The role of external experts in crisis situations: A research synthesis of 114 post-crisis evaluation reports in the Netherlands

Abstract

This explorative study examines the role of external experts in crisis situations and the conditions under which their involvement contributes to adequate crisis management. Existing crisis management research tends to focus on stakeholder analysis, and the valuable input of experts during crisis preparation. Consequently, the role of external experts during the crisis response phase has been largely overlooked. This is somewhat surprising given the crucial role that is often attributed to external experts. To fill this gap, we have investigated the role of external experts by conducting a research synthesis of 114 post-crisis evaluation reports relating to 60 crises in the Netherlands between 2000 and 2013. The analysis shows that external experts are frequently involved and often play prominent roles in the crisis response. These external experts are often not actively recruited by the (strategic) crisis management response structure. In addition, the contributions and activities of external experts tend to be scarcely coordinated by the (strategic) crisis management response structure. Based on an in-depth analysis of the evaluation reports, we identify six opportunities and threats related to expert involvement in crisis situations, and ten conditions under which expert involvement contributes to adequate crisis management.