PhD Studentship: Enhancing Interoperability Across Category-1 Responders Building System-Level Readiness for Major Incidents

University of Birmingham - Department of Applied Health Sciences

Major incidents place exceptional demands on health, emergency and public protection systems, requiring rapid, coordinated action across Category-1 responders, including the NHS, local authorities, emergency services and public health agencies. Despite repeated policy emphasis on interoperability, post-incident reviews and national inquiries consistently identify failures in coordination, shared situational awareness and cross-organisational working as key contributors to suboptimal outcomes.

Aligned with Theme 3 (BUILD) of the NIHR Emergency Preparedness and Resilience HPRU, this PhD will investigate how interoperability across Category-1 responders is currently achieved, where it breaks down, and how it can be strengthened in a sustainable and evidence-based way. The central hypothesis is that interoperability is not solely a technical or procedural challenge, but a socio-technical system property shaped by governance, training, information flows, organisational culture and equity considerations.

The project will adopt a systems perspective to examine interoperability across preparedness, response and recovery phases. It will explore how policies, command structures, data sharing arrangements and professional practices interact in real-world settings, and how these interactions differ across regions and incident types. Particular attention will be paid to how interoperability affects and is affected by resource constraints, workforce turnover and the needs of disadvantaged communities.

Using mixed methods, the student will map interoperability arrangements across selected Local Resilience Forum (LRF) areas, analyse learning from past incidents and exercises, and co-develop practical frameworks or tools to support improved cross-agency working. These will be tested through scenario-based evaluation and stakeholder engagement.

The project will directly support UKHSA and partners in strengthening system readiness, contribute to national EPRR learning, and generate generalisable insights into how complex multi-agency systems can work together more effectively during health emergencies.

Supervision team:
Antonio Belli (University of Birmingham); Justine Lee (Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham); Holly Carter (UKHSA)

Funding notes:
Funding for this project is available for UK studentship fees (only UK fees will be paid, and any additional PhD fee costs where needed must be paid by the successful applicant). A yearly stipend based on the current UKRI rates, and a research training and support grant will also be available.

References:
1. Cabinet Office. Civil Contingencies Act and Category-1 Responder Duties.
2. UK Health Security Agency. Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Frameworks.
3. National Audit Office. Lessons from Major Incidents and Emergencies.
4. Waring J, Bishop S. Interoperability in complex emergency systems.