CASE Framework: A new method to evaluate the technologies that assist the response to a crisis

A crisis is a unique and destructive event that affects individuals, communities and organisations. The availability and the sharing of knowledge is imperative to be able to successfully respond to such events. To assist in their response, crisis information systems are created to support the management of knowledge and its successful sharing. However, it is difficult to assess the variety of technologies used and their impact on the larger crisis response. That is the focus of this thesis. The creation of a new method to assess the quality of a crisis information systems from the perspective of knowledge management, the Crisis Assistant System Evaluation (CASE) Framework.

The CASE framework has been built on three mixed-method empirical studies in the context of the Australian veterinary Industry. These studies include the surveying of over 250 participants, extensive one-on-one interviewing of industry leaders, and 15 different focus groups that comprised of hundreds of participants from every facet of the industry.

The first study explored the veterinary industry as a whole and uncovered the core influencing factors that affect knowledge sharing in the industry. The second study examines the 2007 Australian Equine Influenza Outbreak and its response: this is one of the few examples of the successful eradication of a virus from a continent. Finally, the third study examines the preparedness of the veterinary industry to the critical Hendra virus issue. Hendra virus is a zoonotic virus (a virus that is transferred from animals to humans) that originated in Australian bats and has now killed 7 people with a mortality rate of 57%.

This research was conducted during the COVID pandemic, a zoonotic virus that has killed millions and devastated the global economy. If anything has been proven during this pandemic, it is the unpreparedness of governments to the scale and commitment needed to combat such a crisis. What this thesis has shown is how an industry functions in normal settings, how they have defeated a virus outbreak and what they are doing to combat the growing threat of a new virus. Together, these studies have provided the means to evaluate the technologies used in a crisis with the hope that the damage of future crises can be mitigated.