STORM integrated solution: a toolkit of collaborative and decision-making services and tools

• Published in: IOP conference series. Materials Science and Engineering 2020-11, Vol.949 (1), p.12109
• Main Authors: Giunta, Gabriele, Gugliandolo, Emilia, Li Calsi, Giuseppe, Bicchierai, Irene, Brancati, Francesco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Best practice; Business competition; Collaboration; Decision making; Disaster management; Disaster risk; Economics; Knowledge; Knowledge management; Natural disasters; Ordination; Response time; Risk assessment; Risk management; Risk reduction; Social values; Storms; Teams; Toolkits
• ISSN: 1757-8981; 1757-899X
• DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/949/1/012109

The current world is increasingly supported by a knowledge-based economy, where technological, economic, political, social and cultural changes modify the nature of human relationships. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) revolution along with the spread of different and faster channels have become important driver to disseminate knowledge and information. In this changing landscape, knowledge is considered one of the most valuable assets able to generate growth and competitive advantage. Knowledge sharing plays a central role specifically during emergency, allowing the access to and the availability of critical information regarding risks and disasters. Lack of information complicates the efficient management of catastrophes and weakens the decision-making processes. For these reasons, it is fundamental to develop an infrastructure able to manage knowledge and, most specifically, to increase economic and social values fostering knowledge creation and sharing, to use innovation to perform better, to be updated and to enhance sustainability. In such complex situations, the STORM project aims at building a collaborative and dynamic environment allowing the actors to interact with each other and to join their efforts towards highest levels of cooperation and coordinated decision making approaches. Making fast and efficient decisions requires supporting tools allowing a prompt situational picture and critical information sharing based on effective use and coordination of resources, people, and information, where information and knowledge are distributed. In the context of the STORM project, the proposed tools and services enabled by IT technologies enhance collaboration, co-ordination and to support decision making amongst stakeholders, providing, at any moment, a clear situational picture. Existing knowledge (e.g. best practice, guidelines, lessons learned, procedures and processes, etc.) related to natural disaster risks and impacts can help teams of experts in making decisions and sharing new knowledge (e.g. from the situational picture, risk assessment and data analytics) for a prompt and more effective recovery. As a main benefit, the involved actors will be aware about the formulation and selection of risk reduction measures based on available risk information and stakeholders' needs, speeding up response time where the right people with the relevant skills and disaster events are identified in a more timely manner.