The Invisible Infrastructure of Resilience: Testing Collaboration Awareness in Strategic Civil-Military Collaboration...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• National Security
• Organizational Studies

Background:

• Increasingly complex cross-border threats necessitate enhanced national preparedness and resilience.
• Existing research on civil-military collaboration overlooks the preparation phase and strategic-level partnerships.
• This study addresses these gaps by focusing on collaboration awareness in strategic crisis preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine collaboration awareness as a critical factor for civil-military collaboration in the strategic crisis preparation phase.
• To analyze the role and relevance of collaboration awareness in the interdepartmental partnership between the Dutch Ministry of Health and Ministry of Defence.
• To understand how mutual understanding of roles, responsibilities, and cultures impacts collaboration effectiveness.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory qualitative study utilizing diverse data sources.
• Analysis of interdepartmental collaboration between the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (MoH) and Ministry of Defence (MoD).
• Focus on the impact of collaboration awareness on strategic-level partnerships.

Main Results:

• Collaboration awareness positively influences interdepartmental collaboration despite challenges like governance and resource constraints.
• It enhances accountability by clarifying joint responsibilities and reducing ambiguity.
• Improved communication, shared situational awareness, trust, and cohesion result from increased collaboration awareness.

Conclusions:

• Collaboration awareness is vital for strengthening civil-military collaboration during the crisis preparation phase at the highest organizational levels.
• Investing in joint planning, liaison structures, and shared narratives pre-crisis is essential.
• Fostering collaboration awareness across government levels enhances national resilience in a complex geopolitical landscape.