The Integration of Intergovernmental Coordination and Information Management in Response to Immediate Crises: Thailand Emergency Management

Recent occurrences of natural disasters and severe manmade hazards have increased awareness of the need for effective mitigation and response to extreme events. States of emergency require multiple agencies to perform multiple tasks simultaneously to return the situation to normal. This study proposes an inter-organizational model supported by the efficient use of information and communication technologies to assist multiple agencies in coordinating their actions more effectively during states of emergency. The model will assist participating agencies to develop the capacity to adapt to emergency conditions as well as the ability to replace other functions that fail in order to maintain the continuity of basic operations for the community until the state of emergency is cleared. Three recent cases of emergency operations in Thailand are examined to assess whether coordination among response agencies can be improved by using appropriately designed interagency operations. The complex environment of emergency response operations offers an extraordinary opportunity to investigate methods that may be used to understand and identify factors that build strength or lead to weakness in practice. The interdependence of sequential failures from sudden impacts such as the collapse of electrical transmission lines or a communication system provides a practical challenge for assessing the use of information and communication technologies in managing emergencies. Insights gained from this project may assist public agencies to work together more effectively.This research is conducted as an exploratory study with a nested case design. It employs both qualitative and quantitative methods of observation, interviews, social network analysis, document review and structured surveys to identify complementary characteristics rather than advocating a single style of research. Units of analysis are the emergency response organizations at national, provincial and local levels while units of observation are emergency response personnel in each organization. In addition, units of observation are stratified into top, middle, and operational levels of management in order to obtain information that may vary by levels of authority. Information obtained from multiple sources is analyzed to understand better the existing emergency response operations and how to improve the system effectively and efficiently.An alternative approach based on lessons learned from this study is to build systematic and adaptive collaboration among agencies, national, provincial and local levels, in emergency management of Thailand. The primary actors, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA), Civil Emergency Relief Department (CERD), and District Offices (DO) can play effective roles in emergency response network under different scales of emergency. Insufficient information support and communication channels increase the difficulties of activating the action plan in wider response in states of emergency. Information technology and communication systems allow multiple agencies to share their knowledge and information they need in making informed decisions. Communication is a significant means to enable participating agencies to coordinate their operations simultaneously. These functions of information technology and communication help connect the entire emergency operation into a well-organized direction