The EPISECC project aims to establish a pan-European information space to enhance security for citizens. It is funded by the EU and involves partners from several countries. The project is developing a common information space based on analyzing past disasters. An inventory of over 50 interviews with organizations identified interoperability as a key challenge. The project is building taxonomies and standards to improve semantic understanding across tools and systems. This will help emergency responders share critical information during disasters.

1. Establish Pan-European Information
Space to Enhance seCurity of Citizens
Funded from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/SEC 2013.5.1-1 under the grant agreement no. 607078 “EPISECC”.
Project Overview
EPISECC in a Nutshell
Marie Christine BONNAMOUR PSCE

2. Basics
FP7 SEC 2013.5.1-1: Analysis and identification of
security systems and data set used by first responders
and police authorities – Capability Project
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Organisation Name Short Country
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH AIT AT
Airbus Finland (former Cassidian Finland OY) CasFI FI
Airbus France (former Cassidian SAS) CSD FR
Sveuciliste u Splitu (University of Split) UNIST HR
Public Safety Communication Europe Forum AISBL PSCE BE
HITEC Luxembourg S.A. HITEC LU
Frequentis AG FRQ AT
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt EV DLR DE
HW Communications Limited HWC UK
TETRA MoU Association Ltd TCCA UK
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KULeuven BE
IES Solutions SRL IES IT
Technische Universität Graz TUG AT

3. Challenges
• Interoperability, interconnectivity as well
intercommunication of systems are
predominant challenges in European
crisis and disaster management
• 34% of all requests of stakeholders on
Improvement of disaster management are related
to improved interoperability
(followed by resources and technical solutions, 15% each)
• Apart from language barriers, lack of common taxonomies and standardized Network
Enabled Communication are hampering European interoperability
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4. Motivation
• Key requirements for services in crisis situations
• First 72 hours after a catastrophe are crucial
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I. Efficient communication
II. access to critical information
III. interconnectedness of stakeholders
However, services are often compromised and need to be re-established.
Need to provide communication tools and
information collection within this period

5. The EU Projects
• 4 projects were granted for this call and will all end mid-2017:
 EPISECC (Establish Pan-European Information Space
to Enhance seCurity of Citizens)
 REDIRNET (Emergency Responder Data Interoperability Network)
 SECINCORE (Secure Dynamic Cloud for Information,
Communication and Resource Interoperability)
 SECTOR (Secure European Common Information Space for the Interoperability
of First Responders and Police Authorities)
• EPISECC approach:
A CIS with focus on information exchange at tactical/strategic levels in response to
critical events
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6. COMMON ACTIONS- Task Forces
• Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI): Open collaboration
platform on ELSI guidelines, Workshop on ELSI in networked, collaborative public
protection and disaster relief (17.5.16, Brussels), White Paper on IT in risk
governance to be published in fall 2016
• Standardisation: CEN Workshop on terminologies in crisis and disaster
management in preparation
• Taxonomy: Alignment of basic sources applied, harmonization of tools and
taxonomies, complementary ontology implementation
• Dissemination: Interaction in (social) media, joint representation
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7. Requirements & Vision
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The vision: to develop a concept
of a common information space
based on the analysis of …
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8. Objectives
1. Develop a pan-European inventory of past critical
events/disasters and their consequences focusing on the
performance of processes, data exchange and organisational
boundaries
2. Develop a concept of a common information space including
appropriate semantic definitions by taxonomies and/or
ontologies.
3. Analysing existing interoperability concepts and derive
concept of a common information space
4. Validation of the architecture and suggestion of novel
Emergency and Crisis Management Models
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9. Workpackages
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Nr. Title Lead
WP1 Coordination and Management AIT
WP2 Analysis of past crisis management approaches TUG
WP3 Pan European Inventory of events/disasters DLR
WP4 Taxonomy building UNIST
WP5 Architecture of Common Information space FRQ
WP6 Proof of Concept & Validation AIT
WP7 Legal & Ethic aspects KULeuven
WP8 Dissemination PSCE
WP9 Exploitation & Standardisation IES

10. Areas of the Inventory
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Crisis Management
(emergency management,
recovery management,
strategies, etc.)
Disaster Types &
Context Data
(threats, dangers, scale,
duration, affected people, etc.)
Critical
Infrastructures
(energy, information and
communication, mobility
and logistics, etc.)
Science
(social science, engineering,
natural science, etc.)
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11. Questionnaire – Interface to Stakeholders
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• Information on interviewed Organization
• Focus on specific event (Disaster) including used processes, measures, standards, data
resources, tools, cooperation with other organizations and interoperability
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12. Summary of Outcome from Inventory
• More than 50 interviews were performed interviewing mainly
governmental organizations
• Interoperability was in most cases at least acceptable according to a
indicator developed on purpose
• Regarding use of common standards and tools the degree of
harmonization seems to be low in Europe
• The majority of disasters analyzed were natural, hydrological disasters
• About 180 requirements dedicated to improve management of disasters
were expressed, the majority of them are related to interoperability
• Information obtained so far is used to improve the development of a
common information space and gives in addition insight in European
crisis and disaster management - we continue to look for additional
areas of application of the EPISECC inventory
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13. Taxonomy Building for the Common
Information Space
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14. Layers of Interoperability
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15. Common Information Space - overview
15
Common Information Space
Internet
Value Added Service
(WIXXM  WMS/WFS)
Enterprise Service Bus or
Service registry and peer-to-peer network
Metadatamodel,
Taxonomy,
Translation Tables
Adaptor
Adaptor Transl.
Admin
WorkStation
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16. Common Information Space - Adaptors
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Tool-A adaptor
Tool-A
CIS Connector:
- connectivity
- syntax
- semantic
• manages external
connection
• drives communication to
external channels
• converts Tool’s protocol
to CIS standard
• translates key-values
according CIS standard
implemented per tool based
on CIS templates
SOAP/REST/RSS/…
CIS Core:
- authentication
- authorisation
- validation
- CIS services
• checks authentication
• controls authorisation
• validates messages
• buffers large binaries
• value-added services:
- legal recording
- reporting
- statistics
…
CIS standard protocols (CAP / TSO / …)
Tool-1 adaptor
Tool-2 adaptor
Tool-n adaptor
CIS Distributor:
- communication
- synchronisation
• publishes/subscribes to
CIS
• supports sync mechanism
specific to selected CIS
communication paradigm
ESB/Peer-to-Peer/…
Tool-1
Tool-2
Tool-n
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17. Funded from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/SEC 2013.5.1-1 under the grant agreement no. 607078 “EPISECC”.
www.episecc.eu