Research
Building relevance through applied capability in:
- Operational Research modelling for emergency response.
- Understanding public response to incidents.
- Multidisciplinary, multi-methodology analysis of safety & security issues.
- Creative analyses of complex quantitative & qualitative data.
- Developing cutting edge theoretical applications for crisis events.
Current projects
Disaster 2.0: Using Web 2.0 applications and Semantic Technologies to strenghten public resilience to disasters
D2.0 is a 2-year project exploring how EU governments currently and can potentially use Web 2.0 applications and Semantic Technologies in disaster response. The €950,000 project is funded by the 'Prevention, preparedness and consequence management of terrorism and other security-related risks' programme, European Commission - Directorate-Home Affairs (HOME/2010/CIPSAG/002), Aston University and The University of Warwick. more
Support Our Security Officer
This Department for Transport funded project was a large collaboration in a £1.5M project undertaking a fundamental review of security search at UK airports. more
Motivation in Security Teams
This project was funded by the UK Government's Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure and was delivered in collaboration with Booz & Co. The concept was to provide a scientifically valid measure of motivation for application in a security context. more
Decision support system for last mile relief distribution during disaster relief operation
After a disaster strikes, it is necessary to get the relief aid to the affected people by the prompt action of relief organisations. This supply chain process has to be very fast and efficient. The purpose of this project is to define the last mile relief distribution in humanitarian supply chain and develop a logistical decision support system for the last mile relief distribution. more
Decision-support system for floods
Within this project the case of floods in Mexico is studied, looking to develop a decision-support system able to aid the decision-making regarding preparedness and response, using a combination of optimization and geographical information systems. more
Completed projects
Evacuation Responsiveness by Government Organisations (ERGO)
Emergency Health Planning
The project will conduct a state of the art review of emergency preparedness in health care, drawing in learning and experiences from local, regional, national and international contexts, including non-health crises with healthcare consequences. The review will identify where there may be a need for change, or to develop new approaches and practices. It will also produce a prioritised research and development agenda for addressing these issues. more
Improving critical information sharing in response to disaster
During any natural or man-made disaster, effective information sharing is critical between disaster recovery agencies for them to be able to provide a coherent response. This project, a collaboration between the Aston CRISIS Centre and Kyoto University, seeks to develop a systematic approach to guide the critical information sharing necessary to respond to catastrophic events. more
Delivering faster police response times through process efficiency
The objective of this research is to increase the efficiency and choice in how the public can access services from the police using information from senior managers and key staff members from Warwickshire Police. more
A safety-based prioritisation of nuclear liabilities
The nuclear industry must decide its prioritisation of a ~£2.5 billion annual budget. We have collaborated closely with the Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) for over 4 years to develop a decision making methodology that aims to have significant impact on the evidence-base to establish future priorities at a strategic level.more
Disaster planning through operational research
The UK’s ‘New Dimension’ programme prepares the Fire & Rescue Service to respond to major catastrophic events. The Aston CRISIS Centre worked closely with key stakeholders to rigorously develop analytical models to support the highest levels of evidence-based policy making. more
Evacuation Responsiveness by Government Organisations (Ergo)
This 3 year, EU-funded project analyses & strengthens mass evacuation preparedness in six countries. It involves The Aston CRISIS Centre analysing how governments can best evacuate hundreds of thousands of people e.g. from flooding, volcanic eruption, man-made incidents. Critical to a safe and secure evacuation is how nations prepare their public to respond in desirable ways. more
Safely minimising radioactive waste
A UK regulator aimed to produce detailed guidance to the nuclear industry to seek it to minimize radioactive waste through closely managing the radioactive source which creates that waste. Over 2 years of collaboration, The Aston CRISIS Centre developed a new analytical methodology to understand complex, waste-producing systems, leading to safety-based action plans that minimise avoidable waste. more
Training for the command of Major Incidents
The Aston CRISIS Centre applied new psychological research to an international training programme for high ranking officers in fire services. The challenge was for experience fire officers to retain operational competence whilst being promoted to leadership roles which required limited exposure to emergency incidents. more
