TY - JOUR

T1 - Bridging the Principle‐Implementation Gap

T2 - Evaluating organizational change to achieve interoperability between the UK Emergency Services

AU - Power, Nicola

AU - Philpot, Richard

AU - Levine, Mark

AU - Alcock, Jennifer

PY - 2025/3/31

Y1 - 2025/3/31

N2 - Improving inter‐agency working across organizations is an important goal across public and private sectors. The UK Emergency Services have spent a decade implementing organizational change to improve interoperability between the Police, Fire and Ambulance Services. JESIP—the group tasked with realising this change—have faced criticism. We evaluated JESIP's efforts by interviewing expert commanders, finding participants supported the principle of change, but issues impeded its implementation. We developed the Principle‐Implementation Change Framework for Interoperability (PICI) to describe the gap between change principles and change implementation, identifying the macro‐systemic, meso‐organizational and micro‐psychological processes between them. Key obstacles to implementation included macro‐level funding issues, incompatible meso‐level organizational structures and strained micro‐level peer‐to‐peer relationships. Participants also reflected on the facilitators of change. At the meso‐organizational level, JESIP was perceived to have improved inter‐team communication and flexibility. At the micro‐psychological level participants described enhanced trust, shared identities and the emergence of a new type of interoperability leader. This study highlights the importance of gaining support for the principle of interoperability while addressing implementation challenges posed by the inherent social complexities involved in this change. Change efforts must be monitored over time, considering the macro, meso and micro‐level processes that influence the principle‐implementation gap.

AB - Improving inter‐agency working across organizations is an important goal across public and private sectors. The UK Emergency Services have spent a decade implementing organizational change to improve interoperability between the Police, Fire and Ambulance Services. JESIP—the group tasked with realising this change—have faced criticism. We evaluated JESIP's efforts by interviewing expert commanders, finding participants supported the principle of change, but issues impeded its implementation. We developed the Principle‐Implementation Change Framework for Interoperability (PICI) to describe the gap between change principles and change implementation, identifying the macro‐systemic, meso‐organizational and micro‐psychological processes between them. Key obstacles to implementation included macro‐level funding issues, incompatible meso‐level organizational structures and strained micro‐level peer‐to‐peer relationships. Participants also reflected on the facilitators of change. At the meso‐organizational level, JESIP was perceived to have improved inter‐team communication and flexibility. At the micro‐psychological level participants described enhanced trust, shared identities and the emergence of a new type of interoperability leader. This study highlights the importance of gaining support for the principle of interoperability while addressing implementation challenges posed by the inherent social complexities involved in this change. Change efforts must be monitored over time, considering the macro, meso and micro‐level processes that influence the principle‐implementation gap.

KW - behaviour change

KW - emergency management

KW - emergency services

KW - organizational change

KW - multi‐team system

KW - teamwork

U2 - 10.1111/joop.70010

DO - 10.1111/joop.70010

M3 - Journal article

VL - 98

JO - Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology

JF - Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology

SN - 0963-1798

IS - 1

M1 - e70010

ER -