Feedback Models for Collaboration and Trust in Crisis Response Networks

Scholars have devoted increasing efforts to understanding crisis response networks especially networks comprised of disparate members who acknowledge no higher organizational authority. Coordination within these networks is difficult for several reasons, including the chaotic nature of the crisis, a need to balance shared goals (crisis amelioration) and organization-specific goals, and the lack of a central organizing authority. More recently, scholars have suggested crisis response networks might be able to coordinate effectively in the absence of a central organizing authority. Grounded in general system theory and particularly the use of feedback loops, this paper proposes a campaign of experimentation set in the Naval Postgraduate School's Maritime Interdiction Operation that seeks to understand whether feedback loops comprised of reciprocal resource commitments can engender greater trust and commitment among organizations responding to a crisis.