ESENet

(Emergency Services Europe Network)
www.esenet.org

Layers of Interoperability
Layers of Interoperability

 

The improvement of the European capability to respond to everyday emergencies and guarantee the safety and security of citizens in case of major emergencies and disasters requires a significant step forward in the integration of existing systems at several levels.

The efficient response to everyday and major emergency situations needs a greater level of interoperability between Emergency services in many different aspects of the process. Such needs range from the ability of
communication devices to interoperate to the ability of systems to exchange data and information up to the harmonization of procedures and policies.

It is evident that decision makers (e.g. political authorities), users (e.g. first responders) and industries can all contribute with solid arguments in this scenario. On the other hand, it is also clear that a credible answer to such needs cannot come from a single community.

The ESENet (Emergency Services Europe Network) Coordination Action aims at establishing a network of stakeholders in the Emergency Management domain that will identify, discuss and agree on needs, requirements, new technologies and best practices in responding to everyday as well as to major emergencies.

ESENet aims to:

  • The identification of gaps in the emergency service provision chain and the collection of user
    requirements; the results of such activity will be a living document that will be made available to all
    stakeholders;
  • The selection of available and/or promising technologies for tackling the identified challenges, also identifying areas where further research is needed; a public report will be delivered by the project;
  • The analysis of organizational gaps, with suggestions and best practices at EU level about procedures, framework agreements and reorganizing suggested tasks; again, the results of such work will be reported in a public deliverable;
  • The identification of available standards or areas where standards will be needed.

 

ESENet will address four specific objectives:

  • To establish a network of Emergency services, practitioners, authorities and industries
  • To provide networking opportunities for the members of the ESENet network
  • To analyse and report on the findings from the workshops, on the lessons learnt and on the identified needs for further initiatives
  • To disseminate and exchange information about the project

 

Expected results
The main expected results of the coordination activities of ESENet will be:

  • An agreed list of user requirements and lesson learnt on all levels of the interoperability stack;
  • A consolidated network of end users, practitioners and industries willing to leverage the quality of
    Emergency services by identifying area for improvements;
  • A roadmap for a common EU approach to a new set of standards and legal framework accommodating
    the needs of emergency services.