The Maaloop Framework: Enabling a Systems-Level Common Operating Picture in Multiagency Disaster Management

Emergency management operations are a complex system involving multiagency hierarchical command structures requiring coordination of significant volumes of information, resourcing and effort across expansive disaster zones within restricted timeframes and with potentially catastrophic consequences. Within these environments establishing a timely and shared understanding among different levels of command and across agencies is crucial yet remains a significant challenge. The problem is subsequently framed as ʻhow can the establishment of a systems-level common operating picture across hierarchical commands and different agencies be improved in the context of complex emergency management and disaster response?ʼ To address this, we present the Maaloop Framework which builds upon the insights gained from previous research within the context of threat assessment, sensemaking, and critical decision-making in police, military, ambulance, and firefighting contexts. To the observer trained in its application, it aims to provide an instant, point-in-time, global and detailed visual intelligent product of (i) the amount of information identified by decision makers at each location; (ii) how confident those decision makers are in the information and its application to resolve an incident; (iii) how the decision maker in adjacent command levels are using the information being fed to them. In turn, it will assist in improving individual and collective understanding regardless of position within a command hierarchy or agency jurisdiction. We submit that the Maaloop Framework does no more than describe the common constructs and concepts identified in the literature describing decision-making within these industries and the broader study of decision-making in the field of psychology. Therefore, this framework is intended to provide a solution to provide systems-level common operating picture and an initial basis for increased communication and understanding across complex crisis events.