Digitalized Co-production of Emergency Response : Using Volunteers as First Responders

• Main Author: Alkusaibati, Wael
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Linköpings universitet, Kommunikations- och transportsystem 2024
• Subjects: Emergency Response; ICT; Co-production; Digitalization; Volunteerism; Information Systems; Social aspects; Systemvetenskap; informationssystem och informatik med samhällsvetenskaplig inriktning; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-203205; https://doi.org/10.3384/9789180756488

Contemporary global challenges like global warming, rapid urban development, and the current unstable security situation, lead to an increase in large-scale crises (e.g., forest fires) alongside frequent smaller emergencies (e.g., house fires and traffic accidents). The increase in emergencies strains professional response organizations, necessitating additional resources. Civilian volunteers are therefore increasingly being integrated into the response system. The development is mediated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) which enable communication between professional responders (e.g., the municipal rescue services, the emergency medical services, the Public Swedish Answering Point) and citizens. While many studies focus on spontaneous volunteer activities emerging on social media, fewer examine organized volunteerism initiatives at the local emergency response level. Over a decade ago, a municipal rescue service in northern Sweden established an initiative recruiting volunteers as first responders and equipping them with basic response tools. The volunteers undergo training in tasks such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and fire extinguishing. They are dispatched to predefined response tasks using simple ICT applications like SMS lists or mobile apps. This initiative has expanded to other areas due to perceived benefits such as shorter response times and reduced casualties and material damage. The phenomenon can be labelled as an emerging form of ICT-enabled or digitalized co-production of public services. However, previous research indicates a research gap in understanding, describing, and defining this type of co-production. The overall aim of the thesis is to describe how these ICT-enabled initiatives emerge and develop over time and identify the related effects on the response system. This is expected to provide recommendations on how they can be developed and supported. This aim is divided into three specific objectives, where each has been addressed through a research paper: 1- ...