Shefali Virkar
email: shefali.virkar@donau-uni.ac.at

Noella Edelmann
email: noella.edelmann@donau-uni.ac.at

Nicole Hynek
email: nicole.hynek@donau-uni.ac.at

Peter Parycek
email: peter.parycek@donau-uni.ac.at

Gerald Steiner
email: gerald.steiner@donau-uni.ac.at

Lukas Zenk
email: lukas.zenk@donau-uni.ac.at

Digital Transformation in Public Sector Organisations: The Role of Informal Knowledge Sharing Networks and Social Media

Keywords: informal knowledge sharing, social media, digital transformation

It is estimated that during the period 2020-2025, about 30% of the employees at the Austrian Ministry of Defence will retire. This raises the question of how to encourage employees to share informal knowledge in order to successful embrace organisational change in increasingly digitised environments with a view to retaining them long-term. Through the development of a three-part empirical study, this research paper investigates the role played by informal knowledge sharing networks and social media in expediting digital transformation within a public sector organisation. Our findings show that the public sector stands to benefit from informal knowledge sharing, and that both a permissive organisational culture and the provision of clearly demarcated 'knowledge sharing spaces' are fundamental in this respect.

Introduction

Knowledge has always been at the heart of economic growth, political power, and social well-being. However, the rapid global proliferation of the new Information and Communication Technologies, their advanced ability to gather and manipulate large amounts of data and information, has placed knowledge at the heart of business innovation, strategic decision-making and thus represents an economic asset that needs to be strategically managed [START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF]. For businesses and governments alike, accessing and harnessing knowledge lying latent in employees by creating appropriate networks and channels for its transmission is being viewed as more and more critical to innovation and organisational success. In parallel, the popularity of social media, originally seen and used for entertainment and youth activities, has also significantly contributed to a change in business models [START_REF] Mergel | Social media adoption: toward a representative, responsive or interactive government[END_REF], making new technology-based operating environments and continuous change the new norm, rather than the exception, for the contemporary organisation. Web 2.0, social media and networks also play a significant role in the digital transformation of the public sector where, for example, Mergel [START_REF] Mergel | Social Media in the Public Sector: A Guide to Participation, Collaboration and Transparency in The Networked World[END_REF] argues that the use of social media in the public sector can be considered to be the "fifth wave" of Information and Communication Technologies and sees social media as supporting government organisations' "mission". Measurements and evaluation are important aspects in implementing social media, and it is important to identify the factors that lead to success that are important for interaction and engagement [START_REF] Criado | Enacting social media success in local public administrations: An empirical analysis of organizational, institutional, and contextual factors[END_REF][START_REF] Mickoleit | Social Media Use by Governments[END_REF]. The use of social media in public sector not only requires a strategy, it must be used on a day-to-day basis, it use monitored and observed so that problems or operational deficiencies can be corrected [START_REF] Linders | From e-government to we-government: Defining a typology for citizen coproduction in the age of social media[END_REF]. Whilst it is important to understand what motivates employees to contribute to innovation, adapt to new HR policies and use social media, it is also important to measure and evaluate to what extent current activities are helping to achieve the desired or set aims.

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate, through an empirical study, the role played by informal knowledge sharing networks in expediting digital transformation within a public sector organisation. In particular, the paper will focus on the opportunities afforded by social media, in the guise of a new so-called third generation of communication tools, to help public sector actors successfully negotiate this transition. The research paper is structured as follows: The second section presents the literature review that addresses the global trends in governmental transformation and knowledge sharing. In the third section, the research design of the study is discussed. The fourth section presents essential empirical findings. These results are critically analysed in section 5. Strategic recommendations based on the research results are derived in section 6.

Literature Review

We live in 'knowledge societies' and work in 'knowledge economies' [START_REF] Hara | Communities of practice: Fostering Peer-to-Peer Learning and Informal Knowledge Sharing in the Work Place[END_REF][START_REF] David | Economic fundamentals of the knowledge society[END_REF], and for businesses and governments alike, knowledge is a central strategic resource; it is critical to organisational success, and needs to be effectively managed through the adoption of a series of activities and practices known collectively as knowledge management [START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF]. Within the broader context of knowledge management, knowledge sharing may be defined as any activity that involves the exchange of information, skills and expertise between people or within and across organisations and institutions [START_REF] Janus | Becoming a Knowledge Sharing Organization: A Handbook for Scaling Up Solutions through Knowledge Capturing and Sharing[END_REF]. More particularly, Ipe [START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF] defines knowledge sharing as "the act of making knowledge available to others within the organisation" [p.341], that is, converting knowledge into a form that can be understood, and used by other individuals and collectives, or the wider organisation [START_REF] Kuusinen | Knowledge Sharing in a Large Agile Organisation: A Survey Study[END_REF]. Organisational knowledge sharing may be uni-, two-way, or multidirectional [START_REF] Janus | Becoming a Knowledge Sharing Organization: A Handbook for Scaling Up Solutions through Knowledge Capturing and Sharing[END_REF], is involved in the dissemination of innovative ideas [START_REF] Lin | Knowledge sharing and firm innovation capability: an empirical study[END_REF][START_REF] Armbrecht | Knowledge Management in Research and Development[END_REF] and is thus central to creating economic value and benefit from competitive advantage [START_REF] Hendriks | Why Share Knowledge? The Influence of ICT on the Motivation for Knowledge Sharing[END_REF]. Knowledge sharing within organisations can occur through both formal and informal channels [START_REF] Taminiau | Innovation in management consulting firms through informal knowledge sharing[END_REF][START_REF] Lawson | Knowledge Sharing in Interorganizational Product Development Teams: The Effect of Formal and Informal Socialization Mechanisms[END_REF][START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF]. Formal knowledge sharing is usually the outcome of activities via outlets institutionalized by management that are explicitly designed to acquire, aggregate, structure, and disseminate knowledge; including through scheduled meetings, brainstorming sessions, training programmes, highly-organised work teams, and technology-based infrastructure designed to facilitate the exchange of information, knowhow, and expertise [START_REF] Taminiau | Innovation in management consulting firms through informal knowledge sharing[END_REF]. Informal knowledge sharing, however, involves the exchange of knowledge and transfer of practices via informal socialization mechanisms that exist alongside all institutionalized forms of knowledge sharing; including spontaneous conversations, interactions based on personal relationships -both friendship and business -and social network dynamics occurring within the context of informal settings [START_REF] Taminiau | Innovation in management consulting firms through informal knowledge sharing[END_REF][START_REF] Lawson | Knowledge Sharing in Interorganizational Product Development Teams: The Effect of Formal and Informal Socialization Mechanisms[END_REF][START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF]. Almahamid [START_REF] Almahamid | The role of agility and knowledge sharing on competitive advantage: An empirical investigation in manufacturing companies in Jordan[END_REF] maintains that the process of knowledge sharing within an organisation is key to its ability to respond quickly and proactively to situational change in an unpredictable business environment.

Social relationships and the networks they constitute have a direct influence on the effectiveness and efficacy with which individual actors and collectives create, acquire, transfer, absorb and apply knowledge [START_REF] Phelps | Knowledge, networks, and knowledge networks: A review and research agenda[END_REF][START_REF] Augier | Networks, cognition and management of tacit knowledge[END_REF]. Such networks may be referred to as knowledge networks, defined by Phelps et al. [START_REF] Phelps | Knowledge, networks, and knowledge networks: A review and research agenda[END_REF] as "… a set of nodes -individuals or higher level collectives that serve as heterogeneously distributed repositories of knowledge and agents that search for, transmit, and create knowledge -interconnected by social relationships that enable and constrain nodes' efforts to acquire, transfer, and create knowledge" [p.1117]. Knowledge networks may be considered as informal transmission channels of knowledge between both individuals and firms activated by occasions like incidental meetings, or the need for favours or services [START_REF] Augier | Networks, cognition and management of tacit knowledge[END_REF], they are social relationships or loose linkages among different knowledge who nonetheless possess certain commonalities or common attributes [START_REF] Buchel | Building Knowledge-creating Value Networks[END_REF]. Despite the assumption that employees primarily search in databases to find relevant information, various studies show that it is about five times more likely that employees turn to other colleagues than using impersonal sources like databases [START_REF] Allen | Managing the flow of technology: Technology transfer and the dissemination of technological information within the R&D organization[END_REF][START_REF] Waber | Workspaces that move people[END_REF]. This implies that the right kind of knowledge network is necessary to facilitate the search and transfer of knowledge. The qualities of networks, according to Augier & Thanning Vendelo [START_REF] Augier | Networks, cognition and management of tacit knowledge[END_REF], have two implications for the management of knowledge networks: first, knowledge networks are difficult to manage, control and access in the traditional sense given the loose interlinkages between different actors; secondly, it is difficult to predict in advance which knowledge will be needed by a particular part of the network, and even when identified, that knowledge may exist in a different place than expected. Cross et al. [START_REF] Cross | Knowing what we know: Supporting knowledge creation and sharing in social networks[END_REF] found that four relational qualities facilitate effective knowledge sharing [p.105]: knowing what another person knows and identifying sources of information and expertise (overview), being able to gain timely access to a knowledge source (access), the willingness of the knowledge source to engage in proactive problem solving with the knowledge seeker as against merely dumping information (engagement), learning interactions are carried out in a safe and permissive environment (safety).

Knowledge sharing also occurs in virtual organisational settings [START_REF] Almahamid | The role of agility and knowledge sharing on competitive advantage: An empirical investigation in manufacturing companies in Jordan[END_REF][START_REF] Hsu | Knowledge sharing behavior in virtual communities: The relationship between trust, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations[END_REF][START_REF] Chiu | Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: An integration of social capital and social cognitive theories[END_REF], and Hsu et al. [START_REF] Hsu | Knowledge sharing behavior in virtual communities: The relationship between trust, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations[END_REF] identify trust, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations as factors influencing the willingness of individuals to share knowledge within the virtual space. In more recent years, many have argued that the use of social media tools in digital networks, are key for interactivity, collaboration, co-creation, re-shaping the relationships between actors in organisations across all sectors [START_REF] Criado | Enacting social media success in local public administrations: An empirical analysis of organizational, institutional, and contextual factors[END_REF][START_REF] Knox | Public Administrators' Use of Social Media Platforms: Overcoming the Legitimacy Dilemma?[END_REF][START_REF] Mergel | Social media institutionalization in the U.S. federal government[END_REF][START_REF] Bertot | Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: Egovernment and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies[END_REF]. The public sector benefits from knowledge sharing; it helps the public sector find "innovative new ways to deliver public value" [START_REF] Linders | From e-government to we-government: Defining a typology for citizen coproduction in the age of social media[END_REF], and consequently it has become commonplace for governments to advocate the use of social media. The rise of social media allows for the emergence of new forms of open collaboration, coproduction, partnerships and collective action [START_REF] Mergel | Open collaboration in the public sector: The case of social coding on GitHub[END_REF][START_REF] Linders | From e-government to we-government: Defining a typology for citizen coproduction in the age of social media[END_REF][START_REF] Mickoleit | Social Media Use by Governments[END_REF], to increase organisational transparency, participation or engagement, support a community or develop an identity, or help public sector organisations learn what is being said about them [START_REF] Loukis | Promoting open innovation in the public sector through social media monitoring[END_REF]. Many public administrations already use social media channels to disseminate content (usually for marketing or PR purposes), but they can be used for other external purposes too, such as providing information, communicating with citizens, for co-creating content, or designing or delivering new services. Mergel [START_REF] Mergel | Social media adoption: toward a representative, responsive or interactive government[END_REF] suggests that a change of paradigm in public administrations can be seen, that social media supports the move from "need-to-know" to "need-to-share" information, a paradigm that includes dimensions such as openness, conversations, inclusion, co-creation, and real-time feedback cycles. Social media can also be used for internal purposes too, making it easier to collaborate and communicate within and between departments, to help staff in their work [START_REF] Mergel | A framework for interpreting social media interactions in the public sector[END_REF][START_REF] Serrat | Social Media and the Public Sector[END_REF]. To ensure the success of social media in an organisation, government or public administration, it is important to remember that the use of social media requires resources and must be accepted by the staff in an organisation. If the use of social media is to support knowledge networks, the actors involved and the sharing of knowledge, then the implementation of social media should not be seen as an IT project but as the need for a cultural shift within the organisation so that technology can make a difference [START_REF] Serrat | Social Media and the Public Sector[END_REF].

Research Design

To examine the central research problem, and to test the associated hypothesis, a sequential mixed-methods research design was used. This comprised of, first, a systematic review of relevant literature [START_REF] Kitchenham | Procedures for Performing Systematic Reviews[END_REF]. The results of this review were then used to guide the development of qualitative data collection tools (a co-creation workshop, a framework for qualitative interviews, and a stakeholder workshop). Research data collected by these tools was then used to inform the creation of a quantitative research component (a questionnaire, Implicit Association Test, Social Network Analysis).

In order to conduct a comprehensive review of relevant scholarly and practitioner literature, researchers made use of one database of peer-reviewed literature (Scopus). Further databases were used to incorporate additional publications from diverse sources, that also includes knowledge from practitioners, i.e. one specialist search engine (Google Scholar), and one database of full-text books (Google Books). A systematic conventional search string launched within the 'title', 'abstract' and 'keywords' fields was used to query the Scopus Database for peer-reviewed, scholarly literature. A conventional key word search also used to obtain full-text sources of material previously discovered using Scopus, to identify clusters of publications authored by the same person, and to discover new citations of pertinent material from via the Google Scholar search engine. Simultaneously, a similar keyword search was used to trawl the Google Books database, with the aim of uncovering new material from both single-author books and chapters within edited volumes, and to access books and material from books identified in previous literature searches by other search engines.

From the research literature, qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches were developed to gain a deeper insight into the knowledge management strategy at the Austrian Ministry of Defence. Three consecutive individual studies were carried out during the qualitative phase in order to gradually accumulate and integrate the topics and meanings of the concept of knowledge transfer from different perspectives of different actors and stakeholders from outside and inside the ministry. In the first phase, a co-creation workshop was held at the Danube University of Krems with 23 participants at the Department for E-Governance and Administration. The aim of this workshop was to develop a deeper understanding of this particular organisation's system dynamics and was used as a pre-study for later interviews and stakeholder workshops held at the Ministry of Defence. Broad questions asked concerned current topics on knowledge transfer in various companies. One of the main topics mentioned during the workshop focused on corporate culture. During the second phase, qualitative interviews about knowledge management were conducted with four stakeholders from different departments and Communities of Interest (COI) at the ministry. Two theoretical modelsknowledge components by Probst et al. [START_REF] Probst | Wissen managen: Wie Unternehmen ihre wertvollste Ressource optimal nutzen[END_REF], and knowledge sharing in organisations by Ipe [START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF] -were used to inform the guided interviews. The guiding questions concerned knowledge sharing between individuals, focusing on the motivation to share their knowledge, which opportunities and channels are provided to do so, the perceived culture of the working environment and to what extent they are supported from others and the organisation to share their knowledge. In the third phase, a final workshop was held with stakeholders of the ministry to develop a general overview of relevant factors necessary to prepare a questionnaire and an Implicit Association Test (IAT), and to identify the relevant actors and relations for social network analysis.

Based on the findings of the workshop, three main topics were identified: Personal Intentions (motivation and attitudes toward informal knowledge sharing); Interpersonal Relations (e.g. overview of expertise); and Organisational Support (the degree to which an organisation facilitates knowledge sharing). A questionnaire was created, and a customised Implicit Association Test developed, based on the collection of relevant top-level concepts and stimuli. The questionnaire addressed socio-demographic aspects, motivation and support for knowledge sharing, and contained relational questions to measure interpersonal relations. Central The online test consisted of the standard version of the Implicit Association Test [START_REF] Greenwald | Statistically small effects of the Implicit Association Test can have societally large effects[END_REF][START_REF] Steiner | Living sustainability, or merely pretending? From explicit self-report measures to implicit cognition[END_REF] to analyse to what extent the concepts "share knowledge" and "retain knowledge" as well as "good" and "bad" are associated. For the concept "share knowledge", the stimuli openness, general usage, communication, and distribute knowledge were used; for the concept "retain knowledge" the stimuli reticence, self-interest, secret, and hoard knowledge; and for "good" and "bad" the stimuli proposed by Nosek et al. [START_REF] Nosek | Harvesting implicit group attitudes and beliefs from a demonstration web site[END_REF]. From 04 May 2017 to 06 June 2017 one link to the survey, that included the online test and questionnaire were sent to three departments and two Communities of Interest (COI). In total, 116 persons were invited via email, and 59 persons (men = 52, women = 4) completed the whole survey. On average the employees worked for 21.75 (SD = 10.21) years in the Ministry of Defence. In the sample, most of the employees have completed a higher level of education, over 50% of the participants graduated from university. One third of the respondents indicated that they had obtained school leaving examination and 17% state that their highest educational attainment is a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification. The percentage of informal knowledge sharing (46%) compared to formal knowledge sharing (54%) in the Ministry of Defence was quite high and indicated the importance of studying informal knowledge sharing in more detail.

Legal restrictions foreclosed the possibility of carrying out a detailed social network analysis needed to investigate the informal knowledge sharing between the participants. Instead, knowledge relations between the participants' functions were included in the questionnaire to analyse the general knowledge flow between hierarchical roles as well as items for relational qualities. To integrate these different methods and questions, the empirical part of the study will test the following derived hypotheses: Hypothesis 1. Employees will have a tendency to share their informal knowledge within the same hierarchical functions.

Hypothesis 2. There exists a positive correlation between relational qualities and the personal intention (explicit and implicit) to share informal knowledge.

Hypothesis 3. The use of electronic channels of communication, and in particular social media, will increase as office environments get digitised.

Hypothesis 4. The degree of physical proximity between departments and Communities of Interest determines the nature of the communication channels used to share knowledge. The greater the physical distance, the more frequent the use of electronic channels.

Hypothesis 5. The degree of physical proximity between departments and Communities of Interest determines the nature of the situations in which knowledge is shared; the smaller the distance, the more popular face-to-face interactions are.

Empirical Results

The final report submitted to the ministry [START_REF] Zenk | Informal Knowledge Sharing: Towards a Resilient Knowledge Network in Agile Organizations, Report to the Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport (BMLVS)[END_REF] concluded that members of staff with different functions, based within different departments and Communities of Interest exhibited homogeneous positive personal intention toward knowledge sharing. Based on this result, the impact of interpersonal relations and organisational support on informal knowledge sharing between constituent actors is critically explored here in detail.

Interpersonal Relations

Two dimensions of knowledge sharing networks within the Austrian Ministry of Defence pertaining to interpersonal relations were investigated: the knowledge flows between different hierarchies, and to the extent to which people rate the relational qualities. Based on previously articulated hypotheses the following results are discussed:

Result 1. The ministry expected that their employees would share their informal knowledge within the same hierarchical functions, as they assumed that people with similar organisational functions share their knowledge with each other. As expected, a tendency towards knowledge sharing between the same hierarchical functions was revealed. However, most relational ties were collected between different hierarchical functions. As opposed to homophily theories, even employees with significantly different hierarchical functions passed on their knowledge.

Result 2. Data collected also shows that ministry employees rated all four relational qualities identified by Cross et al. [START_REF] Cross | Knowing what we know: Supporting knowledge creation and sharing in social networks[END_REF] very highly (on average between 4.35 to 4.67 on a 5-point Likert Scale; From 1 "does not apply" to 5 "applies"). This means that employees have a good overview of others' expertise (they know what others know), have access to others with the relevant information (they can contact relevant colleagues), they rate their colleagues as engaged (they are willing to answer professional questions proactively), and feel safe to ask for advice (they can ask others openly). Correlations between personal intention and each relational dimension, as well as the sum of all relational dimensions were calculated. As expected, a significant correlation between explicit motivation and the sum of all relational qualities was found (r = .32), but there was no significant correlation between the implicit attitude and the relational qualities (r = .16). Focusing on a single dimension of relational qualities (safety), we found a significant correlation between explicit motivation and safety (r = .27), as well as explicit motivation and overview (r = .32).

Result 3. Besides the individually perceived qualities of relational qualities, channels used to share informal knowledge were examined. Almost all of the employees were found to share their knowledge via face-to-face communication. Around half of the respondents use telephone and email. Far fewer people stated that they use different kinds of media to share their informal knowledge.

Result 4. Based on the questionnaire, most of the people stated that they share informal knowledge during meetings (83%), in the office (68%), or during breaks while drinking coffee or smoking a cigarette (58%). Hence, against our expectations, the results show no significant differences regarding the communication channels. Only minor differences could be detected such as the preference of employees in departments to share their knowledge through face-to-face communication (100% for collocated departmental members as compared to 91% within COIs) and the preference of employees in communities of interest to share their knowledge through short message systems (54% for collocated departmental members as compared to 41% within COIs).

Result 5. The results show that both employees in departments and communities of interest prefer to share their knowledge in face-to-face situations. Nevertheless, the preferences for specific situations had a greater variance than the communication channels. Members of departments prefer to share their knowledge during meetings (92% for collocated employees compared to 68% for members of COIs) and in their office (76% for collocated employees as compared to 55% for COI members); while members of communities of interest indicated to share their knowledge in situations such as lunch (41% as compared to 22% for collocated employees) and events (32% compared to 16% for collocated employees) was twice as high as members of departments.

Organisational Support

This part of the empirical enquiry examined the extent to which employees feel supported by their organisation to share their informal knowledge. Although employees are motivated to share their informal knowledge, there is a lack of organisational support to do so. Our calculations revealed that employees rated their motivation to share informal knowledge on average with 4.2 on a 5-point Likert Scale ("To what extent are you motivated to share your informal knowledge?"; From 1 "not supported at all" to 5 "highly supported"). Compared to the explicit motivation, the mean value of the perceived support by the organisation is lower with 3.5 on a 5-point Likert Scale ("To what extent are you supported to share your informal knowledge?"). Nevertheless, for the purpose of the study, a positive correlation between the personal intention (explicit motivation and implicit attitude) and the perceived support to share knowledge by the organisation was assumed. As hypothesized, a significant positive correlation between explicit motivation and the perceived support (r = .42) was found, but no significant correlation between implicit attitudes and perceived support. A positive correlation was also assumed between the interpersonal relations and the organisational support. Regarding the accumulated value of interpersonal relations (information flow), no significant correlation was found, however, a correlation between a single dimension of relational qualities, safety, and the organisational support (r = .36) was found.

Discussion

Based on earlier discussions of scholarly literature, and on the basis of the findings from this study, a number of recommendations pertaining to knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and the use of social media within public organisations may be derived. The advent of new information and communication technologies has dramatically altered the environments within which private and public organisations operate and has placed several new demands on the individual actors and collectives that make up these larger entities. Knowledge is central, and organisation's constituent elements must know how and when to respond rapidly and appropriately to external changes and fluctuations; employees have to share informal knowledge within modern public organisations.

Digital transformation, when spoken of within the context of public administration, may occur in two distinct ways: either through the transformation of internal processes, or through the transformation of the external relationships between governments and other political, economic and social actors [START_REF] Luna-Reyes | Digital government transformation and internet portals: The co-evolution of technology, organizations, and institutions[END_REF]. The organisation must actively support the formation of knowledge networks amongst its constituent elements and with external actors. To generate new knowledge, and to match information to those who need it, formal and informal channels of communication need to be devised that bring knowledge seekers together with knowledge sources. Here, the importance of tacit knowledge -operational skills and know-how that are acquired through personal or practical experience [START_REF] Ipe | Knowledge Sharing in Organizations: A Conceptual Framework[END_REF] -must not be ignored. A wealth of information, skills and experience is locked up in individuals and collectives as tacit knowledge. Often knowledge sources are reticent to share this sort of knowledge as it can be difficult to impart and can be regarded as a form of personal wealth or power. The organisation must adopt a strategy to encourage employees and groups to share this latent potential with others, a strategy that must include knowledge networks and the opportunities offered by new technologies.

Public organisations are shaped by the interactions, rules and norms, behaviours of their internal systems, and cognitive patterns of their inhabitants. The organisation evolves through the mutual interactions of its participants and the stakeholders involved, and digital technology can be used to shape new forms of organisational functions, increase public sector legitimacy, and integrate the functions between public agencies. Institutional support must be given to the formation of knowledge networks within the organisation, particularly those concerned with informal knowledge sharing and weak ties. An overt demonstration of institutional backing is likely to motivate employees from across departments and sub-units to seek out, impart, and exchange informal or tacit knowledge. A four-fold strategy for effective knowledge sharing may be derived from [START_REF] Cross | Knowing what we know: Supporting knowledge creation and sharing in social networks[END_REF]: the development of an internal system that enables employees to quickly determine who holds the required knowledge, skillset, or expertise; the maintenance of an internal information technology infrastructure that connects knowledge seekers with knowledge sources, instantaneously and (often) in real-time; the initiation of an institutionalized or semi-institutionalised constructive and sustained dialogue between knowledge sources and knowledge seekers to promote meaningful knowledge sharing; and the creation of a 'safe' and permissive environment to encourage informal knowledge sharing. It may be concluded, therefore, that both a permissive organisational culture, and the clear designation of virtual and physical 'enabling spaces' for informal knowledge sharing are fundamental prerequisites of effective knowledge exchange or transfer.

The high relevance of face-to-face communication leads to us to question the types of situations within which employees are able to effectively share their knowledge. Allen [START_REF] Allen | Managing the flow of technology: Technology transfer and the dissemination of technological information within the R&D organization[END_REF] shows that physical distance affects the frequency of communication between employees, and thus spatial arrangements of buildings can influence informal knowledge sharing and physical proximity enhances not only the communication between attendants but also their use of virtual communication.

Public organisations and social media do not fit easily. There are huge lags between the rate at which technology is developing and the government implements and digitisation does not always match the internal processes well. Mergel [START_REF] Mergel | A framework for interpreting social media interactions in the public sector[END_REF] points out that the main problem may be that the characteristics of social media are very different to the characteristics of public administrations, and these can often lead to conflicts and difficulties. Merely pressurising organisations and public administrations to digitize processes may lead to simply converting processes from analogue to digital, which may neither be the best strategy nor result in the adequate processes being chosen for this transformation. The process of digital transformation is therefore more than an "(IT)project" and not about finding an IT-solution to an IT-problem. An organisation needs to think about what the results and aims to be achieved should be and what users need, as digital transformation requires changing government processes, involves flexible HR policies, overcoming cultural hurdles and agile leadership that allows experimenting.

Mergel [START_REF] Mergel | Social media adoption: toward a representative, responsive or interactive government[END_REF] notes that further barriers to the use of social media in the public sector can be the costs, the distribution of government power, organisational and cultural challenges, operating procedures, informational challenges and legal challenges. Serrat [START_REF] Serrat | Social Media and the Public Sector[END_REF] argues that barriers to a successful implementation can include the demographics of an organisation, a reliance on outdated hardware, software or information systems but also factors external to the organisation (e.g. legal and privacy issues). But there may also be systematic challenges, e.g. the need for a change in organisational processes so that they adapt and accommodate new forms of interaction and task fulfilment, a change in the rules, standards, requirements and resource allocation [START_REF] Serrat | Social Media and the Public Sector[END_REF]. Such barriers can be reduced through the implementation of a social media strategy, the implementation of policies, adequate staffing and staff guidelines regarding their use of social media. It can be challenging for a government public administrations to integrate new social media application(s) or tool(s) into the (daily) routine of knowledge creation and dissemination, it may also be hard to motivate employees to share their knowledge and do more than is defined in the established job descriptions [START_REF] Serrat | Social Media and the Public Sector[END_REF], but it also clear that governments should not miss the opportunities afforded by social media.

The successful implementation of social media in an organisation depends on the people who use it rather than on the technology itself. Staff needs to learn how to use new tools and applications, but also new roles and regulations may have to be defined: social media makes it easy to mix private and official functions and guidelines for their use will have to implemented. In order for social media to support the organisation, [START_REF] Mergel | A framework for interpreting social media interactions in the public sector[END_REF] and [START_REF] Serrat | Social Media and the Public Sector[END_REF] suggest that it works best when implemented in a context characterised by high trust, collaboration and knowledge intensity; that is, in an environment where there are no barriers to social media, a culture that favours cooperation, and ensuring that tools and applications are adopted at an early stage. It is also important to decide what contents are to be made available, as not all content is suitable for all social media channels and applications. Not only may content be bound to data protection regulations and privacy policies, but it may also depend response times required, whether content has to be adapted for the specific channel and what the further use or dissemination may be.

Conclusion

New technologies present the unique opportunity to bridge old divides of space and time. Digital technologies are able to bring together people and collectives separated by physical and temporal distances to generate and share new knowledge. For this study, two main areas of knowledge sharing in the organisation were analysed: (1) interpersonal relations: employees were asked to rate their interpersonal knowledge relations; and (2) organisational support: the extent to which employees feel supported by their organisation to share informal knowledge was analysed. A better overview of the expertise within the organisation and an organisational culture that provides the social legitimization to openly ask questions seems to have a positive impact on knowledge sharing.

Our study revealed that the efficacy of new technologies as tools to facilitate informal knowledge sharing between public sector actors, and by extension their ability to cope with digital transformation, will depend to a significant extent on the degree to which the use of these tools is aligned with existing internal workflow processes and organisational culture. There are several benefits to be gained through the implementation of social media in particular, for example, providing access to external stakeholders and managing external relationships. However, their introduction should support the organisation's internal communication patterns, thereby making them more effective, faster and gaining feedback. An important aspect of deciding about the use of social media is the use of strategy that considers which tool to use, whether they are suitable for the content to be transmitted and/or stored, length of communication, the response times. The organisation has to adapt to specific cultural characteristics of the social media tools and all channels chosen have to be maintained equally well. The use of guidelines will make it necessary to consider questions such as: what is the aim to be achieved? Who will use it? What contents will it transport? What tools or platforms will be used? What is the time framework? What resources are available? What parts of the organisation are involved? Have the aims been reached? [START_REF] Edelmann | Leitfaden zur Nutzung sozialer Medien in der öffentlichen Verwaltung[END_REF] At the same time, first-and second-generation channels of communication must not be forgotten. Evidence from the empirical study presented in this paper suggests that people still make use of traditional methods of communication such as face-to-face interactions or the telephone to exchange knowledge and to forge networks. In devising a communications or knowledge sharing strategy, the 'old school' technologies must also be considered for inclusion. Finally, the implementation and use of social media in public sector organisations must be monitored and evaluated. The impact of new tools on informal organisational knowledge sharing needs to be evaluated. Such evaluations may be quantitative and/or qualitative, can be conducted at the beginning, the end, or during the implementation of the new tools. Several indicators can be used for this, and although the focus is usually on the measurement of online activities and interaction, it is equally important to consider the network effects that may not always be visible but have an impact on the transfer of knowledge between public sector knowledge actors.

  to this study are the following questions: To what extent are you motivated to share your informal knowledge? What motivates you to share your informal knowledge? What discourages you from sharing informal knowledge? To what extent are you encouraged within your department or community to share your informal knowledge? To what extent is informal knowledge sharing promoted in your department or community? How is informal knowledge sharing prevented in your department or community?


Geir Monika Magnusson
email: monika.magnusson@kau.se

Ove Venemyr
email: geir.venemyr@inn.no

Peter Bellström
email: peter.bellstrom@kau.se

Bjørn Tallak Bakken

Geir Ove Venemyr

Digitalizing Crisis Management Training

Keywords: Crisis management training, crisis training software, computerbased training, disaster management, design science research

à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

Introduction

Global warming and terror attacks are just two examples of phenomena that have put crisis preparedness at the top of the agenda of government agencies world-wide. Crisis exercises are considered a key component for increasing preparedness [START_REF] Wilson | Multi-agency gold incident command training for civil emergencies[END_REF]. Prior studies have detected problems with conventional training such as lack of time and other resources for planning and executing exercises and concerns that exercises are performed too seldom and/or with too few members of the organization [START_REF] Magnusson | Crisis Training Software and User Needs-Research Directions[END_REF]. Other problems include inadequate assessment of the effectiveness of training, difficulties in defining a suitable training content, providing feedback, and transferring the lessons learnt to future crises [START_REF] Sniezek | Training for crisis decision-making: Psychological issues and computer-based solutions[END_REF]. Researchers have also identified a lack of systematic approach to training [START_REF] Wilson | Multi-agency gold incident command training for civil emergencies[END_REF] and too little focus on longitudinal learning processes [START_REF] Van Laere | Cultivating a longitudinal learning process through recurring crisis management training exercises in twelve Swedish municipalities[END_REF].

In this article, we propose information systems (IS), developed in the Swedish-Norwegian R&D project CriseIT, as a complement to conventional crisis or disaster man-agement training methods. In-depth interviews in the CriseIT project with 19 respondents from 16 organizations handling societal crisis at local, regional and national levels showed that the organizations wanted more training, especially for the strategic level [START_REF] Magnusson | Information Systems for Disaster Management Training: Investigating User Needs with a Design Science Research Approach[END_REF]. Regrettably, the organizations found this difficult to accomplish in practice, due to a lack of resources and the current training methods. For managers to devote half a day or more to an exercise and for safety coordinators to set a date, construct a crisis scenario etc. can be challenging tasks. Scenarios are often planned from scratch and the ability to collaborate in planning and reuse of exercises are requested by the organizations [START_REF] Magnusson | Developing Crisis Training Software for Local Governments -From User Needs to Generic Requirements[END_REF]. In smaller municipalities, a safety coordinator, sometime working part-time with the assignment, might be solely responsible for organizing the organizations' training [START_REF] Meum | Information infrastructure for crisis response coordination: A study of local emergency management in Norwegian municipalities[END_REF]. Few of the organizations organized any individual training.

Lukosch et al. [START_REF] Lukosch | The participatory design of a simulation training game[END_REF] suggest that computer-based training, in comparison to traditional time-and space-dependent training, offers higher flexibility (efficacy) and improved resource-efficiency. Whether these advantages are being realized in practice remains to be seen. Studies of ongoing usage, effects and learning outcomes from computer-based training are rare, as are user need analyses [START_REF] Magnusson | Crisis Training Software and User Needs-Research Directions[END_REF], indicating that the field of computerbased crisis management training is still in its infancy.

Organizations interviewed in the CriseIT project were aware that different IS for crisis training existed on the market, but few had used them. Neither were the national, and freely provided, systems WIS (Sweden) and CIM (Norway) used for training to any considerable extent. Limited functionality for training and low usability were mentioned as possible explanations. Instead, crisis training exercises were often planned, executed and documented using regular office software. In this article, we argue for the need for new IS for crisis management training in local government. These digital tools should support both trainers and trainees and be well grounded in the user contexts, if they are be useful and adopted. As current training practices are well functioning in many aspects, the IS should complement, not replace conventional training. The overall objective of the IS artefacts presented is to enable expanded crisis management training, in a systematic and resource-efficient manner. The purpose of the article is to describe information systems artefacts designed to support local governments' crisis management training and to discuss how these could improve crisis management training practices.

We use the concept 'crisis management training' to represent both training for individual roles in a crisis, and collaborative exercises, for "unplanned natural or man-made events with a sudden and severe negative impact on human live [sic], the functioning of society and/or the physical environment" ( [START_REF] Steinberger | Organizing for the Big One: A Review of Case Studies and a Research Agenda for Multi-Agency Disaster Response[END_REF], p. 61).

2

Literature review

The fact that crises are rare often means that few in an organization's crisis management team have actual experience of handling them. Sinclair et al. [START_REF] Sinclair | Assessing emergency management training and exercises[END_REF] argue that "[…] emergency management training must include mechanisms that substitute for the practice and experience afforded by working life in most organizations. This involves exercising" (p. 59). Exercises also serve other purposes, such as testing the viability of the response network [START_REF] Peterson | The impacts of disaster exercises on participants[END_REF] the crisis management or disaster plan [START_REF] Perry | Disaster exercise outcomes for professional emergency personnel and citizen volunteers[END_REF] or fostering relationships between key personnel [START_REF] Steinberger | Organizing for the Big One: A Review of Case Studies and a Research Agenda for Multi-Agency Disaster Response[END_REF]. Based on experiences from over a hundred exercises in twelve municipalities during a ten-year period, van Laere and Lindblom [START_REF] Van Laere | Cultivating a longitudinal learning process through recurring crisis management training exercises in twelve Swedish municipalities[END_REF] argue for a continuous training pro-gram with recurrent exercises in various formats to spur the long-term development of an organization's crisis management capacity. They suggest three development phases: (1) obtaining role understanding; (2) developing skills and practices; and (3) mastering self-evaluation and adaption. Despite the seeming consensus in earlier research about the necessity of training, earlier studies also indicate that there is a lack of a systemic approach to training [START_REF] Wilson | Multi-agency gold incident command training for civil emergencies[END_REF]. Such an approach can be found in the management training methodology developed from a meta-analysis of training and development studies by Eduardo Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF]. Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF] stress the importance of viewing training "as a system", and not a onceoff event. The methodology was intended for general 'management' training, but can also be used for emergency training [START_REF] Waller | Focusing on Teams in Crisis Management Education: An Integration and Simulation-Based Approach[END_REF]. Seven basic phases were defined by Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF], see Fig. The scenarios and events provide opportunities to influence behaviour and practice within the relevant field of competence. In Phase 5, Performance Measures, process and performance measurements are developed. Without measuring performance, it is impossible to improve behaviour or competence, provide feedback, or document learning. In Phase 6, Performance Diagnosis, the measurements from Phase 5 are compared with the training goals defined in Phase 3 to assess if the training is effective. Finally, Phase 7, Developmental Feedback, involves the development of constructive feedback based on performance and process data. Feedback allows the scheme to be called training and not just simulation. Information systems can positively affect an organization by improving its efficacy, efficiency and/or effectiveness [START_REF] Beynon-Davies | Business information systems[END_REF]. Higher efficacy refers to improvements in volumes or quality of the output, while improved efficiency is a measurement of the output in relation to the resources used (ibid.). Effectiveness, finally, refers to the system's contribution to the purpose of higher-level systems. If and how computer-based training indeed increase efficacy, efficacy and effectiveness remains to be seen. Among the earlier research studies from the IS field we found useful in our work are the conceptual framework for understanding training issues in Sniezek et al. [START_REF] Sniezek | Training for crisis decision-making: Psychological issues and computer-based solutions[END_REF], the generic systems modules presented by Reuter et al. [START_REF] Reuter | Computer Supported Collaborative Training in Crisis Communication Management[END_REF]. Also, the flexible and user driven simulation exercises presented in Yao et al. [START_REF] Yao | Unleash physical limitations: virtual emergency preparedness planning simulation training, methodology and a case study[END_REF], the PANDORA system for co-located, distributed or synchronous training [START_REF] Bacon | The development of a rich multimedia training environment for crisis management: using emotional affect to enhance learning[END_REF] and the IS for tabletop exercises presented by Asproth et al. [START_REF] Asproth | Exercises for crisis management training in intra-organizational settings[END_REF] and Araz et al. [START_REF] Araz | A new method of exercising pandemic preparedness through an interactive simulation and visualization[END_REF]. Furthermore, we have studied the participatory design process described by Lukosh et al. [START_REF] Lukosch | The participatory design of a simulation training game[END_REF], and the serious gaming solution for individual training presented by Van de Ven et al. [START_REF] Van De Ven | Gaming for policy makers: It's serious!, Games and Learning Alliance Conference[END_REF]. Moreover, Garzón and Acevedo [START_REF] Garzón | Meta-analysis of the impact of Augmented Reality on students' learning effectiveness[END_REF] have done a meta-analysis of the impact of AR on students' learning effectiveness. These and other studies have guided the design processes presented later in the article.

Method

This study reports results from the R&D project CriseIT. CriseIT run in the border region of Värmland and Innland, during 2016-2019. The main aim was to improve crisis preparedness in the regions by developing IS in close collaboration between public organizations, universities, enterprises and non-government organizations (NGOs).

The overall research approach can be described as design science research (DSR) as the aim was to design IS artefacts. Four IS prototypes or what Hevner et al. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF] call instantiations have been developed: a training process management tool (T1), an individual training tool (T2), a web-based collaborative training tool (T3) for 'tabletoplike' exercises and an operational decision support system (T4) for 3D-based training. The prototypes are presented in the next section. Although used in the IS field for more than 30 years, there are diverse views and application of the DSR paradigm [START_REF] Peffers | Design science research genres: introduction to the special issue on exemplars and criteria for applicable design science research[END_REF]. Numerous articles present theoretical and conceptual guidelines for DSR (e.g. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF], [START_REF] Peffers | A design science research methodology for information systems research[END_REF]). However, the body of somewhat diverse guidelines, frameworks and objectives, makes it difficult to present DSR studies without conflicting with some of the rules [START_REF] Peffers | Design science research genres: introduction to the special issue on exemplars and criteria for applicable design science research[END_REF]. The DSR process model from Peffers et al. [START_REF] Peffers | A design science research methodology for information systems research[END_REF] represents the overall approach for our work, although the detailed DSR processes have varied between the different artefacts. Furthermore, we adhere to the seven well-known guidelines for DSR presented by Hever et al. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF]. Through in-depth interviews with respondents from organizations at all levels in both countries and by using user-centered development methods, we especially emphasized the guideline of establishing problem relevance. Also, we have adopted the 'cycle view' of DSR first presented as three designs cycles in Hevner et al. [START_REF] Hevner | A three cycle view of design science research[END_REF]. We believe that while the model of Peffers et al. [START_REF] Peffers | A design science research methodology for information systems research[END_REF] guides the researchers' activities, the design cycle view helps the researchers to concretize the activities, e.g. in mapping the environment for the artefact(s) to be produced. In addition, the design cycle view well illustrates the iterative approach we used in our design processes.

4

The Design Processes

The cross-sector focus in this study, together with the aim of finding generic solutions for local and regional governments, meant that multi-actor design processes needed to take place. The methodology of Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF](Fig. 1) was used to guide the design of the artefacts as were research on decision-making in crisis situations [e.g.5]. Furthermore, methods for change analysis and development of 'work-system' have guided the design process (e.g. [START_REF] Alter | The Work System Method: Connecting People, Processes, and IT for Business Results[END_REF]). Also, the results from earlier studies on crisis management training and IS for crisis training served as a starting point. Beynon Davies' [START_REF] Beynon-Davies | Business information systems[END_REF] extension of the model for information system success developed by DeLoan and McLean in 1992 has served as a guide for evaluations of the artefacts.

For both the training process management tool (T1) and the operational decision support system (T4) an agile approach to system development, inspired by Scrum, was used. T1 was developed through a series of 10 time-boxed iterations, called sprints. This iterative process secured a user-oriented approach, and the sprints enabled creative and synergetic meetings with the team members. Similarly, the development of T4 took place in increments or iterations, with feedback from prospective users and crisis management experts after each increment/iteration. Both T1 and T4 had been evaluated by several students groups, of which many also are practitioners, and by project stakeholders, and show promising results, for example in ensuring a systematic approach to exercises. T1 was evaluated in approximately 15 field studies (cf. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF]) in crisis handling organizations for the planning of crisis training activities. The evaluations provided feedback on utility, systems quality, ease-of-use and other parameters. T4 has so far mainly been evaluated with a focus on overall utility, interface/ease-of-use and identifying defects in what Hevner et al. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF] label functional testing. The project CriseIT2 will more systematically evaluate the artefact and further demonstrate its utility with respect to training effectiveness, ease of use (both when used locally and distributed), and costs.

For the individual training tool (T2) and the collaborative training tool (T3), an interdisciplinary research team performed in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 19 security coordinators and other personnel responsible for civil contingency management at local (municipal), regional, and national government levels in both countries. The interviews were important for the mapping of the user context, and for the identification of problems and perceived opportunities with an increased digitalization of crisis management training.

Furthermore, 17 workshop were organized. A majority of the stakeholders involved worked at municipalities on either side of the border, often as safety coordinators. Problems, opportunities and systems requirements were identified and prioritized by the stakeholder, and system prototypes were evaluated. Primarily two target groups were identified, trainers and trainees, i.e. safety coordinators responsible for planning and executing exercises and crisis management teams in local and regional government agencies that need to train/exercise. The workshops and interviews revealed that the planning processes differ somewhat from one situation to another although several respondents stressed the importance of a systematic approach to ensure quality. For example, while there are national guidelines as well as an agreement among the respondents that the purpose and goals of an exercise should be established first, the respondents admit that is common to start defining the scenario before the purpose has been determined. The problems, opportunities and requirements identified are described in Magnusson et al. [START_REF] Magnusson | Developing Crisis Training Software for Local Governments -From User Needs to Generic Requirements[END_REF] and will only be briefly presented here. As for problems, several organizations experienced problems connected to organizational constraints in personnel, budget, or insufficient IS support. In addition, the expenditure of time in planning and executing current training methods were problematic, as were the lack of a systematic approach, especially to the follow-up of exercises. Some respondents found it complex to design exercises and to know the needs of training audience. Several respondents considered it difficult to keep up the organizational knowledge due to employeeturnover. New (digital) IS for crisis training were thought to enable both individual training and collaborative exercises, co-located and distributed, synchronous and asynchronous, on any device, and in short sessions. This increased flexibility, together with multimedia or gaming features, was seen as an opportunity to get more actors/trainees involved and/or to train more often. Also, new IS were considered to facilitate collaboration and reuse of exercises material, thus contributing to more resources-efficient training. Several risks and potential disadvantages of IT tools were also acknowledged, including that digital training would replace conventional training, and that technical problems would arise. Also, 17 distributed screen-sharing prototyping sessions took place in which users' needs and objectives were identified, refined and validated in what Hevner et al. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF] describe as functional testing. T3 prototypes were also evaluated through what Hevner et al. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF] label structural testing in three "walk-through" sessions with target users. Later, T3 was evaluated in 4 minor field studies (cf. [START_REF] Hevner | Design science in information systems research[END_REF]) with approximately 2-10 participants in distributed, asynchronous exercises. A mixed group of researchers and practitioners participated in the first two exercises. The next three exercises in T3 were planned and executed in real settings in the application context. One exercise was cross-border. T2 was evaluated in the functional testing of interfaces and field studies for utility and ease-of-use in more than 30 planning or training sessions. T2 and T3 will also be further evaluated during the Interreg CriseIT2 project.

5

The Artefacts Four software prototypes were developed. T1 and T4 were developed in Norway; T2 and T3 in Sweden. While the prototypes were largely developed in this order, the development processes overlapped somewhat. There were several reasons for constructing four separate tools. First, one of the tools, T1, already existed as a prototype that was refined and adapted to the target group in the project. Second, two of the tools, T1 and T4, are to be commercialized and two, T2 and T4, are open/free to use. Finally, as the tools are still under construction, and in different development stages, the separation into four different prototypes was deemed most practical. In the future, it is possible that all or some of them will be integrated with each other (e.g. T1 with T2 and T3, or T2 with T3). Next, we present the four prototypes. T1: The Training Process Management Tool MeTracker. T1 guides the planner and offers supporting questions and suggestions to ease the planning process. In the first step, the user can create a new training process, edit, or copy established processes.

Step Step 4 has several options for detailed observation (e.g. photos or video clips) and evaluation based on the predefined criteria. Step 5 is used for the final evaluation, presentation of results and to formulate lessons learned, recommendations and training reports (see Fig. 2). This includes a graphic visualization of present, wanted and achieved status, linked to each area of expertise involved in the training process. All input collected in T1 is stored, and master documents are prepared and issued on the basis of this information. The system provides templates for reports, etc. With its holistic view of the training process and systematic stepwise approach, T1 is based on well-known theoretical frameworks for management training [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF]. It supports all the phases in Salas et al., although it does not include functionality for the actual training assignments or exercises. By defining long-term goals and regarding training as a processes consisting of several training activities, as well as enabling reuse, T1 is well in line with the recommendations in van Laere and Lindblom [START_REF] Van Laere | Cultivating a longitudinal learning process through recurring crisis management training exercises in twelve Swedish municipalities[END_REF]. The guidance of the process, the built-in support for training need analysis, etc., all provide a good foundation for improved quality (efficacy) as well as resource efficiency and doing the right things (effectiveness) (c.f. [START_REF] Beynon-Davies | Business information systems[END_REF]).

T2: The Individual Training Tool. The individual training tool (T2) was developed to enable individual training, and has two main user groups: trainers and trainees. The tool is a responsive web application that make it possible to plan and conduct individual training sessions independently of time and place, provided that the device used has an Internet connection. T2 is still an early prototype, however it is still possible to create, share, copy, edit and search existing training assignments. An assignment could for example include a short learning material (text, video etc.) as an introduction, followed by a quiz or open-ended questions. The individual crisis training tool (T2) can be mapped as a useful tool to support Phases 2, 4 and 5 in Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF]. It could thus be used to facilitate understanding of the (individual) role, something that van Laere and Lindholm [START_REF] Van Laere | Cultivating a longitudinal learning process through recurring crisis management training exercises in twelve Swedish municipalities[END_REF] suggested to be a vital part of building up crisis management skills in organizations. The T2 tool offers good possibilities for increased individual training, i.e. improved efficacy (cf. [START_REF] Beynon-Davies | Business information systems[END_REF]).

T3: The Collaborative Training Tool. The T3 tool was developed for collaborative training sessions independently of time, place and device. Like T2, the T3 tool is a (responsive) and free web-based application. In addition, T3 has two main user groups -trainers and trainees -and therefore has interfaces for both creating (planning) and conducting collaborative training sessions. T3 is built for 'tabletop-like', discussionbased exercises. The trainer or a group of trainers plan and create an exercise for a collaborative training session. Various manuals and guidelines from authorities at different levels in both countries were important in the design of our artefacts (e.g. [START_REF]Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap (MSB)[END_REF]. While planning and creating an exercise, the trainer adds modules (sections) which in turn contain the actual content of the exercise such as text describing what had happened and tasks/challenges for the trainees. The tasks are to be solved in collaboration by the exercise team. So far, only text ('comments') has been used as input from the trainees but other data formats will also be tested in the future. Modules can be asynchronous or synchronous, i.e. the trainees may perform some or all of the tasks at different points of time, although within a given timeframe. The trainer decides when each module should be accessible to the trainees by giving them a date and time stamp when they should be visible. If necessary, the trainer can intervene in the exercise by communicating with the trainees in chat rooms, changing the modules, their order or pace. Fig. 3 illustrates the collaborative training tool. By clicking on the plus sign to the right, the module is expanded and its content is shown.

The crisis training tool for collaborative exercises (T3) mainly supports Phase 4 but also Phase 5 in Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF] and recurrent exercises/series of exercises, as recommended by van Laere and Lindblom [START_REF] Van Laere | Cultivating a longitudinal learning process through recurring crisis management training exercises in twelve Swedish municipalities[END_REF]. Last but not least, a free and flexible tool such as this, offering distributed and asynchronous exercises, should increase the volume of training at a low cost, thus improving both efficacy and efficiency (c.f. [START_REF] Beynon-Davies | Business information systems[END_REF]).

T4: The Operational Decision Support System (O-DSS).

The O-DSS is based on Microsoft's Hololens Technology (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens), which is an application of Augmented Reality (AR). It is designed to assist decision makers in crisis management situations to acquire shared situation awareness, as well as to serve as an environment for training decision making at the operational level. T4 support training on decision support, communication, collaboration etc., distributed or colocated. User interaction occurs through an interface that allows the user to look at the simulated environment through a "virtual overlay" on the real world outside. Using HoloLens goggles, a large map, the size of a standard classroom, is projected "around" the participant. The map consists of a "Disaster Town/Municipal". Participants can orientate themselves in the map by moving their heads and walking around "in the map". Some glasses have a "Game Master" feature that allows the carrier to add objects to the map (police car, fire truck, medical car, etc.). Scenarios such as landslides and forest fires are included. Users can manipulate the simulated environment in various ways without using any other "gadgets" than their fingers and hand movements. The O-DSS allows up to four players or decision makers, who can form teams at will or join predefined teams. Each player may make decisions in order to manage an incident, usually involving allocating resources of the right type and volume to the site of the incident. Color-coding of the dome indicates status. For example, red code means that the situation is critical and resources are needed immediately. Points may be rewarded to both team and individual players, in accordance with the successfulness of their allocations. The equipment operates without any PC attached, and connects wirelessly to the internet. This tool has been used for tabletop and input-response exercises and has been tested for both tactical "on-scene command" and for staff training at operational levels. Like T3, this tool mainly supports the fourth phase in Salas et al. [START_REF] Salas | Using Simulation-Based Training to Enhance Management Education[END_REF] but also the fifth and sixth phases, as it is possible to record the training sessions and use the recording for after-action reviews and improved feedback.

Discussion and conclusions

The purpose of this article is to describe information systems designed in the CriseIT project to support local governments' crisis management training and to discuss how these artefacts could improve crisis management training practices. The IS presented contribute to the computer-based training field by providing novel examples of how the entire crisis training process can be systematically supported from analysis of training needs to follow-up of lessons learnt, while also offering functionality that enable collaboration and reuse. Furthermore, both the role of the trainer and the trainee are supported, by highly flexible training software. We suggest that the IS presented here may improve crisis management training in local and regional government agencies by:

• Enabling more frequent training /exercises incl. repetition [T2, T3], thus improving the potential for increased crisis awareness and maintaining knowledge (cf. [START_REF] Van Laere | Cultivating a longitudinal learning process through recurring crisis management training exercises in twelve Swedish municipalities[END_REF]). thus supporting follow-up, and feedback to the trainees as well as transfer of learning.

This paper serves as an introduction to the IS designed in the CriseIT project. These constitute the first components of a digitally supported crisis management training model aimed to complement conventional crisis training methods. The individual tool and their design process will be presented in more depth in forthcoming studies. The tools will also be further evaluated and developed in the CriseIT 2 project. In addition, educational material, methods and guidelines to support the usage of the software (in planning/design of training/exercise as well as during the execution training/exercise) are being developed. Furthermore, all tools, except T1, have only had limited evaluations. The bullet list above are thus mainly visions of technology impacts at this stage. A natural next step is to test them thoroughly with local governments and their partner organizations.

  1. Phase 1, Student Need Analysis, involves determining who needs training (audience), and what should be trained (content). In Phase 2, Educational Competencies, general skills-based competences for crisis management are described and compared with the skill inventory information from Phase 1. The analysis in the first two phases indicates the direction of the rest of the learning process. Phase 3, Learning Objectives, consists of specifying measurable training goals. After the training goals have been set, simulation scenarios are developed in Phase 4, Trigger Events Exercises.

Fig. 1 .

 1 Fig. 1. Stages for the successful implementation of simulation based training in management education (Salas et al. [21], p. 565).

  2 guides the user through a Training Need Analysis (TNA) for the training organization. A Main Training Objective (MTO) is established for a longitudinal training process (a series of exercises) and operationalized in Training objectives (TO). Training objectives are categorized into different generic areas of expertise (situational awareness, leadership and organisation, collaboration, decision-making and communication). TOs are then further operationalized by Evaluation Points (EP). In step 3, the training sessions and exercises are planned in detailed Activities. Activities will vary in form and duration, from basic seminars and workshops, to tabletop and input-response exercises, and full-scale exercise(s). Step 4 results in an overview of the planned activities and how the TOs are covered. It is also possible to edit, copy or establish new activities.

Fig. 2 .

 2 Fig. 2. The MeTracker system.

Fig. 3 .

 3 Fig. 3. The Collaborative training tool.

•

  Facilitating the involvement of more external actors and (internal) trainees, also for preparing new employees in-between exercises [T2] or training of individual roles. • Increasing flexibility in training/exercises with the potential to participate in training/exercises anywhere (if Internet access) and anytime (within defined time spans) in shorter sessions [T2, T3]. • Enabling cross-organizational, collaborative planning and the reuse of exercises, providing templates, auto-generating reports, offering lists of common exercise goals, etc. [T1, T3], thereby making planning more resource-efficient and in-creasing the variety in exercises. • Structuring the planning process and guiding the order of activities [T1, T3], thus ensuring quality. • Offering in-depth support for training need analysis [T1], thereby using resources wisely and ensuring that essential knowledge gaps are filled. • Making exercises more immersive and varied [T4]. • Providing richer (training) data, and thereby improved evaluations [T1, T2, T3, T4],

Acknowledgements

This research was partly funded by EU/Interreg, Sweden-Norway program (20200721).