are emergency management organisations integrating acknowledged developments in the understanding of decision-making? Where are the opportunities for continual improvement? What are some of the challenges that the expert decision-maker is required to balance across an event? This paper examines key concepts that have progressed the understanding of decision-making. A review of preliminary interactions with end-users of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC (CRC) research project {\textquoteright}Practical decision tools for improved decision-making in complex situations{\textquoteright} considers how Australian and New Zealand are using this knowledge to make decisions. Opportunities for improvement and the approaches being taken to evaluate cognitive decision tools for end-users are identified.

}, url = {https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-oct-2016-an-assessment-of-the-opportunities-to-improve-strategic-decision-making-in-emergency-and-disaster-management/}, author = {Brooks, B and Steve Curnin and Christopher Bearman and Owen, Christine and Rainbird, Sophia} } @article {bnh-2486, title = {Capturing community experiences in the 2015 Sampson Flat fire}, number = {154}, year = {2016}, month = {01/2016}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

The Sampson Flat fire in January 2015 was the most destructive fire in the Adelaide Hills for more than 30 years, burning 12,569 hectares of public and private lands with losses including 24 homes, 146 other structures, 5 businesses and much livestock and fencing.

Following this fire, the CFS commissioned the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC to undertake research on the community{\textquoteright}s bushfire experience focusing on bushfire safety, the CFS Community Fire Safe program and information and warnings. Researchers from\ CQUniversity completed the research.

The research used both quantitative data from online and telephone surveys, and qualitative data from face-to-face or telephone interviews. Participants from fire affected and fire threatened areas were recruited by the CFS through their electronic and community networks. The research identified a number of positive findings in terms of messaging, bushfire awareness and safety, which are outlined in the introduction of the report.

The report is split into four parts. Parts one, two and three detail sub-project{\textquoteright}s within the larger project, while the appendices make up the fouth part.

}, isbn = {978-0-9941696-6-2}, author = {Danielle Every and Amy Reynolds and Larissa Clarkson and Christopher Bearman and Raymond Matthews and Laura Haigh and Drew Dawson} } @article {bnh-3231, title = {Contacts versus connectors: The role of Community Fire Safe Group coordinators in achieving positive bushfire safety outcomes}, journal = { International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {19}, year = {2016}, month = {10/2016}, abstract = {

Shared responsibility for bushfire preparedness includes self-reliant communities with the skills, knowledge and ability to minimize the impacts of bushfires on their homes, properties and community. Community preparedness groups are a potentially effective way to achieve this self-reliance. Previous research shows that these groups increase people{\textquoteright}s knowledge and awareness of risk, their planning and preparations, and community cohesion and collaboration. However, these are not outcomes for all groups in all places. Groups face a perennial problem of low participation and {\textquoteleft}buy in{\textquoteright} from the local area due in part to individual differences in the desire to be part of a group, low levels of risk awareness, community turbidity, and low social capital. This paper proposes that the skills and characteristics of the group coordinator in responding to and overcoming these challenges are key to a group{\textquoteright}s longevity, collaboration and success. Using interviews and a survey with Community Fire Safe group coordinators and members affected by the 2015 Sampson Flat fire in South Australia, we found the key elements of successful coordination were active outreach to existing neighbourhood residents, newcomers and those {\textquoteleft}not into groups{\textquoteright} using face to face and personalized communication adapted for different people{\textquoteright}s needs. This active, determined persistence in communicating bushfire safety was motivated by an understanding that low interest can be overcome and that overcoming it is the key role of the group coordinator. Training for coordinators in the individual and group processes underpinning behavior change, in personalized communication, and adapting materials for diverse groups is likely to improve group outcomes.

}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.09.012}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420916303120}, author = {Danielle Every and Christopher Bearman and Raymond Matthews and Amy Reynolds and Peta O{\textquoteright}Donohue and Larissa Clarkson} } @article {bnh-3081, title = {Decision making, team monitoring and organisational learning in emergency management: Annual project report 2015-2016}, number = {222}, year = {2016}, month = {09/2016}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

There is evidence that incidents associated with natural hazards are becoming more complex and that strategic level emergency management is becoming an ever more sophisticated workplace environment. If we are going to expect people to operate in this environment we need to ensure that their skills and tools effectively support them. We need to develop the capability of our people to function in these increasingly complex environments now and into the future.

This project seeks to develop practical decision tools that can help people to function more effectively in complex emergency management environments. Towards this aim the project has three main research streams that seek to: provide enhanced methods of making decisions; develop methods to better monitor and modify the behavior of teams; and to identify the enablers and barriers to organisational learning so that the capabilities needed can continue to adapt and change.

In the team monitoring stream, a comprehensive literature review of methods to monitor teams from the position of operational oversight has been conducted. Based on this literature review and discussions with end users two methods (EMBAM \& TBM) have been selected and have received preliminary evaluation. This preliminary evaluation has proved to be encouraging and has led to both NSW SES and CFS proposing to use the tools operationally during the 2016-17 storm and fire seasons. This will provide further opportunities for evaluation and development.

In the decision making stream, research has identified both the context in which decisions are made (e.g. the policies \& procedures) and the informal strategies that people use to function within dynamic, pressured work environments. This work has identified opportunities for improvement and ways to bring the formal and informal elements of decision-making closer together. Decision making has also been explored in the context of organisational resilience and the REAG Resilience Health Check Tool. Based on these activities strategies and approaches to enhance decision making have been identified and will be evaluated with end-users through 2016-17.

In the organisational learning stream, interviews have revealed that strategic-level emergency managers need to assess learning through trade-offs where agency values and the complexities involved in managing incidents interact. The findings also suggest that there are sometimes complementary but often conflicting standards against which crisis management may be judged. Finally there is often a difference between assumptions about how emergencies {\textquotedblleft}ought{\textquotedblright} to be managed (espoused theories) and how they in fact are managed. The research in this stream is now focused in working closely with end users to unpack these tensions and contradictions.

Through these three streams of activity then the project is developing a range of practical tools and strategies that have the potential to enhance decision making, team monitoring and organisational learning. It seems likely that strategic emergency management will be becoming increasingly complex in the near future. The research presented here contributes to developing the capability

}, issn = {222}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Rainbird, Sophia and Stuart Matthews} } @article {bnh-4079, title = {Don{\textquoteright}t just do something, stand there! Mitigating goal seduction in emergency management}, journal = {National Emergency Response}, volume = {29}, year = {2016}, month = {09/2016}, pages = {12-17}, chapter = {12}, abstract = {

Paper presented at the Australian and New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference, Broadbeach, Gold Coast (QLD), 30-31 May 2016.

}, url = {http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=534876517163486;res=IELHEA}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Peter A. Bremner} } @article {bnh-2646, title = {Proposed tools for monitoring teams in emergency management}, number = {162}, year = {2016}, month = {03/2016}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

As part of their role in managing emergencies regional and state level emergency managers (SEMs) monitor the activities of operational teams below them in the agency to ensure that those teams are functioning safely and effectively. Teams operating in complex dynamic environments are likely to experience disruptions to their teamwork (particularly in the early phases of an emergency). If these disruptions are not managed effectively they will cause the team to move out of conceptualised safe spaces of operation, firstly into the {\textquotedblleft}zone of coping ugly{\textquotedblright} then into an area where incidents and accidents become more likely to occur.


The question then is how SEMs can best manage teams to ensure that they are functioning effectively. There are a number of methods for examining the performance of teams that have been presented in the literature on teamwork. However, none of these have been used in an emergency management context. Two of these methods have been selected as initially warranting further consideration and will be modified and trialled in the initial phases of the evaluation stage of the project. These methods are: The Emergency Management Breakdown Aide Memoire (EMBAM) and a Teamwork Behavioural Markers tool based on the work of Wilson et al. (2007).


The Emergency Management Breakdown Aide Memoir (EMBAM) is a guide to assist the identification of teamwork breakdowns across the various organisational levels by listing indicators of breakdowns. This includes categories, such as: missing information, conflicting expectations, inconsistent information, intuition, familiarity, and networks. The team behavioural markers tool is based on a set of behavioural markers of teamwork developed by Wilson et al. (2007). It is designed so a person can scan the list and think about the items to ensure that aspects of good team performance are being followed and if not, to be able to identify what is going wrong.


In the next stages of the project the research team and a small group of end-users (selected from a wider set of end-users involved with the project) will iteratively develop and test the two team monitoring tools that have initially been identified as warranting further consideration. In this way, enhanced methods for monitoring teams can be developed that can be used for the early detection of problems that if unresolved, can lead to impaired operational performance.

}, issn = {162}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Rainbird, Sophia and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine} } @article {bnh-4080, title = {Values and complexities in assessing strategic-level emergency management effectiveness}, journal = {Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management}, volume = {24}, year = {2016}, month = {09/2016}, pages = {181-190}, chapter = {181}, abstract = {
Emergency managers working at a strategic level play a pivotal role in managing operational needs as well the needs of political elites engaged in crisis management and\ meaning-making. Evaluating emergency performance has been widely regarded as\ problematic, in part because of various stakeholder interests and because it is so subjective. This paper explores the values of personnel working in emergency management\ at a strategic level as well as the conditions that limit their effectiveness as they\ attempt to align the needs of different stakeholders. The surveys and interviews conducted suggest that what constitutes success is both subjective and contested by different stakeholders. There is a need to establish a broader perspective on what\ constitutes success when evaluating emergency response.
}, doi = {10.1111/1468-5973.12115}, url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-5973.12115/abstract}, author = {Owen, Christine and Brooks, B and Christopher Bearman and Steve Curnin} } @article {bnh-3594, title = {Breakdowns in coordinated decision making at and above the incident management team level: An analysis of three large scale Australian wildfires}, journal = {Applied Ergonomics}, volume = {47}, year = {2015}, month = {03/2015}, pages = {16-25}, chapter = {16}, abstract = {

Emergency situations are by their nature difficult to manage and success in such situations is often highly dependent on effective team coordination. Breakdowns in team coordination can lead to significant disruption to an operational response. Breakdowns in coordination were explored in three large-scale bushfires in Australia: the Kilmore East fire, the Wangary fire, and the Canberra Firestorm. Data from these fires were analysed using a top-down and bottom-up qualitative analysis technique. Forty-four breakdowns in coordinated decision making were identified, which yielded 83 disconnects grouped into three main categories: operational, informational and evaluative. Disconnects were specific instances where differences in understanding existed between team members. The reasons why disconnects occurred were largely consistent across the three sets of data. In some cases multiple disconnects occurred in a temporal manner, which suggested some evidence of disconnects creating states that were conducive to the occurrence of further disconnects. In terms of resolution, evaluative disconnects were nearly always resolved however operational and informational disconnects were rarely resolved effectively. The exploratory data analysis and discussion presented here represents the first systematic research to provide information about the reasons why breakdowns occur in emergency management and presents an account of how team processes can act to disrupt coordination and the operational response.

}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2014.08.009}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003687014001483}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Grunwald, J and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine} } @article {bnh-1663, title = {Capturing community experiences: South Australian bushfires January 2014}, number = {052}, year = {2015}, month = {03/2015}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Lightning strikes in January 2014 caused a number of significant bushfire events in South Australia that continued into February. Fires in and around Eden Valley, Bangor and Rockleigh provided an opportunity to conduct research into the bushfire risk perceptions, decision-making processes and behaviour of residents across three very different fire events involving a rapid-onset fire (Eden Valley), a long-campaign fire (Bangor), and repeat fire incidents (Rockleigh).

During April and May 2014, 171 residents in affected communities were interviewed and 606 South Australians participated in a complementary online (statewide) survey. Approximately one in two (49\%) survey respondents considered their residential area to have been impacted by fire, and almost one in five (17\%) indicated that they were directly impacted by the fires, and one in five (20\%) experienced fire threat without property damage. The aim of the research was to inform SA Country Fire Service about community members{\textquoteright} experiences of bushfires in South Australia, with particular attention to a range of research questions grouped under the three themes discussed below. The nature of the study has allowed us to provide observations and insights on each one of these themes. However, it should be noted that cause and effect relationships between the factors should not be inferred.

}, isbn = {978-0-9941696-2-4}, issn = {052}, author = {Trigg, Josh and Rainbird, Sophia and Kirrilly Thompson and Christopher Bearman and Wright, Lyndsey and Jim McLennan} } @conference {bnh-1617, title = {Challenges of Measuring Emergency Management Performance Under Adversity: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Conference Paper 2014}, booktitle = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and AFAC Wellington Conference 2014}, year = {2015}, month = {02/2015}, abstract = {

Senior emergency management personnel face more extreme events and more complex challenges than their predecessors and these challenges will increase in the future. One of the key challenges that senior emergency managers face is the evaluation of operational performance in the context of increasing scrutiny from media, legal and political spheres. To investigate this issue we collected survey data from 38 senior emergency management leaders who operate at the strategic level (above the local IMT) as part of a broader survey examining the challenges of strategic emergency management (funded by the Bushfire CRC, Owen et al., 2013). Participants reported concerns that operational performance is currently judged by external sources (such as the media) in an often post- hoc and arbitrary manner and is dependent on whether or not what happened in the end was perceived as a good outcome. Reliance on the outcome of a complex event is problematic because there is not an absolute correlation between the process of managing an emergency and the outcome. Bad outcomes can occur despite good operational processes and good outcomes can occur despite bad operational processes. For example, all the best processes might have been in place and performed well but the outcome was bad because of unexpected climatic conditions, such as a wind change. This paper will outline the views of senior leaders in emergency management about what needs to be taken into account when measuring operational performance.

}, author = {Owen, Christine and Brooks, B and Christopher Bearman} } @article {bnh-2596, title = {Decision making, team monitoring and organisational performance: Part three team performance monitoring research stream}, number = {71}, year = {2015}, month = {08/2015}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

This document forms Part three in a series of reports on decision making, team monitoring and organisational performance. It should be read in conjunction with:

All parts can be located at www.bnhcrc.com.au, under the Practical decision tools for improved decision-making in complex, time constrained and multi-team environments project page.

The team performance monitoring research stream seeks to develop enhanced methods for strategic level emergency managers (SEMs) to manage teams they are responsible for.\  To provide the background and context for this set of activities this report seeks to provide answers to the following questions

}, issn = {71}, author = {Christopher Bearman} } @article {bnh-2594, title = {Decision making, team monitoring and organisational performance: Part One Executive Summary}, number = {69}, year = {2015}, month = {08/2015}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

This research report is an interim report for the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC project Practical Decision Tools for Improved Decision-Making in Complex Situations. The project plan for this research includes three main research streams: Decision making, team monitoring and organisational performance. The initial work in the project has identified that the three research streams in the project are best treated as interrelated but distinct bodies of work.

For ease, these have been published as separate documents.

All parts can be located at www.bnhcrc.com.au, under the Practical decision tools for improved decision-making in complex, time constrained and multi-team environments project page.

Each of the research streams has been coordinated by one of the principal researchers in the project and each research stream is thus considered discretely in this report.\  While we have chosen to present the research streams individually here there is a large degree of interrelation between the streams, particularly between the team monitoring and organisational performance streams; and both are informed by the decision-making tranche of work. The interdependence of these streams will be emphasized in later phases of the research project.\ \ 

}, issn = {69}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Keith Fitzgerald and Grunwald, J and Rainbird, Sophia} } @article {bnh-2314, title = {Practical decision tools for improved decision-making in complex, time-constrained and multi-team environments: Annual project report 2014-2015}, number = {126}, year = {2015}, month = {10/2015}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

This annual report presents information about the Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC funded project: Cognitive Decision Strategies, which is concerned with decision making, team monitoring and organisational performance in emergency management.\ 

As the incidents associated with natural hazards increase in complexity, duration, and the number of agencies involved, there is likely to be an increased frequency of degraded operational situations, breakdowns within and between teams and the occurrence of errors. These problems will play out within the context of a decreasing tolerance in the community and their political representatives to emergency management coordination failure.\  The current project has three main research streams that aim to: Provide enhanced methods of making decisions in complex situations; develop methods to better monitor teams to detect breakdowns and disconnects that can impair operational performance; and to develop enhanced methods for agencies to evaluate and learn from their operational performance.

Towards this end the research team have visited 18 agencies in Australia and New Zealand to collect data and discuss the issues around decision making, team monitoring and to identify how agencies currently assess and learn from reviewing their organisational performance.\  The team has discussed the research and/or collected data with: chief officers, deputy chief officers, principle rural fire officers (NZ), state coordination personnel, regional coordination personnel, and incident management team personnel.\  These personnel represented urban fire brigades, rural fire agencies, land management agencies, state emergency services, council officers with responsibility for search and rescue, the Red Cross and the National Rural Fire Authority (New Zealand).\ \  In addition, we have conducted a number of research studies and observations, including: Literature reviews, semi-structured interviews with senior staff, observations of real-life and simulated events and an online survey.

This has provided the team with information about current practice in decision making, team monitoring and learning from evaluating organisational performance across Australia and New Zealand.\  Comparing current practice to the research literature provides opportunities to develop enhanced methods of developing decision making, monitoring teams and assessing organisational performance.\  For example, using skill-based training to enhance peripheral vision \& memory in decision making, developing breakdown indicators that can indicate a malfunctioning team for team monitoring, and unpacking the values and challenged that enable and constrain learning from reviews of organisational performance.\  These strategies and methods will be investigated, developed and evaluated through close consultation with end-users in the next stages of the project.

}, issn = {126}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine and Steve Curnin and Keith Fitzgerald and Grunwald, J and Rainbird, Sophia} } @article {bnh-1530, title = {Practical Decision Tools for Improved Decision-Making in Complex Situations Annual Report 2014}, year = {2015}, abstract = {

This is an annual report for the year 2013/14. The objectives of the project are to develop practical ways to help people cope in complex situations and to better recover from breakdowns and errors. Thus this project seeks to develop cognitive decision tools and heuristics that can be used to enhance strategic level decision making in complex situations.

}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Owen, Christine} } @article {BF-3748, title = {A day in the life of a volunteer incident commander: Errors, pressures and mitigating strategies}, journal = {Applied Ergonomics}, volume = {44}, year = {2013}, month = {5/2013}, pages = {488 - 495}, abstract = {To meet an identified gap in the literature this paper investigates the tasks that a volunteer incident commander needs to carry out during an incident, the errors that can be made and the way that errors are managed. In addition, pressure from goal seduction and situation aversion were also examined. Volunteer incident commanders participated in a two-part interview consisting of a critical decision method interview and discussions about a hierarchical task analysis constructed by the authors. A SHERPA analysis was conducted to further identify potential errors. The results identified the key tasks, errors with extreme risk, pressures from strong situations and mitigating strategies for errors and pressures. The errors and pressures provide a basic set of issues that need to be managed by both volunteer incident commanders and fire agencies. The mitigating strategies identified here suggest some ways that this can be done. }, issn = {00036870}, doi = {10.1016/j.apergo.2012.10.011}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Peter A. Bremner} } @proceedings {BF-4365, title = {Politics, Policies and Paradigms: Challenges of Change in Future Emergency Management}, year = {2013}, url = {http://www.bushfirecrc.com/resources/research-report/politics-policies-and-paradigms-challenges-change-future-emergency-managem}, author = {Owen, Christine and Karyn Bosomworth and Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B and Fogarty, Liam and Geoff Conway} } @proceedings {BF-4331, title = {The Problems of Maintaining Effective Teamwork During Out-of-Scale Events}, year = {2013}, url = {http://www.bushfirecrc.com/resources/research-report/problems-maintaining-effective-teamwork-during-out-scale-events}, author = {Christopher Bearman and Owen, Christine and Brooks, B and Grunwald, J} } @article {BF-4217, title = {Strategic emergency management in Australia and New Zealand - discussion paper on implications of research}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The research conducted as part of the Organising for Effective Emergency Management project has been discussed with senior emergency management leaders to identify and discuss industry implications. Through this process seven challenges facing senior emergency management leaders have been identified. The purpose of this paper is to outline the challenges discussed and to raise questions for supporting strategic levels of emergency management in the future. Increases in the frequency, duration and magnitude of emergency events have placed significant challenges on the emergency services sector. Emergency events that are unprecedented in intensity and geographic spread and have significant impacts on communities are called {\textquotedblleft}out of scale events{\textquotedblright}. In such events there are a range of emergency management activities performed by people working at operational, tactical and strategic levels. At an operational level, first responders are working directly on the front line of the fire or incident ground. At a tactical level, local incident management teams work at supporting front line responders in containing and mitigating the event and in enabling communities to make good decisions. At a strategic level (which may be regional state or national) there is a focus on two elements: oversight of incident management operations and consequence management for longer term recovery. Emergency managers operating at strategic (regional, state, national) levels face an increasingly complex set of future challenges that must be addressed. Strategic level emergency management is engaged in high-consequence, non-routine and out-of-scale emergency events. At this level there is high political engagement; longer term concerns for direct and indirect consequences on economical and societal well-being. The emphasis at a strategic emergency management level is on: (i) oversight of incident management operations and (ii) consequence management. Influencing these challenges are drivers such as climate change as well as other social, political and economic factors. The first five challenges discussed pertain to the contextual drivers influencing the emergency management sector and the last two are enablers internal to the sector. The challenges are: 1. Increased uncertainty, complexity and convergence 2. Disaster Risk Reduction and policy disconnects 3. Expectations and {\textquoteleft}resilience{\textquoteright} of communities 4. Social media, networking, and emergence 5. The political-operational nexus 6. Evaluating emergency management response effectiveness 7. Development and Capability The discussion paper will be used to continue consultation with key stakeholders on the research utilisation options that can be proposed to build a resilient emergency services sector to manage these future challenges. }, author = {Owen, Christine and Karyn Bosomworth and Christopher Bearman and Brooks, B} }