Duration: 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2024
Total funding volume: 2.4 million euros
University funding volume: 213,000 euros
Funded by: Federal Ministry of Education and Research

Dealing with unbound spontaneous helpers and their targeted deployment in emergency, crisis and disaster situations is increasingly presenting authorities and organisations with security tasks (BOS) with considerable coordination challenges. In the recent past alone, the flooding of the Ahr valley, the coronavirus pandemic and the influx of Ukrainian war refugees have led to various major situations in which spontaneous helpers have played a significant role. In practice, however, there is still a lack of tools and procedures for implementing structured cooperation between BOS and the population quickly and in a targeted manner. This places the challenge in the context of the digitalisation of civil security.

In the lighthouse project "Coordination of spontaneous helpers in crisis and disaster situations" (KatHelfer-PRO), the joint consortium is developing an overall socio-technical solution for the coordination of spontaneous helpers, which can be used directly as a software demonstrator (TRL 7) with an accompanying organisational concept. The overall solution is primarily based on the results and experience of the successfully completed projects KUBAS, ENSURE, REBEKA, WUKAS, KOKOS, KOPHIS and INKA of the BMBF-funded security research programme (SIFO).

Network partners: T-Systems (coordinator), Paderborn University, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Fraunhofer FOKUS, University of Stuttgart, Malteser Hilfsdienst, DRK Kreisverband Berlin Sch?neberg-Wilmersdorf.

The project is supported by more than 20 associated partners, including the Workers' Samaritan Federation, Johanniter Unfall-Hilfe, the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, the Berlin Fire Department, the City of Halle (Saale), the City of Cottbus, the Ahrweiler District Administration, the Ahr Flood Relief Team, the Senate Department for the Interior, Digitisation and Sport of the City of Berlin, the Ministry of the Interior and Sport of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, T?V Rheinland and other universities and commercial enterprises.