Command Structures & Joint Ops Workshop - Part 1

Who has authority over what – and what happens when nobody does?

Every major event operates under a command structure that connects organisers, police, fire services, emergency medical teams, and municipal authorities. On paper, these structures are clear: defined roles, communication protocols, escalation procedures, mutual aid agreements. On the ground, they break down – because priorities conflict, decisions are delayed, and the person who should make the call is waiting for permission from someone who isn’t in the room.

Part 1 – The Architecture

How joint operations are designed: the institutional landscape behind a live event. The relationship between event organisers and public authorities. Command posts, control rooms, and the communication channels that connect them. What each stakeholder expects from the others – and where those expectations diverge. The three categories of decisions that determine outcomes: contractual (agreed weeks in advance, hard to change), operational (should be flexible but often treated as fixed), and situational (must happen fast, often without consensus). The key problem: situational decisions – stop entry, delay the artist, open emergency routes – are the ones that save lives, and they are the ones most likely to be delayed because nobody pre-authorised them.

Part 2 – The Breakdown

What happens when structures meet pressure. Participants work through scenarios drawn from real events where command structures were tested: conflicting priorities between safety and commercial interests, communication failures between control rooms operating on different channels, delayed decisions because authority was unclear, and the moments where a pre-authorised protocol would have prevented an escalation but didn’t exist. Each scenario is examined for what was planned, what actually happened, and what should have been different. Participants leave with a framework for designing command structures that work under stress – not just on paper.

In partnership with DSU

https://fiipregatit.ro/

YES Group powered dialogue

https://yourope.org/project/yes-group/