Working Together Saving Lives

The pentagon at the center of the JDM is a reminder to emergency responders that all joint decisions must be made with the primary aim of saving lives and reducing harm. This is achieved through a co-ordinated, multi-agency response.

Gather Information and Intelligence

This stage involves gathering and sharing information and intelligence, for example through a M/ETHANE message. The purpose is to achieve a shared situational awareness.

Assess Threat and Risk and Develop a Working Strategy

Commanders should ensure they have reviewed and understood all risks so that appropriate control measures can be put in place. They should work together to agree a working strategy which is an action plan to address the immediate situation. (See Risks section of app for more details).

Consider Powers, Policies and Procedures

This stage relates to any relevant laws, operating procedures or policies that may impact on the response plan and the capabilities that are available to be deployed.

Identify Options and Contingencies

There will almost always be more than one option to achieve the desired end state. Commanders and responders should all work together to evaluate the options and contingencies.

When considering potential options or courses of action consider the following:
Suitability - Does it fit with the strategic direction?
Feasibility - Can it be done with the available resources?
Acceptability - Is it legal, morally defensible and justifiable?

Take Action and Reviewed What Happened

Building shared situational awareness, setting direction, evaluating options and making decisions all lead to taking the actions that are judged to be the most effective and efficient in resolving an emergency and returning to a new normality.

Actions must be reviewed. As information changes during the response, commanders should use the Joint Decision Model to inform their decision making until the incident is resolved.