Trial 2 of the DRIVER+ project will focus on improving interagency cooperation and coordination during a wildfire
Responding to these crises becomes more complex, especially when they involve different countries. As multiple agencies are called to respond, cooperation and coordination are key to ensuring that rescue efforts and Crisis Management operations are swift and efficient.
DRIVER+ is assisting Crisis Management practitioners in finding the best way to address disasters that require complex responses. The second DRIVER+ Trial will be held from 22 to 26 October in France at the premises of Entente Valabre, a public Civil Protection support organisation. The Trial will be entirely carried out in a simulated virtual environment, where practitioners will be presented with a timeline of events related to the outbreak of a wildfire, which will be followed by a growing threat to the nearby population as well as several casualties, and cascading effects on a chemical plant. It will assess how innovative sociotechnical solutions can improve the quality of information exchange between practitioners and authorities in the context of a large forest fire in a cross-border Mediterranean environment. The solutions trialled will focus on supporting firefighters, Emergency Medical Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency and authorities by setting up a coordination framework that provides them with an overview of response operations, successfully manages the information exchanges in the most efficient way and integrates social media into the disaster management operations.
70 attendants are expected at Trial 2, including Crisis Management practitioners from several European countries, solution providers and observers. This second Trial will deliver important feedback to the DRIVER+ Test-bed (the software tools, middleware and methodology used to conduct the Trials), contributing to the project development and the upcoming Trials. The results of the assessment of the solutions will be stored in the DRIVER+ Portfolio of Solutions, the online database-driven website that everyone can access to learn more about innovative Crisis Management solutions, thus contributing to a greater understanding for a wider audience.
DRIVER+ needs you
Are you involved in Crisis Management? Do you want to contribute towards creating a pan-European Crisis Management culture? If you are a Crisis Management professional interested in assessing innovative solutions, or a solution provider developing and deploying socio-technical solutions for first responders, DRIVER+ would like you to become involved in the project. Further details are available at
www.driver-project.eu/collaborate-withus/external-cooperation-platforms/
The Call for Applications for the last Trial in Austria is still open and you have the opportunity to spread out your product solution to the European Crisis Management Community. Visit
https://www.driver-project.eu/collaborate-with-us/call-for-applications-2/call-forapplication-trial-austria/ and submit your application before October 29th 2018.
Further details on the DRIVER+ project are available on the website http://www.driverproject.eu.
The DRIVER+ project has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under Grant Agreement n° 607798 and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, from financial resources for science in 2018-2023 granted for the implementation of an international co-financed project.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this press release reflect the views of the authors. The EuropeanCommission is not liable for its content and the use that may be made of the information contained herein.