Information systems (IS) seem prevalent in modern societies and have resulted in the rapid digitalisation of different societal sectors. One application domain of IS is emergency response, which is responsible for delivering essential services to save lives and minimise environmental damage in both small , frequent and large-scale emergencies. Specific IS applications are in turn used in emergency response to support such aspects as decision-making, communication, information sharing and the dispatching of resources. Public-sector cut-backs and a lack of professional resources have affected emergency response at the same time as natural disasters (e.g. forest fires, tsunamis, storms, terror attacks, and wars in the Middle East leading to mass migration) have intensified in recent decades. At the same time, frequent, small-scale accidents continue to occur on a regular basis, both in urban and sparsely populated areas. As a result, emergency response actors, first responders, are often placed under severe pressure. An emerging trend in response to these challenges, both in Sweden and internationally, is to create cross-sector forms of collaboration, by combining alternative resources from various sectors. Such collaborations are relatively new and involve heterogeneous stakeholders. Therefore, the thesis objective is to explore IS-related opportunities, challenges and needs aimed at supporting heterogeneous actors in emerging cross-sector collaborations in emergency response in order to enable and facilitate future related IS development. To achieve this, a user-centred approach was applied. A baseline study was performed followed by three case studies on ‘co-location of actors’, ‘co-operative use of resources’ and ‘semi-professionals as first responders’ by performing interviews, focus groups, participant observation, Future Workshops, an exercise and an after-action review. The thesis is based on case study research and qualitative research methods. Sociotechnical systems theory, the sociotechnical ensemble view, and network governance were used as the analytical framework. As part of achieving the thesis objectives, experiences from applying user participation in the context of cross-sector collaboration are also presented as part of the results. A context-specific framework developed to systematise and explore various important aspects of cross-sector collaboration in emergency response is also described. The results of this thesis indicate that the needs for IS in cross-sector collaborations vary from simple smartphone applications to manage alarms, positioning and the dispatching of new resources, to more sophisticated tools for sharing and viewing incident data. The results also indicate that these collaborations have the potential (e.g. resource redundancy, pooled competencies to increase total capacity) to improve Swedish emergency response if supported by adequate IS/IT support. The major challenges are organisational, economic and juridical and the most prominent are ambiguities in actors’ tasks and responsibilities, and how to prioritise between ordinary work and ‘new’ first-response tasks. They must be addressed to enable certain IS-functions, e.g. information sharing and positioning of resources The results also highlight several institutional factors (e.g. mutual interest between members, collective problem-solving, secrecy aspects) which are believed to play a key role in the success or failure of the collaborations and which must be adressed in the development of IS-support. The actors also have substantial basic needs for training (e.g. fire extinguishing, first aid) and emergency supplies (e.g. fire extinguishers, healthcare kits). Applying user participation also faced challenges, the major one being the development of a future cross-sector collaboration in a context that does not yet exist, and involving stakeholders from resource-strained organisations in doing so. The stakeholders, and sometimes also the primary end-users, are partly unknown and tasks are undefined. As a response to these challenges, a combination of activities based on multiple design groups, scenario-based Future Workshops, focus groups, the context-specific framework, a practical exercise and an after-action-review was provided. The framework, which was used to support data collection and user participation, includes 15 dimensions each intended to represent important aspects of cross-sector collaboration. The thesis major contributions are the identified opportunities, challenges and need as a ’sociotechnical ensemble’ and generated and from several studies, thus being comparable. The thesis more theoretical contributions is the combined application of the sociotechnical ensemble view and network governance where the studied collaboration forms are characterised as a hybrid form of networks and more traditional government mechanisms and where it is pointed out that network governance lacks explicit IS/IT aspects. In a wider perspective, the research fields of IS and political science may cross-fertilise each other when studying emerging cross-sector collaboration in the public sector. Identified user participation challenges relevant to the cross-sector collaboration context, suggestions on how they can be handled and the context-specific framework are contributions that can be used in practical user-centred IS development in similar contexts. Informationssystem (IS) används idag i de flesta verksamheter inom respons och räddningsområdet t.ex. för beslutsstöd, kommunikation, informationsutbyte och resurspositionering. Fel i systemen kan bidra till misslyckad samverkan vid räddningsinsatser som i sin tur kan riskera människors liv och orsaka skador på miljö och infrastruktur vid såväl små, frekventa olyckor som storskaliga händelser, kriser och katastrofer. Budgetnedskärningar, brist på professionella resurser, naturkatastrofer (t.ex. skogsbränder, stormar) och terrorattacker är några exempel på utmaningar som har intensifierats under de senaste decennierna. Samtidigt fortsätter frekventa, småskaliga olyckor att inträffa, både i urbana och i glesbygdsområden. Därför är responsaktörerna ofta under hård press. Ett sätt att hantera utmaningarna, både i Sverige och internationellt, är tvärsektoriella samverkansformer som i sin tur involverar ofta heterogena samhällsresurser. Samarbetskontexten är förhållandevis ny och de involverade aktörerna och deras behov delvis okända. Avhandlingen syftar därför till att utforska IS-relaterade möjligheter, utmaningar och behov för att stödja heterogena aktörer inom nya tvärsektoriella framväxande samverkansformer i svensk respons och räddning. För att utforska detta användes en användarcentrerad ansats. Därför genomfördes en bakgrundsstudie och tre fallstudier på ’samlokalisering av aktörer’, ’sambruk av resurser’ och ’semi-professionella som förstainsatspersoner’ genom att utföra intervjuer, fokusgrupper, deltagande observation, Future Workshops, och en övning med följande After-Action-Review. Avhandlingen bygger därmed på fallstudieforskning och kvalitativa forskningsmetoder. ’Socioteknisk systemteori’, begreppet ’socioteknisk ensemble’ och ’network governance’ teori används som forskningens analytiska ramverk. Som ett led i att uppfylla syftet presenteras dessutom erfarenheter från användarmedverkan i kontexten tvärsektoriell samverkan som ett delresultat samt ett kontext-specifikt ramverk utvecklat för att systematisera och utforska olika viktiga aspekter av tvärsektoriell samverkan i respons- och räddningsverksamhet. Avhandlingens resultat visar att behoven av IS i tvärsektoriella samverkansformer varierar från enkla smartphoneapplikationer för larmhantering, positionering och utryckning av nya resurser, till mer sofistikerade verktyg för informationsdelning och gemensamma lägesbilder. Resultaten pekar också mot att med rätt IS stöd har samverkansformerna potential (t.ex. i form av resursredundans, gemensam pool för ökad kapacitet) för att förbättra svensk räddningsverksamhet. De stora utmaningarna är organisatoriska, ekonomiska och juridiska. De mest framträdande är otydligheter i aktörernas uppgifter, roll och ansvar, och hur man prioriterar mellan sitt befintliga arbete och "nya" förstainsatser. Utmaningarna måste lösas för att möjliggöra IS-funktioner, till exempel vid informationsdelning och resurspositionering. Resultaten belyser också explicit flera institutionella faktorer (t.ex. gemensamt intresse och mål, kollektiv problemlösning, sekretesshantering) som tros ha en nyckelroll i samverkansformernas realisering och som måste hanteras i utveckling av relaterat IS-stöd. Aktörerna har också grundläggande behov av träning (t.ex. brandsläckning, första hjälpen) och utrusning (t.ex. brandsläckare, sjukvårdskit). Tillämpningen av användarmedverkan visade också på utmaningar, varav den främsta var att utveckla framtida tvärsektoriell samverkan i ett sammanhang som ännu inte existerar och att involvera intressenter från organisationer med ansträngda resurser för att genomföra detta. Intressenterna, ibland även de primära slutanvändarna, är delvis okända och uppgifterna är odefinierade. Som ett sätt att hantera utmaningarna genomfördes en kombination av aktiviteter som baserades på multipla designgrupper, scenariobaserade Future Workshops, fokusgrupper, ett kontextspecifikt ramverk, en övning och en After-Action-Review samt det kontext-specifika ramverket. Ramverket som användes för att stödja datainsamling och användarmedverkan innehåller 15 dimensioner som är tänkta att representera viktiga aspekter av tvärsektoriella samverkansformer. Avhandlingens främsta bidrag är de identifierade möjligheterna, utmaningarna och behoven som en ’social ensemble’ och som genererade och jämförbara ur flera studier. Avhandlingens mer teoretiska bidrag är den kombinerade tillämpningen av ’sociotechnical ensemble’ och ’network governance’ där de studerade samverkansformerna lyfts fram som en blandform av nätverk och mer traditionella styrmekanismer och där det påpekas att network governance saknar explicita IS/IT delar. I ett större sammanhang kan forskningsfälten IS och statsvetenskap kan komplettera varandra vid studier av framväxande tvärsektoriell samverkan i offentlig sektor. Relevanta utmaningar vid användarmedverkan i kontexten, förslag på hur de kan hanteras och det kontext-specifika ramverket är bidrag som kan används i praktisk användarcentrerad IS-utveckling i liknande sammanhang.

Insurance and Risk Management for Disruptions in Social, Economic and Environmental Systems is a collection of 13 chapters and studies about Insurance and Risk management in response to disruptions caused by social, economic, and environmental challenges to try and stabilize the economy in an effort to ensure sustainability.

In contemporary society, public services struggle to maintain a high quality of service if the authority responsible for the service delivery experiences resource deficit and increased uncertainties and vulnerabilities. This thesis explores how information and communication technology (ICT) can enable new types of network collaborations – co-production – between government (municipalities) and citizens, for a more effective crisis and emergency response. This is explored in the light of digitalization and taking an end-user perspective. The thesis’s first objective is to describe the transformation toward ICT-enabled co-production. The second objective is to identify opportunities and challenges involved in ICT-enabled co-production. The thesis’s method includes two case studies supported by various theories and approaches: network collaboration (including co-production), sociotechnical systems, and end-user involvement. The data collection is conducted using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, user participation techniques, and document reviews. The intended audience is practitioners (local government and national agencies) and researchers within crisis and emergency response, information systems (IS), and public administration research disciplines and domains (e.g. co-production). The description of the transformation toward ICT-enabled coproduction in crisis and emergency response is a result in its own right. Here, the citizen volunteers become involved in the actual delivery of the response, despite non-specific competence and non-organizational affiliation. In relation to the transformation toward co-production, the thesis concludes that digitalization facilitates end-user involvement in the ICT development process and increases their influence. If open systems as mobile technologies are used, end-users can adapt the technology on their own and add technologies, without the support of the formal developer or local government. The thesis also identifies opportunities and challenges of ICT-enabled co-production. Examples of opportunities include citizen volunteers having a high degree of engagement, being an effective complement to professional responders, and increasing perceived safety in the community. This informal structure of co-production enabled by ICT minimizes the need for local governments to spend resources on managing collaboration. Examples of challenges include the lack of organizational affiliation of volunteers (e.g. integration of citizen volunteers, i.e. end-users with non-organizational affiliation in the technology of the ICT system) and aspects of formal and social control (regulation, and moral and privacy issues). The thesis’s contributions include enriched knowledge of essential aspects to consider when developing ICT-enabled co-production with an end-user perspective, and an understanding of the transformation of the application domain over time and the implications of ICT-enabled coproduction. This makes it easier to comprehend and develop contemporary and future co-productions. The thesis is perceived to have high originality and value since it studies time periods in which local government, technology, and crisis and emergency response have undergone dramatic changes, and explores one of the first Swedish empirical initiatives involving citizen volunteers as responders. Avhandlingen undersöker hur informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) kan möjliggöra nya typer av nätverkssamverkan – co-production – mellan offentliga aktörer (kommuner i detta fall) och frivilliga civila medborgare för att på så sätt få en mer effektiv hantering av kriser och olyckor. Detta görs med bakgrund av minskade resurser i offentlig service, ökad digitalisering, och med fokus på slutanvändare som inte tillhör en formell organisation. Avhandlingen beskriver förändringen till IKT-möjliggjord co-production där frivilliga medborgare larmas ut trots avsaknad av specifik kompetens för uppdraget och organisatorisk tillhörighet. Avhandlingen identifierar även möjligheter och utmaningar när kommuner co-producerar med frivilliga medborgare. Möjligheter inkluderar t ex högt engagemang från frivilliga medborgare och att de är ett effektivt komplement till de professionella aktörerna. Utmaningar innefattar t ex svårigheter med IKT integration av slutanvändare utan organisatorisk tillhörighet, samt legala och etiska oklarheter. Avhandlingen bidrar med kunskap om viktiga aspekter att beakta när IKT-möjliggjord co-production utvecklas, för att på så sätt underlätta förståelse och utveckling av framtida co-productions. Avhandlingen har hög originalitet och värde då den undersöker två tidsperioder där lokal offentlig sektor, digital teknik och hantering av kriser och olyckor har genomgått dramatiska förändringar, samt undersöker ett av de första svenska initiativen där civila medborgare larmas ut som första insatspersoner.

Introduction: This compilation licentiate thesis focuses on open government data (OGD). The thesis is based on three papers. OGD is a system that is organized when publishers collect and share data with users, who can unrestrictedly reuse the data. In my research, I have explored why it can be challenging to cultivate OGD. Cultivation is human activities that change, encourage, or guide human organizations towards a higher purpose by changing, introducing, managing, or removing conditions. Here, the higher purpose is OGD to realize believed benefits. Thus, OGD cultivation is an attempt to stimulate actors into organizing as OGD. Problem and Purpose: OGD is believed to lead to several benefits. However, the worldwide OGD movement has slowed down, and researchers have noted a lack of use. Publishers and users are experiencing a set of different impediments that are challenging to solve. In previous research, there is a need for more knowledge about what can impede the OGD organization, cause non-valuable organizing, or even collapse the organization. At the same time, there is a lack of knowledge about how impediments shape the organization of OGD. This gap can make it hard to solve and overcome the impediments experienced by publishers and users. The sought-after knowledge can bring some understanding of the current situation of OGD. In this research, I have viewed the organization of OGD as an ecosystem. The purpose of this thesis is to draw lessons about why it can be challenging to cultivate OGD ecosystems by understanding OGD impediments from an ecosystem perspective. Research Design: I set out to explore OGD through qualitative research from 2016 to 2018. My research started with a pilot case study that led to three studies. The studies are each reported in a paper and the papers form the base of this thesis. The first paper aims to stimulate the conceptually oriented discussion about actors’ roles in OGD by developing a framework that was tested on a Swedish public agency. The second paper has the purpose of expanding the scope surrounding impediments and was based in a review and systematization of previous research about OGD impediments. The third paper presents an exploration of impediments experienced by publishers, users, and cultivators in the Swedish national OGD ecosystem to identify faults. From the three papers, lessons were drawn in turn and together, that are presented in this thesis. Findings: Cultivators when cultivating OGD ecosystems are facing towering challenges. The following three main challenges are identified in this thesis: (1) to cultivate a system that can manage stability by itself without constant involvement, (2) to cultivate a system that is capable of evolving towards a “greater good” by itself, and (3) to have an up-to-date precise vocabulary for a self-evolving system that enables inter-subjective understand for coordinating problem-solving. Contribution: The theoretical contribution of this thesis is that OGD ecosystems can be viewed as a public utility. Moreover, I recommend that researchers approach the organizing of OGD as the cultivation of evolution, rather than the construction of a structure; to consider the stability of the system in growth, value, and participation; and to be cautious with how they label and describe OGD actors. For actors that are cultivating OGD, I recommend that they guide the OGD actors to help them organize; view OGD cultivation as the management of evolution (growth) towards a purpose; and view cultivation as a collaborative effort where they can supply ideas, technologies, practices, and expertise.

This edited book entertains a multitude of perspectives on crisis information management systems (CIMS)-based disaster response and recovery management. The use of information technology in disaster management has become the central means for collecting, vetting, and distributing information. It also serves as the backbone for coordination and collaboration between response and recovery units as well as resource management tool. This edited volume aims at covering the whole range of application and uses of CIMS in disaster response and recovery. It showcases coordination and collaboration mechanisms between government agencies, the involvement of non-governmental entities, lessons learned as well as lessons not learned, approaches to disaster resiliency in society, community engagement in disaster/catastrophe responses and recovery, and, particularly, the role of CIMS in response and recovery. Serving as a platform for showcasing recent academic discoveries as well as a knowledge source for practitioners, this volume will be of interest to researchers and practitioners interested in disaster response, public administration, emergency management, and information systems.

Collaboration is often seen as a palliative for the many wicked problems challenging our communities. These problems affect some of the most vulnerable and unempowered people in our community. They also carry significant implications for policy processes, programs of service and, ultimately, the budgets and resourcing of national and sub-national governments. The road to collaboration is paved with good intentions. But, as John Butcher and David Gilchrist reveal, ‘good intentions’ are not enough to ensure well-designed, effective and sustainable collaborative action. Contemporary policy-makers and policy practitioners agree that ‘wicked’ problems in public policy require collaborative approaches, especially when those problems straddle sectoral, institutional, organisational and jurisdictional boundaries. The authors set out to uncover the core ingredients of good collaboration practice by talking directly to the very people that are engaged in collaborative action. This book applies the insights drawn from conversations with those engaged in collaborations for social purpose—including chief executives, senior managers and frontline workers—to the collaboration challenge. Backed up by an extensive review of the collaboration literature, Butcher and Gilchrist translate their observations into concrete guidance for collaborative practice. The unique value in this book is the authors’ combination of scholarly work with practical suggestions for current and prospective collaborators.

In a global and digital society, businesses are constantly being challenged by innovative and disruptive management strategies. The dramatic changes that took place in all corners of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed that companies need to update their resources and anticipate trends. The current changes introduced by digitalization offer endless innovation scenarios and strategic opportunities to companies but also demand an accurate and structured analysis of drivers, motivations, and determinants for success in this transformation. The Handbook of Research on Smart Management for Digital Transformation analyzes the drivers of digital transformation in businesses and assesses digital transformation success factors in the short, medium, and long run. This critical reference source is comprised of theoretical and empirical chapters as well as case studies on digital adoption by companies in different business sectors. Covering topics such as brand messaging, digital media platforms, and success determinants, this book is an essential resource for managers, researchers, educators of higher education, business students, digital strategists, business associations, communication and marketing agencies, entrepreneurs, and academicians.