Improving Joint Working Between the UK Emergency Services
Funders
Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (via ESRC)
Amount
£125,000
Project Duration
16 Months (Oct 22 – Jan 24)
Further Information
See funder’s project page here.
Image: Copyright ©2023 R. Stevens / CREST (CC BY-SA 4.0)
I am currently Principal Investigator (PI) on a CREST funded research project looking at the Psychology of Interoperability (joint working) between the UK Emergency Services.
This project uses social science methods to develop understanding on the important social-psychological principles (e.g., trust) that are needed to embed interoperability within the Emergency Services. There are four main studies.
Study 1 – Literature Review
A systematic literature review on the psychology of interoperability will be conducted. We will define interoperability and identify it’s underpinning principles.
Study 2 – Interviews
We will interview experienced commanders from the Emergency Services about their experiences of interoperability – identifying challenges and solutions.
Study 3 – Training Evaluation
We will run a survey to evaluate joint training, generating ideas for for psychologically informed interoperability training.
Study 4 – Behavioural Coding
We will code videos of interoperable teams to identify the behavioural indicators of interoperability.
Study 1 – Literature Review: Findings
This systematic review had three goals to: (i) define interoperability; (ii) identify the structural principles that constitute interoperability; and (iii) identify the psychological principles that outline how interoperability can be achieved.
Definition
“We define interoperability as a shared system of technology and teamwork built upon trust, identification, goals, communication, and flexibility”
Structural Principles
We identified two structural principles that reflected an interoperable team: (i) being able to communicate and exchange information effectively; and (ii) having a flexible team network.
Psychological Principles
Three psychological principles were identified: (i) establishing trust between team members; (ii) developing secure team identities; and (iii) building cohesive goals.
What do these findings mean for practice?
We recommend that regular psychologically immersive training that specifically seeks to target psychological principles will embed interoperability into the organisational culture of the Emergency Services.
Want to read more about study 1?
Check out the various ways you can read about our findings!
Pre-Print
Read the pre-print to our full paper, currently under review at an academic journal.
Sway Summary
Check out our interactive Sway summary of findings for a smooth digest.
CREST Guide
We have put together a colourful CREST guide in collaboration with our funders.
Video Animation
Watch our video animation summarising our findings.
Published Paper
Our paper is now published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, and is open access so you can read it for free!
Power, N., Alcock, J., Philpot, R., & Levine, M. (2024). The Psychology of Interoperability: A Systematic Review of Joint Working Between the UK Emergency Services. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 97(1), 233-252.
Study 2 – Interview Findings
We interviewed experienced commanders about their experiences of interoperability. We were interested in understanding how JESIP – the group tasked with improving interoperability – had sought to achieve organisational change within the UK Emergency Services.
The core reason for why JESIP was perceived to have failed was due to the “Principle-Implementation Gap” – JESIP worked in theory, but less well in practice. This gap was observed across three levels:
Macro-level: Systemic
Issues
The principle-implementation gap was associated with a lack of financial investment in JESIP, and the narrow scope of JESIP which excluded non-blue lights organisations.
Meso-level: Organisational Issues
Issues arose due to incompatible organisational structures across the three services, which limited the cohesive application of JESIP principles.
Micro-level: Interpersonal Issues
Despite having strong intentions to engage with JESIP, the stress and pressure of a real-world emergencies created interpersonal conflict and frustration.
What do these findings mean for practice?
JESIP has done well to put interoperability on the agenda, but a comprehensive understanding about the multi-professional framework within which organisational change is being embedded is required to bridge the principle-implementation gap. Building an understanding of the macro-, meso-, and micro-level challenges to interoperability is essential to the future of interoperability.
Want to read more about study 2?
Check out the various ways you can read about our findings!
Pre-Print
Read the pre-print to our full paper, currently under review at an academic journal.
Sway Summary
Read a summary of our research findings in our smooth sway digest!
CREST Short Report
We have produced a short report of our findings here.
Video Animation
Watch our video animation summarising findings.
Published Paper
Coming soon!
Study 3 – Training Evaluation
Team training is essential for effective teamwork. Within the context of the UK Emergency Services, one goal of team training has been to promote greater interoperability between different response agencies, however the efficacy of this training has not been tested. Using a mixed-methods online survey, we evaluated emergency responders’ experiences of interoperability training.
What did participants think about current team training?
We found that small- and large-scale live exercises, and in-person training were rated as the most useful. E-learning was the only type of training where no participants rated it as extremely useful.
What did participants believe were essential for team training?
We identified five themes that reflected the need for multi-agency training to be: (i) representative and realistic; (ii) focused on sharing perspectives and developing awareness of capabilities and challenges across teams; (iii) prioritised as a core part of the day-job for emergency responders; (iv) face to face rather than remote; and (v) a platform for building social relationships.
So, what?
Taken together, we recommend that future interoperability training be regular, interactive, practical, and social, to truly achieve behavioural change.
Want to read more about study 3?
Check out the various ways you can read about our findings!
Pre-Print
Read the pre-print to our full paper, currently under review at an academic journal.
Sway Summary
Check out our interactive Sway summary of findings for a smooth digest.
CREST Guide
Coming soon!
Video Animation
Coming soon!
Published Paper
Coming soon!
Dr Nikki Power 