EPISECC is a project to ‘Establish a Pan‐European Information Space to Enhance SeCurity of Citizens’. To tackle disasters, such as earthquakes or large floods, rescue teams from different countries may need to collaborate. These teams use various different technologies and protocols for communication, often incompatible with each other.
The EPISECC project aims to improve the conditions for communications between different entities. Among its objectives is:
-‐ Creating an integrated pan-‐European crisis and disaster response system, in which the EU member states would pre-‐commit themselves to providing clearly defined tools and services, enhancing coordination of national resources and assets and drawing up joint preparedness and contingency plans;
-‐ Providing a clear view for the EU policy makers concerning the negative side of the current information management and communication practices used by member states during supra national emergencies;
-‐ Contributing to the improvement of the European Union Mechanism on Civil Protection, which currently is highly fragmented;
-‐ Exploring the new possibilities offered by the availability of new tools and methods in sharing information and knowledge between Emergency Services.
The establishment of a Europe-wide information space has been set out as a key aim of the EPISECC project due to the increasing concerns voiced by the public about the management of natural and man-‐ made disasters. According to a Eurobarometer study, a large majority of EU citizens are concerned about man-‐made and natural disasters in the EU. Many citizens (82 per cent) agree that coordinated EU action in dealing with disasters is more effective than actions taken by individual countries. Furthermore, 79pc of citizens agree that pooling resources at EU level can be more cost-‐efficient than each country managing their own resources.
The architecture of the common information space will address the interoperability between the protocol and the TETRA communication network, which will provide the basis for communication. Interoperability is of key importance in creating a common information space and defining the standard operation procedures. Research will cover regulatory aspects and consider restrictions, which are identified for emergency management practices and tools (laws, social practices and culture). The project will pay special attention to identification of new and feasible emergency management models, and respective business models for crisis management service providers. This focus will ultimately contribute to enhancing the security of European citizens. Visit www.psc-europe.eu.
