A virtual Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for research and training
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Try out SimEOC or participate in research
Contact SimEOC for an account »
Currently, SimEOC is free to try, but in the future we may charge a fee for premium services.
A virtual Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for research and training
Get started
Try out SimEOC or participate in research
Contact SimEOC for an account »
Currently, SimEOC is free to try, but in the future we may charge a fee for premium services.
Organizations can use SimEOC to configure and conduct custom disaster response training exercises, using private space with password authenticated user access.
Researchers can use SimEOC for observational research on simulated disaster events. A complete record of each exercise is logged for after-action assessment.
EOC staff and students can use SimEOC, an online, web-based training tool, from dispersed locations to prepare in detail for what they will need to do in a real disaster.
When disasters occur, they can severely impact the health and disrupt the continuity of communities. Emergency operations centers (EOCs) are temporary organizations that emerge to respond to disasters by bringing together dozens of private and public organizations to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate to ensure the continuity of the community. They have primary responsibility for public safety under the guidelines of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Yet, EOCs are rarely engaged outside of a disaster situation, so there is little empirical data to provide insight into their processes and performance to support improvements. Observational research on such events is difficult; experimental research is even more difficult. This web site hosts a simulator of an EOC, called SimEOC, that can be configured to a wide variety of EOC forms. The goal of SimEOC is not to model a disaster, but to model the organization that responds to a disaster. SimEOC affords not only a research tool for academics, but also a resource for education, training and policy analysis for communities of practice who engage in an emergency operations event.
SimEOC is an online, web-based training tool that delivers emergency management exercises to dispersed trainees. It is designed to be consistent with the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). Each organization using SimEOC has a private space with password authenticated user access for exercise developers, exercise controllers, observers, and trainees. Exercise developers define trainee roles, injects, status boards, and training exercises. Exercises take place online, with no one needing to be in the same location, but can take place in a centrally located site. A complete record of the exercise is logged for “hot-wash” and “after-action” reporting and assessment.
SimEOC is the product of Ensayo, an NSF-supported collaborative research project with the goal of building a virtual Emergency Operations Center (vEOC) for primary use as a research instrument, but also for training and education.
Learn more about the Ensayo Research Project
NSF Award #1405912, II-EN: Ensayo II: An Enhanced Virtual Emergency Operation Center (EOC) for Research and Training in Disaster Management