Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Setting research priorities in the field of emergency management: which piece of information are you willing to pay more?

  • Published:
Quality & Quantity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper we show how EVPPI analysis can be a good tool to formalize the decision making process leading the design and implementation of interventions aimed at preventing and controlling the consequences of extraordinary events. More concretely we the economics of emergency as the approach aimed at defining how to identify which interventions would be more efficient to be implemented in order to minimize the risk of incurring in unexpected circumstances/events. Our rationale is that when dealing with complex decisions potentially leading to extraordinary circumstances, the first step for a decision makers should be to minimize the sources of uncertainty by mean of further research. This would inevitably entail investments and reallocation of resources. Our approach aims to define how to decide where is more efficient to intervene. Our paper provides a theoretical framework of the EVPPI and an application based on a hypothetical natural disaster. In the last section we discuss the limits of our approach and implications for further research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Armacost, R.L., Pet-Armacost, J.A.: Risk-based management of waterway safety. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 1(2), 96–109 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, A.M.: Value of global catastrophic risk (GCR) information: cost-effectiveness-based approach for GCR reduction. Decis. Anal. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1287/deca.2017.0350

    Google Scholar 

  • Beutels, P., Edmunds, W.J., Smith, R.D.: Partially wrong? Partial equilibrium and the economic analysis of public health emergencies of international concern. Health Econ. 17(11), 1317–1322 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bostrom, N., Cirkovic, M.M. (eds.): Global Catastrophic Risks. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, R.: Lessons from Katrina: commanding the military during disaster response—then and now. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 12(3), 221–240 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemen, R.T., Reilly, T.: Making Hard Decisions. Duxbury, Pacific Grove (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  • Coyle, D., Oakley, J.: Estimating the expected value of partial perfect information: a review of methods. Eur. J. Health Econ. 9(3), 251–259 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, J.S., Kibble, A., Mitchem, L.: An evidence-based approach to protect public health during prolonged fires. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 12(1), 1–9 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felli, J.C., Hazen, G.B.: A Bayesian approach to sensitivity analysis. Health Econ. 8, 263–268 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garrick, B.J.: Quantifying and Controlling Catastrophic Risks. Academic Press, Burlington (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, L.V., Kolesar, P.J.: Improving emergency responsiveness with management science. Manag. Sci. 50(8), 1001–1014 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, K., Hyung, J.P.: Dynamics of accountability in crisis management. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 12(1), 95–112 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irshad, M.: Economic recovery of disaster survivors: a critical analysis. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 13(4), 368–381 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, E.U., Argon, N.T., Ziya, S.: Priority assignment in emergency response. Oper. Res. 60(4), 813–832 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joakim, E.P., Mortsch, L., Oulahen, G., Harford, D., Klein, Y., Damude, K., Tang, K.: Using system dynamics to model social vulnerability and resilience to coastal hazards. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 12(4), 366–391 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahan, J.H.: Living with terrorism: unimaginable nightmare or prospective reality. J. Homel. Secur. Emerg. Manag. 13(2), 231–247 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keisler, J.: Value of information in portfolio decision analysis. Decis. Anal. 1(3), 177–189 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick, S.J., Jensen, J., Bundy, J.: Local recovery coordinators and the national disaster recovery framework: questions regarding the form, necessity, and potential of the role. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2016-0068

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R.C., Metzger, M.D., Cahn, M.F.: Responding to emergencies: lessons learned and the need for analysis. Interfaces 36(6), 486–501 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, E.K., Maheshwary, S., Mason, J., Glisson, W.: Large-scale dispensing for emergency response to bioterrorism and infectious-disease outbreak. Interfaces 36(6), 591–607 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Majchrzak, A., Sirkka, L., Hollingshead, A.B.: Coordinating expertise among emergent groups responding to disasters. Organ. Sci. 18(1), 147–161 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maras, M.H., Miranda, M.D.: State intervention during public health emergencies: is the United States prepared for an Ebola outbreak? J. Homel. Secur. Emerg. Manag. 12(2), 257–273 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • McLeish, C., Nightingale, P.: Biosecurity, bioterrorism and the governance of science: the increasing convergence of science and security policy. Res. Policy 36, 1635–1654 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.10.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNie, E., Sarewitz, D.: Improving the public value of science: a typology to inform discussion, design and implementation of research. Res. Policy 45(4), 884–895 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savas, E.G.: The political properties of crystalline H2O: planning for snow emergencies in New York. Manag. Sci. 20(2), 137–145 (1973)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, G.: Managing work-related stress in humanitarian fieldwork: aid workers and resilience resources. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 13(4), 382–397 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, G.: Terrorist attacks with explosive weapons: pattern of injuries and health constraints. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 14(1), 40–50 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, M., Jane, K.: A systematic review of the international disaster case management literature in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 12(3), 241–262 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, C.: Seismic risk assessment and design of tourism buildings using probability analysis. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 14(1), 90–106 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, A., Wang, E., Xiangyang, L.: Emergency response information sharing and fusing in multi-subject coalitions. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. 13(2), 117–130 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weitzman, M.L.: On modeling and interpreting the economics of catastrophic climate change. Rev. Econ. Stat. 91(1), 1–19 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis, H.H., Moore, M.: Improving the value of analysis for biosurveillance. Decis. Anal. 11(1), 63–81 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, B., Vos, M., Veijalainen, J.: Decomposing issue patterns in crisis communication: the case of the lost airliner. Int. J. Emerg. Manag. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2018.089166

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors wish to thank the anonymous referees for suggestions. Moreover authors would like to honor the memory of the Sgt. Riccardo Padula of the Italian Red Cross for having inspired this work. Sgt Padula passed away on Thursday 7th March, the day we received the first revisions from the journal.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University “Niccolò Cusano”, Rome Via Don Carlo Gnocchi 3, Rome, Italy

    Carlo Drago

  2. NCI University in London, Faculty of Business and Management, 7 Skylines Village – Limeharbour, London, UK

    Carlo Drago

  3. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo F. Vito 1, 00168, Rome, Italy

    Matteo Ruggeri

  4. Italian Red Cross, Military Corps, via Luigi Pierantoni 5, 00146, Rome, Italy

    Matteo Ruggeri

Authors
  1. Carlo Drago
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matteo Ruggeri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlo Drago.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Drago, C., Ruggeri, M. Setting research priorities in the field of emergency management: which piece of information are you willing to pay more?. Qual Quant 53, 2103–2115 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-019-00858-w

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-019-00858-w

Keywords

JEL Classifications

Search

Navigation