Group Decision Support Systems for Emergency Management and Resilience: CoastalProtectSIM

Abstract

This paper introduces the concept of Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) as a tool to support emergency management in coastal cities. As an illustration of the potential value of GDSS, we discuss the use of CoastalProtectSIM, a simulation model that can be a valuable GDSS tool, particularly in the mitigation stages of the emergency management cycle. We present preliminary results from the use of the simulation environment in a graduate course. We finish the paper by presenting our experience as a framework for building more efficient and secure emergency management systems through the use of GDSS.