Critical Incident Management Special Interest Group.
There are a number of resources to further understanding in the areas of Knowlege Management and Critical Incident Management. Through the European Community Knowledge Management, Knowledge Board a specific Special Interest Group (SIG) has been set up with Andrew Lewis from Nemesia as moderator.  This SIG is aptly titled the Critical Incident Management (CIM) Special Interest Group (SIG).

The purpose of a SIG.
A SIG is an informal group of individuals drawn together by a common interest in a field of practice or research. It interacts on a voluntarily basis and gives its members the opportunity to exchange ideas, keep themselves informed, participate in current developments in their fields or jointly solve discrete problems. SIGs bring together people with the same questions, problems or working topics in order to discuss, answer and solve these matters of interest through the exchange of knowledge and information.

Each SIG organises itself around its subject with those activities that serve best its purpose - nothing is predefined. It is the common interest which defines the activities, membership, communication and structure. SIGs may interact in lively forums, exchange papers, run common meetings, host workshops, prepare publications, or even publish their own newsletters. The CIM SIG is an on-going, constantly evolving forum. It is driven by the topic validity and the interests of the group with meetings taking place virtually (i.e. in a discussion forum on the Knowlege Board) or physically. It is worth noting the the CIM SIG will be having it’s first in-person meeting on November 20th 2003 in Brussels. Details are available through the CIM SIG site.

CIM SIG
According to the CIM SIG Moderator, Andrew Lewis:
“Accessing, sharing, and using knowledge during critical  incidents: many of us share this same predicament.  This forum is an opportunity for us to share our experiences in this field, make contacts, and join forces in solving some of the difficult problems we face, such as:

• Getting the appropriate knowledge quickly enough to help us make better decisions.
• Packaging knowledge and information in ways that they can be quickly understood.
• Choosing and using appropriate decision support systems.
• Building organisational networks with free-flowing information and knowledge between people and systems.
• Improving decision-making through realistic and up-to-date training.

Critical incidents range anywhere from a fire or medical emergency to a flood or nuclear accident. Domains dealing with Critical Incident Management (CIM) include military, emergency services, transportation, and many different types of industry. 

CIM is a field in which there is a huge potential for collaborative work.  Many of the organisations and people involved are ready and willing to work together. We must do so in order to avoid repeating each other’s errors, building incompatible systems, and isolating ourselves from other organisations and industries.”

To find out more, visit the CIM CIG site or browse through the current topics listed below.

CIM SIG Links

FlamExpert.com - eLearning for fire safety
This is another excellent site in both French and English regarding fire safety. Free eLearning....

FireSmart - Online Fire Risk Assessment
 I like the demo on the FireSmart website because it shows how one can make a simple online application which allows businesses to make risk assessments and report them easily. This type of application could be very useful when integrated with a knowledg...

Risk Mapping
This is a simple step-by-step process for making a risk map, particularly concerning natural disasters....

Demining Lessons Learned Resources
Demining (i.e. detection and elimination of land-mines) is a focus area of the EC's latest call regarding "Improving Risk Management". We point you to some interesting sites dealing with knowledge sharing in the area of demining.

International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
The International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is the UN’s initiative for increasing awareness and knowledge sharing in the areas of risk management, disaster mitigation, and related technologies. They work to create networks of professionals ...