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Civil Protection Service Styria
Government of Styria and icomedias Systemhaus
Austria

The Problem

The system Civil Protection Online represents an information management network with applications specific to civil protection. Due to the sensitive kind of data high availability and security has to be guaranteed 24x7 - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Open source:
To a large extent development was based on open-source-components (Linux-cluster server, PostgreSQL database server, Apache webserver). Merely in the field of GIS proprietary server of ESRI of the GIS staff position have been integrated.

Modular design:
Modular design is one of the basic ideas of the system. It allows fast and inexpensive advancement and further development at any time. This is in accordance with the guiding principle of legality, austerity and expediency. Requirements from different sectors of the adminstrative departments are being integrated into ongoing developments (thereby also enabling us “to look beyond the end of our noses”). All software solutions in use have from the outset been conceived and designed in a way to make them re-usable for further projects – this includes all advanced applications in the field of civil protection for the federal state of Styria as well as a nationwide application. All matters and decisions related to content, structure and technology have been guided by the principle not to develop any single-use individual solution. All partial solutions have been designed to interact with existing applications and servers.

Application of standard technology XML:
The system is a multi-server compatible web solution based on XML for dynamic page design. If required, content of other information systems can be integrated as a data source. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is an open, media-neutral and system-autonomous format. One of the basic ideas of XML is the separation of structure, content and layout. As an advantage only one XML-data-source to several media needs to be maintained. That way an XML-text can be provided as a pdf-document either via web browser or after the corresponding XSL-rendering on paper. XML-data are independent from a distinct software product or provider and therefore an ideal interface if data need to be exchanged irrespective of soft- and hardware-systems. These advantages are of immense importance to Civil Protection Online.

Access via internet, intranet and extranet:
With the application of web technology pages for display as well as for submission of data, all information can be accessed by all platforms and with different browsers. This implies that no installation of any viewer or other software on location will be necessary (including GIS via standard browser), and that protected secure access is available from anywhere. To achieve the broadest access, development always places emphasis on compatibility also with outdated browser versions.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
More than ever, civil protection has become an important issue that is of deep concern to the population, to politicians and authorities involved. Accidents and natural disasters can endanger people unexpectedly. In these situations every minute counts – with the concrete mission as well as with all communication and information involved.

24 hours a day, 365 days a year:
Civil Protection Online aims at the application of highly available and redundant fail-proof systems and at the expansion of already existing networks of authorities, relief units, population and media. None of the target groups shall (and must) be excluded from the flow of information. According to this, special features like physical, linguistic, cognitive and situational barriers have always been taken into consideration.

Thematic crosslinks:
The concept of using widespread databases to create an intelligent system through specific thematic and inter-departmental crosslinks represents an absolute innovation in the field of civil protection.

Integration into knowledge management:
1) Traceability and version control: With the version-administration the status of the data and of all preceding versions (including date of alteration and name of user) can be retrieved at any time. This way data also becomes retraceable in case of legal disputes.

2) Enhanced integrated checklists: Checklists are directly available as word- and pdf-documents. Contact information specified by incident and selected geographical region is automatically integrated up-to-the-minute from the Civil Protection Server data base. If required these documents can further be processed as a word-compatible download-file on location.

3) Integration of GIS-applications: The complete version of Digital Atlas 3 of the federal infrastructure authority is adopted.

a) Multi-Platform-Accessibility (Devices): Usage is provided from a multi-platform-approach for different types of media (stationary and mobile):
- centrally at the alarming center of the federal state of Styria on personal computers and relief management systems,
- locally at the offices of the head of the administrative districts, at communities and operation control centers on personal computers,
- mobile with special datatransfer-optimized versions for laptop, PDA/organizer or mobile phone,
- offline on CD-ROM or as paper printout. So it is assured that every appropriate medium for information and communication receives optimal support in every situation - depending on the individual situation and the availability of local networks (up to a breakdown of all means communication).

b) Increasing information and services: With Civil Protection Online administrational services become more specific and efficient, information is transmitted to everyone affected faster and more transparent. Regarding the complex data, without a cohesive and highly available network system that would have been impossible.

c) Multilingualism: Multilingualism shall support international compatibility (especially referring to Austria’s neighboring countries) – this is also a novelty and will provide a plus in security. Relevant information can be provided without regard to national borders or lingual limitations in a version chosen by the user.

d) Times of intervention: The guiding theme is improving security for the population while developing innovative and lasting solutions to problems of the country. In Styria the efforts of all units involved aim at providing fast and effective help.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
1997: First strategic plans of the public private partnership between the government of Styria and icomedias
1998: First database and GIS-driven systems for emergency planning and ressources database
1999: 1.000 users working with online systems
2000: Second version of decentralized online database system for disaster protection
2002: Update of system
2006: Fourth generation intelligent expert system for civil protection and disaster prevention as a cooperation of the two federal states of Styria and Salzburg

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
All activities connected to Civil Protection Online are based on the civil protection law and by-law of the federal state of Styria effective since 1999 and 2000. It has been created in recognition of the longtime experiences of authorities and organizations in their joint effort to cope with times of crisis and disaster – and also precaution. Accordingly it is up to the department for civil protection and defense (FA7B) of the government of the federal state of Styria to coordinate all forces involved through the alarming center of Styria. District administration authorities, communities and relief units have to be supplied with all relevant information, as well as the information needs of people affected, their relatives and the media.

24 hours a day, 365 days a year:
Every piece of information has to be accessible and available to everyone involved - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Not only in a classical case of catastrophe but already with far-reaching disasters substantial and specific information are absolutely essential to ensure quick relief. Information management in times of crisis also requires a comprehensive strategy and technical implementation. The importance is demonstrated by the fact that making information available to people affected, the general population and the media can very often create a plus in security.

Application of electronic systems:
Due to experiences made with and results received from the first online civil protection systems of 1995 and 1997, the civil protection law and by-law of the federal state of Styria provide the use of databases and online-services. In addition to the provision of applicable structures the use and especially the constant upgrade and maintenance of these electronic systems is specified.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
General purposes:
The general objectives are on the one hand defined in the civil protection law and its by-law of the federal state of Styria. This definition provides security to all authorities and organizations active in civil protection. On the other hand experiences and necessary conditions for joint action are constantly being mapped out in special working committees, consisting of members of the administration, organizations and the economy on a local, regional and national level.

Specific purposes:
a) Standardizing structures and requirements: Further education for the authorities on federal, district and community level; regular and extensive training and tutorials; coordination among Austria’s federal states and also on an international level; unification of the civil protection terminology and classification on a national and international level (support of multilingualism within the classification).

b) Support on operative level: Active support of the work of the authorities and organizations; coordination of authorities, organizations, population and media; exchange of data and general information between hospitals, alarm and information center and organizations.

c) Joint information management: Information hotline via telephone and internet in case of large scale disasters or catastrophes on a national and international level; coordinated media information center of authorities and hospitals; official information portal of the federal government and the civil protection portal; multilingualism of the platform; web accessibility as well as multi-optional and situational access to information has to be guaranteed at any time.

d) Protected technology and continuous system development: Fail-proof civil protection data processing center for authorities, hospitals and organizations; collective development of new system features by authorities and industry; application of standard technologies and open-source-components, integration of system components from other solutions (e.g. GIS or digital land register of the federal state of Styria DKM); development and testing of new technologies and chances within joint pilot schemes in cooperation with authorities and industry (principle of “good governance”).

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Different target groups are involved into the civil protection activities: the general public (population, media), authorities (communities, administrative districts, federal state, federal authorities, EU) and relief organizations (e.g. fire brigades, medical services). Civil Protection Online is a project from the people for the people – therefore these target groups shall (and must) not be excluded from the flow of information. According to this, special features like physical, linguistic, cognitive and situational barriers have always to be taken into consideration.

Crisis management:
Tasks associated with crisis management are given top priority, i.e. the political responsibility lies with the head of the federal state of Styria. The civil protection law was agreed upon unanimous by all political fractions within the parliament of the federal state of Styria – this demonstrates a clear cut social and political consensus. In all 17 administrative districts of Styria special civil protection officers have been appointed. In cooperation with the regional heads of the administration they supervise the civil protection officials from all 542 communities. That way, in combining local and regional expertise, important and up-to-date data from all levels can be directly processed online through interlinked systems.

“Safe Styria – an affair of honor”:
The project “Safe Styria – an affair of honor” is an example for the political responsibility and dedication. It has been initiated by the head of the federal state of Styria and is the government’s manifest objective to make the federal state of Styria synonymous to safety and security. The federal state of Styria is meant to become the safest region in all of Europe. Acknowledging that voluntary relief organizations carry the major burden of this responsibility, it is part of the political strategy to highlight the social significance of this volunteer work through professional campaigns. Creating the key note of “Good Governance”, the government of the federal state of Styria thereby seizes the chance to activate existing knowledge, resources and commitment outside official structures and to further profit from it for the common good.

Professional, fast and coordinated:
The basic principles of civil protection are professionalism, speed and coordinated actions. All relevant organizations and authorities were integrated – starting at national, federal and district level up to cities and communities.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The department for civil protection and defence (FA7B) places high value on qualitative as well as on quantitative development. The more data and people involved can be integrated into the active system the faster and more effective help and information can be distributed in an actual disaster.

Efficient information and communication infrastructure:
In an acute case of emergency an efficient information and communication infrastructure is required, that need to be made available to relief forces and authorities concerned with matters of security in order to guarantee fast and effective relief. This underlines the importance of highly available and protected communication and information systems, whose failure is likely to result in severe impacts on the chances of saving human lives.

Consistent crosslinking and thematic connecting:
Consistent crosslinking and thematic connecting of Civil Protection Online is an absolute innovation in the field of civil protection. Existing applications on civil protection effective in other countries are often restricted to single issues that are not or only inadequately connected to other areas. Systems designed to inform the general public or the media are only rudimentary implemented. The disadvantages of these isolated applications are quite obvious.

Networking:
In the federal state of Styria several systems have been fitted into a network (on-call duty of the district administration, evidence of community services, center for emergency medical aid, resource planning of crisis intervention teams, civil protection officials and others). This principle can be applied to departments of Styria as well as it can be used on a federal or national level or in other EU-countries, due to its multilingual approach.

“All over availability”:
Of great importance is the improvement of the “all over availability” and of mobile services. At present the extension of the “all over availability” and of mobile services takes center stage. Civil Protection Online is additionally available in a special version that takes into account reduced capacity and speed of transmission of mobile phones and small screen PDAs. Intensive effort is undertaken to provide a high degree of web accessibility – technical innovations are constantly evaluated on their possible application in the area of civil protection.

Systematical analyses:
Permanent quality management is ensured due to a constant feedback of everyone involved. This is supported by statistical data on usage and regular user-feedback within constant trainings. The structure of persons and institutions involved as well as the daily feedback on service demands allow a quick modification of ideas that prove less feasible in their practical implementation. Due to the interdisciplinary approach of the different groups involved, ideas and solutions that might have met with the resistance of individual persons are overcome by a comprehensive approach and an appreciation of experiences from all areas.

Increasing information and services - access for everyone:
In contrast to earlier stages, now an increasing amount of information and services can be provided specific and up to date to the general public including citizens and media as well as all authorities and relief forces involved. Regarding the complex data, without a cohesive and highly available network system that would have been impossible.

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Disasters do not stop at country or state borders. Thus, both the concept and the system of Civil Protection Online are transferable to other countries. Using Civil Protection Online in several countries can result in a clear increase in utility, as information and data can be accessed from abroad. Also, experience can be shared across borders.

Modular structure:
The federal state of Salzburg is also already working with this system. The system of Civil Protection Online cannot be only adapted to any country. The application of the system elsewhere also yields a considerable amount of synergy and an increase in efficiency, as new information across borders became available. Accordingly, this also means a plus in security as international data can be compared and evaluated. As mentioned above, the use of standards such as XML and open source make a transfer possible.

Civil protection and e-government:
Civil protection is an important section of e-government and all processes connected. Systems as presented here offer a chance for the modernisation of administration and for groundbreaking solutions for public authorities by both using electronic media and by profiting from synergies.

Profit from Civil Protection Online:
As far as all civil protection-related aspects are concerned, all institutions assigned to the issue of civil protection – nationally and internationally – can learn and profit from this project.

Support to other administrations:
For the information of interested parties, demonstrations of the Civil Protection Online system on site are possible. It includes a presentation of the practical example Styria as well as workshops with the interested parties, where organizational, technical and
content details can be discussed. According to the individual (pre-)conditions, an individual approach can then be developed.

Raising standards:
Raising standards in quantity, quality and traceability for the administration have made Civil Protection Online and similar earlier projects necessary. With their use of modern technologies, a clear advantage of using Civil Protection Online is low human resources. Thus, the public administration can meet the challenge of IT modernisation – both on a technical and procedural level and in matters of human resources policy instruments. The human being is still in the centre of all consideration and the technology of the project is aiming at helping people. New technologies are customed to satisfy the needs of their users.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Stipulate and stimulate:
The use and success of the linked civil protection plans or the checklists have been a recurrent assignment for further developments. Many requests and upgradings of the recent years have consistently been incorporated into the integrated project as it is presented here.

External knowledge:
For the consolidation and institutionalisation of the requirements regular training courses are held for the employees of the authorities and organizations. This enables them to keep the information flowing and to share ideas and experiences, external knowledge can be integrated. The communication is kept up continuously.

The think tank and cooperations:
For some parts of the project which is presented here a think tank of authority officials, experts and economy representatives has been installed. Some of the strategies and
solutions developed in the think tank teamwork have rather medium-term impact, but they in particular profit from the daily contact with users. There is a clear advantage of never losing touch with the requirements of the current work routine.

Resolving human blockages:
Many logjams that showed up during the process of developing the project (and occurred also in earlier projects) have been cleared when the people actually involved met personally (setting up of a “social information network”). Like in other areas, project promoters are of great significance, as they enhance a positive mood in formal and informal semi-private networks.

Resolving organizational and technical problems:
Looking back, civil protection was facing a few substantial problems only a few years ago. The introduction of Civil Protection Online can be called a milestone, as the introduction of an electronic system resolved a range of problems that had until then only been solved in an unsatisfying or inadequate way.

Acting jointly:
While there used to be tendencies of competition with other organizations involved or rivalry between the regional authorities, the network character of the project has triggered a change in the attitude of many people involved. There’s now a strong awareness that no isolated application – however expert it may be – can be as effective and successful as bundling all efforts. This becomes evident in the continuous commitment and stimulus from staff members from all operational levels involved. Another success is the extended cooperation between all relevant groups.

Modern management qualities in public authorities:
In the course of the project it became evident that public authorities must strive towards contemporary public management skills to guarantee the success of the project. At every stage of the project transparency, participation, responsibility, effectivity and objectivity have proved to be keywords – as well as communication.

Constant integration:
The presentation of prototypes and the constant integration of all levels of the administrative corpus (such as: federal state, regions, boroughs) and authorities and relief organizations made a quick implementation of the project possible. Effective and efficient planning was of major importance, just like communicating the benefit of implementing the project. Realizing the system was of considerable advantage to all authorities and all parties involved on an operative, strategic and political level. All in all, the general discourse about the potential of e-government-applications has provoked a change. This is an area in transition, there is new stimulation to overcome obsolete structures.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Government of Styria and icomedias Systemhaus
Institution Type:   Public-Private Partnership  
Contact Person:   Kurt Kalcher
Title:   Head of department  
Telephone/ Fax:   +43 (316) 877-3485
Institution's / Project's Website:   +43 (316) 877-3003
E-mail:   kurt.kalcher@stmk.gv.at  
Address:   Paulustorgasse 4
Postal Code:   8010
City:   Graz
State/Province:   Styria
Country:   Austria

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