The European Union (EU) is facing the daunting prospect of transboundary crises: threats that escalate across national borders and policy domains. EU member states must collaborate to address these crises. EU governance can play a pivotal role in facilitating a joint response. But does the EU have the institutional leadership capacities to deal with transboundary crises? The response to the financial crisis – a textbook example of a transboundary crisis – revealed deep problems with crisis leadership, including conflicting diagnoses, regulatory gaps, unclear political jurisdictions and responsibilities, a lack of problem solving capacity, and blame-shifting. Growing euroscepticism has been directly related to the EU’s role during this transboundary crisis. This project outlines the institutional requirements for effective and legitimate crisis leadership in the face of transboundary crisis. We define crisis leadership as a set of strategic management functions, including the detection of impending threats, the collection and sharing of information, the coordination of partners, and the communication to the public about the crisis and the response. The project analyses the capacities of political leaders in EU institutions and member states to fulfill these leadership functions. It will pinpoint the existing and required capacities to support these functions. It investigates the crisis management capacities of individual political leaders, and EU institutions. It explores the effects of political leadership on the member state level and studies how crisis management capacity is exercised in various policy sectors. The project will result in recommendations for effective and legitimate crisis leadership. It establishes a ‘crisis management capital index’ that allows for an evidence-based assessment. It proposes strategies to build support for transboundary crisis management in a multilevel system, reconnecting citizens with an idea of what the EU can do for them.

STAMINA develops an intelligent decision support toolset for pandemic prediction and management and demonstrates its use by practitioners at national and regional levels within and across EU borders. The STAMINA toolset enables national planners and first responders to anticipate and respond to the the “known-unknowns” in their daily effort to enhance health security. Main functionality of the toolset includes: • Real-time web and social media analytics aiming at public trust monitoring and flagging possible disease outbreaks • POCT and smart wearable diagnostic devices for first line screening • Predictive modeling of pandemic outbreak and its impact, along with decision-making support in implementing mitigation strategies, • Early Warning System • Crisis management tool defining the roles and actions of key actors during crisis management • Scenario Generation tool for creation of training scenarios • Common Operational Picture as the main interface of the solution enabling timely and coordinated response The toolset is accompanied by a set of Guidelines on effective implementation of risk communication principles and best practices in cross-organisational preparedness and response plans. The use of the STAMINA toolset will be demonstrated through 12 national and regional small-scale demonstrators and one large-scale cross-border simulation exercise involving all consortium partners.

The term first responders usually refers to law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical personnel. These responders, however, are not the only assets that may be required in the aftermath of a strike on the homeland. In contrast, the more appropriate term, emergency responders, comprises all personnel within a community that might be needed in the event of a natural or technological (man-made) disaster or terrorist incident. These responders might include hazardous materials response teams, urban search and rescue assets, community emergency response teams, anti-terrorism units, special weapons and tactics teams, bomb squads, emergency management officials, municipal agencies, and private organizations responsible for transportation, communications, medical services, public health, disaster assistance, public works, and construction. In addition, professional responders and volunteers, private nonprofit, nongovernmental groups (NGOs), such as the Red Cross, can also play an important role in emergency response. As a result, the tasks that a national emergency response system would be required to perform are more complex than simply aiding victims at the scene of a disaster, carried out by several kinds of professional users with different roles and expertise. Moreover, emergency preparedness and response lifecycle is a complex process that consists of the preparation, response, and recovery from a disaster, including planning, logistical support, maintenance and diagnostics, training, and management as well as supporting the actual activities at a disaster site and post-recovery after the incident.

Many challenges arise in the immediate aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster. First responders must deal with pressing and dramatic challenges in a chaotic, dynamic, and dangerous environment while locating and rescuing victims and neutralising threats. They must make urgent decisions, but the zone can be large, complex, hostile, with many areas unsafe to explore. The lack of reliable information and the deep uncertainty present serious obstacles to a quick and effective response. INTREPID aims to create a unique platform, seamlessly integrating Intelligence Amplification and eXtended Reality concepts, with unprecedented Smart Cybernetic Assistants and innovative deep indoor Networking and Positioning capabilities, to improve and accelerate the exploration and assessment of disaster zones. The project will validate its effectiveness, in iterative and complementary pilots, to support the rescue operations in areas that are complex or dangerous to explore. Always first on scene, first responders will be able to immediately start operations without having to wait for specialized teams or for the zone to be fully secured. When these teams arrive, first responders have already used INTREPID to provide them with reliable information and effective assistance. The result is an immediate and targeted response that will allow faster, more effective and safer operations. The consortium consists of world-class research centres and SMEs, coordinated by an industrial with a leading position in the security market. It will follow a user-centric methodology involving many first responders, and an international Advisory Board and Open User Group ensuring diversity. Social, ethical and legal constraints will be carefully considered during the project’s lifetime. The project will design and implement a training curriculum and an innovative evaluation framework along with an ambitious communication and dissemination plan, preparing the ground for successful exploitation.