Enhancing interoperability team training : insights from the UK emergency services

Power, Nikki and Betts, Charlotte and Philpot, Richard and Levine, Mark (2025) Enhancing interoperability team training : insights from the UK emergency services. International Journal of Emergency Services, 14 (2). pp. 123-133. ISSN 2047-0894

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Abstract

Purpose: Interoperability is a core goal of the UK emergency services. The goal of this research was to survey the experiences of UK emergency responders who had undertaken interoperability training to evaluate its effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: We used a mixed-methods online survey methodology to evaluate experiences of interoperability training. Findings: Quantitatively, we found that participants rated live exercises and in-person training as the most useful. E-learning was the only training type that no participants rated as extremely useful, or perceived as slightly useful. Qualitatively, participants described five requirements for good interoperability training, including (1) representative and realistic; (2) focused on sharing perspectives and developing awareness of capabilities and challenges across teams; (3) prioritised as a core part of the day job; (4) face to face rather than remote and (5) a platform for building social relationships. Originality/value: Future interoperability training must be regular, interactive, practical and social, to improve multi-agency working.