Novel crisis: A crisis which cannot be predicted based on the past experience and traditional approach, including unexpectedly large-scale or geographic distribution of traditional crises. Unpredictability can cause a lack of preparedness among key stakeholders. (Baubion, 2013)
Complex crisis: A crisis which includes different types of crises (natural, technological and humanitarian) which requires inter-sectional and inter-disciplinary approaches and expertise to respond to at the same time. It can cause significant physical, economic and social impacts in the globally interconnected world.
Times of calm: Times when a country is not at crisis.
Sense making: A crisis management capacity that aims to understand the nature of an emerging crisis situation, its magnitude and impacts, its potential to evolve, the core societal values under threat and to clarify any associated uncertainties.
Scientific advice: The provision of advice from scientific experts to key stakeholders such as policy makers, crisis managers and the public, based on their scientific evidence and expertise. The process can include collecting and analysing evidence, providing advice, and communicating with key stakeholders in appropriate and timely manners. (OECD, 2015a)
Crisis management cycle: A cyclic illustration of the multiple-phase process of crisis management, which can include (1) preparedness, (2) response, and (3) recovery.
Cascading Crisis: An extreme crisis, in which cascading effects increase in progression over time and generate unexpected secondary events of strong impact. This tends to be at least as serious as the original event, and to contribute significantly to the overall duration of the disaster’s effects. (Pescaroli and Pescroli, 2015)
Framework: Defined conditions that govern a specified area or task. In this report frameworks refer to conditions governing international exchange of data and information during crises. Such frameworks may be formal intergovernmental agreements or less formalised agreements between institutions and they may be more, or less, prescriptive with regards to data standards and protocols.