Indivisible Wholes & Fragmented Realities : On the Aggregation of Disaster Risk Information

Abstract: Division of labor and trade have been prerequisites for the development of welfare societies. Ironically, this specialization has caused a fragmentation of the knowledge necessary to understand risks that may undermine societal safety. This has not only prompted a need for inter-organizational exchange and integration of disaster risk information, it has also prompted a need for understanding how it ought to be done.Using Sweden as a study case, this thesis explores what aggregation of disaster risk information from multiple organizations entails in terms of activities, the challenges involved, and means to address them. Specifically, it focuses on public authorities and their quest to understand and cater for societal safety by assembling, synthesizing, and disseminating disaster risk information, as well as providing feedback on information received from others. Inspired by critical realism and design science, the studies are based on multiple methodologies and sources, involving literature reviews, content analyses, and experiments, as well as extensive interaction (through workshops and interviews) with disaster management professionals. The outcomes include a suggested definition for aggregation in the context of disaster risk management systems, and the identification of the causes and effects of a number of challenges related to its realization. However, the thesis also contains proposals that are likely to facilitate the aggregation of disaster risk information and, hence, the chance to make sound decisions in support of societal safety.