TPM researchers participated in large scale disaster response exercise
From 15 – 17 May, TPM researchers Kenny Meesters and Yan Wang participated in the UK’s largest international disaster response exercise SIMEX2018 together with some 2000 other players. SIMEX provides a realistic environment to learn, test and evaluate emergency response mechanisms, such as rescue operations, tools, procedures, and policies.
The TUD team both supported the exercise and actively participated in it as part of the Coordination team. Yan and Kenny focussed on the ‘digital environment’. The experiment included briefing participating organisations and social media training for 900 role players, as well as monitoring and in-exercise guidance. New tools, such as Trello and Slack, and an agile approach to support quick cycles of information processing were tested during disaster response.
Participating in these types of exercises provides valuable insights in how information and technologies are being used ‘in the field’. New technologies and approaches can be tested and validated by humanitarian organisations. At the same time it helps researchers in fine-tuning disaster management systems that contribute to large-scale disaster response.
About SIMEX
SIMEX Series of exercises have taken place annually since 2012. The exercise comprises a mix of live, simulation and command and control events in order to provide a neutral platform to test both national and international emergency response mechanisms. The overall aims of the exercise comprise of:
- The development of international and national response capacity;
- The promotion of coordination of humanitarian assistance, emergency response, research and education;
- The evaluation of the disaster management systems presented by the participating organisations