International data- and information exchange for off-site emergency management--where to go?

The communication and exchange of views and opinions between decision makers and their advisers is crucial for coherent crisis management. As a vision, the concept of a 'Virtual Round Table' is proposed. It stands for the dedication of all accountable authorities to cross border cooperation and should provide a comprehensive technical infrastructure enabling decision makers and experts to communicate with their colleagues in neighbouring countries as if they were sitting at the same table. Organisational arrangements must be in place for coordinating decisions. The technical infrastructure should comprise modern communication technologies such as video conferencing and a 'Common Information Board', which presents all relevant information and documents in a structured way, manages alerting, decision journaling, data distribution and access control. In order to achieve this goal in an evolutionary approach, existing procedures of good practice are analysed and helpful features are identified.