Ahead of the Emergency Tech Show, which takes place at Birmingham, NEC, September 16-17, alongside the Emergency Services Show, Security on Screen chats exclusively to new Group Event Director for the show, Hayley Simpson. Here, she tells us all about a new feature, Resilience360. This is part one of two.

Can you tell me a bit about the show – why should people attend this year? I understand Resilience360 is a new feature?

Hayley Simpson: “I think what makes this year’s event particularly exciting is that it reflects where emergency response is heading, not just where it’s been.

“The Emergency Services Show has always been about bringing together the people, equipment and innovations that support frontline response. This year marks its twentieth anniversary, which is a fantastic milestone. What has been most impressive is that the event has continued to evolve each year alongside the challenges that emergency services and partner organisations are dealing with every day.

“Over the two days you’ve got everything from live demonstrations and operational equipment through to CPD-accredited learning, specialist theatres and, of course, The Emergency Tech Show running alongside it. That combination is so important because today’s operational challenges aren’t just about vehicles or PPE or digital technology in isolation. They’re all connected. AI, communications, data, operational planning, people, leadership… they’re all part of the same picture now.

“And that’s exactly why we’ve introduced Resilience360.

“Whether you’re in local government, policing, transport, utilities, healthcare or private industry, you’re asking similar questions. How do we prepare? How do we keep critical services running? How do we recover more quickly when disruption happens?

“Resilience360 has been created to bring those conversations together. It sits alongside The Emergency Services Show and The Emergency Tech Show because that’s how disruption actually works. You prepare before an incident, you respond when it happens, and then you recover and learn from it afterwards. Those aren’t separate & it’s increasingly important that disciplines aren’t working in silo anymore.

“For me, that’s probably the biggest reason to come this year. You aren’t just seeing what’s new, you’re seeing how different sectors are starting to solve the same problems together. You gain insight in the whole picture.

Can you elaborate on Resilience360? Why is a feature like this necessary?

HS: “When you step back and look at the risks organisations face today, they rarely sit neatly in one category anymore.

“A cyber-attack can affect physical operations. Severe weather can disrupt supply chains. Infrastructure failures have implications for emergency response, healthcare, transport and local communities all at once.

“Traditionally, resilience might have been seen as the responsibility of emergency planners or business continuity teams. Today it’s making its way into boardrooms with conversations about maintaining operations during disruption becoming a strategic issue, whether you’re running a public service or a critical piece of national infrastructure.

“That’s why Resilience360 felt like such a natural addition.

“It’s designed for professionals responsible for operational resilience, business continuity, crisis management and critical infrastructure protection, but importantly it also creates opportunities for those communities to learn from emergency services, and vice versa.

“Resilience isn’t just one solution or one sector, it’s lots of connected disciplines working together. Technology plays a role. Leadership plays a role. Communications matter. Planning matters. Relationships matter.

“One organisation rarely has all the answers on its own.

“We’ve created an event that reflects the reality people are dealing with every day. You’re bringing together government, infrastructure operators, security professionals, resilience leaders and emergency services in one environment where they can have practical conversations about preparing for disruption, responding effectively and recovering well.

“For me, that’s what makes it valuable. It’s not resilience as an abstract concept. It’s resilience in practice, informed by people who have to make these difficult decisions in the real world.”

This is part one, read part two later in the week

For more information about the Emergency Services Show, click here

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