A Lancaster University and University of Liverpool study has shed light on how emergency services coordinate during live exercises and how that collaboration could be strengthened in the future.

The research analysed video footage from a large-scale UK training exercise simulating a London Underground station collapse. By examining how police, fire and ambulance personnel interacted during joint meetings, the researchers tested a new method for identifying behaviours that support effective teamwork – and explored whether stronger collaboration in those meetings led to more cross-service interaction afterwards.

The study found frequent signs of clear communication and active discussion around shared and service-specific goals during inter-agency meetings. However, it also highlighted a tendency for personnel to group together with colleagues from their own service, a custom identified in recent public inquiries as a barrier to effective crisis response.

Based on their findings, the researchers suggested four practical steps that could be taken in training and operations to enhance interoperability.

• Emphasise shared goals in joint meetings: Starting and ending inter-agency briefings by aligning objectives with a structured goal round where each service outlines its aims and how they link to the wider mission.
• Structure communication to avoid reinforcing silos: Rotating spokesperson roles, turn-taking, and prompts for cross-agency input.
• Foster shared identity through language and action: Inclusive terms such as ‘we’, ‘us’, or ‘blue lights’ paired with joint scenario planning and role-swapping exercises.
• Embed systematic behavioural observation into multiagency training: Traditional surveys often overlook the subtle real-time behaviours that shape teamwork, making behavioural observation or video analysis a practical and valuable tool in multi-agency training.

Dr Richard Philpot, lead author, said: “Recent public inquiries have described how joint working between the emergency services can break down. This study provides a practical approach to observing how police, fire and ambulance services interact, when collaboration is strengthened, and how future training might better support effective joint working.”

The research, funded by the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST), represents a step forward in moving beyond self-reported data towards evidence-based evaluations of interoperability. The study shows that strong collaboration comes from setting common goals, balancing communication, and embedding behavioural evidence into training. Understanding and acting on these elements will help emergency services work more effectively together when crises occur.

The full paper, published in Safety Science, can be found here