CHANNELS: An information flow modeling system to support planning and interoperability

In order to manage security and disaster risk, government agencies and their partners need to share information. Having the tools and networks needed to transmit and receive information is vital, but even with these systems in place, information doesn´t spontaneously flow as needed between people and/or systems. To achieve the required information sharing, the flow of information needs to be planned ahead of a critical incident and analyzed in order to reduce the risk of a communication breakdown. This paper will explain the role of CHANNELS, developed by Mind-Alliance Systems, information sharing planning (ISP) software to achieve enhanced operability and interoperability. CHANNELS supports information-sharing planning, capability assessment and training processes. CHANNELS (i) automatically generates information flow maps derived from profiling the information needs and sharing flows associated with tasks, (ii) detects/reports improperly defined elements, information flow gaps, and identifies weaknesses. It generates guidance to responders at all levels.