A methodological framework for qualifying new thematic services for an implementation into SAFER emergency response and support services

Abstract

In the FP-7 GMES SAFER project a pre-operational service for emergency response and emergency support products was implemented to reinforce the European capacity to respond to emergency situations. SAFER was not only focusing on “rapid mapping” and validated products during the crisis phase but also on the enrichment of the service with a wider set of thematic services. For the selection of new thematic services not only a high accuracy of products was of interest. Moreover, e.g. service maturity, user interest and compliance to the SAFER operational model are important issues to guarantee a validated service. The aim of this contribution is to present a methodological framework that was developed and applied for the evaluation and qualification of selected thematic services into the SAFER portfolio Version 2 (V2). The concept is characterized by strong user involvement including European Civil Protection Organisations and Humanitarian Aid Organisations. The framework consists of several steps comprising – among others – the definition of assessment criteria (here termed as Service Evolution Criteria), the Service Maturity Analysis (SMA), a ranking of interest/relevance by involved users and an operational performance check (operational check = OC). In total 19 Service Evolution Criteria were defined in collaboration with the users and were applied for both, the SMA and the OC. The criteria cover aspects of software and data sustainability, service producing time, user support and user availability, service transferability, metadata compliance and the reliability of the map contents. The SMA was designed to assess whether the services are mature and sustainable whereas during the OC the services were tested under operational conditions. The OC was conducted in collaboration with several project partners, e.g., the JRC conducting a scientific and technical validation of the delivered products. The qualification process led to a substantiated suggestion of thematic services to be implemented into SAFER V2 and thus served as an important decision support for the project stakeholders. Finally, with the selected approach it was ensured that the thematic variety of the existing “rapid mapping” services have been substantially increased.