Integrating Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) into domestic crisis and disaster management structures – An exploratory study of challenges and requirements for improvement

Abstract

Social media (SM) use in crisis and disaster management (CDM) is resource-intensive and can overwhelm emergency management authorities (EMAs). Digital voluntarism offers SM capacities for EMAs. A significant approach to reap benefits from digital voluntarism for domestic CDM is introducing Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs). While VOSTs have been proven valuable in increasing capacities, they are far from being an established part of practices in domestic CDM. Limited research has been dedicated to understanding challenges and requirements to improve VOSTs’ integration into CDM structures. The objective of the thesis was to address this research gap. Building on secondary data from a scoping study, qualitative expert interviews served as primary data to explore the topic in question. The country of the investigation was Germany. Major findings are that VOSTs’ integration is challenged by an insufficient recognition of VOSTs as a new, valuable actor in the field and lacking official support for VOSTs. However, many of the identified challenges do not directly relate to the new organisational form of VOSTs but originate from underlying issues. It concerns conditions for SM use, missing structures for digital-working teams generally, and digital volunteer teams specifically, as well as innovation-hampering structures in CDM. The research significantly reveals that unidirectional attempts of aligning organisational structures and work approaches of VOSTs to fit into established CDM structures reach their limits if the structures do not simultaneously adapt to the new form of volunteerism. Without changes within the structures, barriers will remain, hindering digital voluntarism from becoming an established part of CDM practices.

Popular Abstract

The Master thesis project used a specific type of digital volunteer teams - VOSTs - as a research case to improve the understanding of conditions for integrating new digital volunteer teams into domestic crisis and disaster management structures. Germany served as the country of investigation.

Digitalisation poses substantial changes to our lives and also affects emergencies and crisis and disaster management (CDM). A remarkable aspect in this regard is the increasing relevance of social media. As people’s habit of social media use increases in daily life, social media gain equal importance in crisis and disaster events. Digitalisation also offers new forms of volunteer engagement, namely ‘digital volunteerism’. In the field of domestic CDM a significant novelty are a new type of volunteer teams: Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs).

VOSTs are designed to facilitate the two-way information flow between the public and emergency management authorities, increase authorities’ situational awareness and support emergency management authorities (among others). VOSTs have been field-tested and proven to be a vital asset for supporting the work of emergency management authorities. Nevertheless, VOSTs are far from being an established part of domestic CDM. The integration of VOSTs into CDM seems to meet severe obstacles. However, very limited research has been dedicated to a better understanding of conditions for integrating new digital volunteer teams into domestic CDM structures. The purpose of the thesis project was to address this research gap by investigation VOSTs’ integration within one country context – Germany.

Central findings of the research are that VOSTs’ integration is challenged by a lacking recognition of VOSTs as new and valuable actor in the field and lacking official support for VOSTs. However, many of the identified challenges are not directly related to the new organisational form of VOSTs but originate from fundamental underlying issues. It concerns lacking conditions for social media use, missing structures for digital-working teams generally, and for digital volunteer teams specifically, as well as innovation-hampering structures in the CDM field. The research significantly reveals that unidirectional attempts of aligning organisational structures and work approaches of VOSTs to fit into established CDM structures reach their limits if the structures do not simultaneously adapt to the new form of volunteerism. Without changes, barriers will remain hindering VOSTs to become an established actor type in domestic CDM and their deployment a common practice. Emergency management authorities are asked to take action and provide conditions enabling the use of capacities digital voluntarism can offer for effective social media coverage in CDM.

The thesis project contributes to enhance the knowledge body on a widely unexploited topic. Nevertheless, it is only one contribution in a widely under-researched but important thematic field. It calls for increased attention to the topic among the scientific community contributing to the CDM field.

• author: Semke, Melina
• supervisor: Mo Hamza
• organization: Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
• course: VBRM15 20211
• year: 2021
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: Social media, digital volunteers, trusted agents, certified volunteers, Germany, digitalisation, innovation in crisis and disaster management
• language: English
• id: 9068678
• date added to LUP: 2021-12-01 11:25:19
• date last changed: 2021-12-01 11:25:19