Richard Philpot
Richard conducts research at the intersection of psychology, criminology, law and technology around how groups coordinate in public emergencies and during criminal events (e.g., in public assaults, mass evacuations, suspected terror attacks). His research further evaluates the psychology of emergency services' interaoperability, and how police behaviour impacts public confidence in policing.
Throughout this research, Richard explores the unfolding dynamics of real-life group behaviour using digital data sources—including public CCTV footage, bodyworn camera footage, app data and agent-based modelling.
CREST Outputs
Projects
Articles
Academic Publications
Bridging the Principle-Implementation Gap: Evaluating organizational change to achieve interoperability between the UK Emergency Services
From the journal abstract:
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.
Practitioner points
- JESIP's approach to organizational change has been limited by a principle-implementation gap. There is wide support for the principle of interoperability, but issues have impeded its implementation.
- A principle-implementation gap was identified across three levels: the macro-systemic level, the meso-organizational level and the micro-psychological level. Efforts to bridge the gap can use this structure to scaffold change.
- We recommend three ways to bridge the principle-implementation gap for interoperability: (i) increasing financial investment and widening the scope of JESIP (macro-level); (ii) mapping the organizational structures across emergency teams to inform alignment (meso-level); and (iii) developing team-oriented interoperability training aimed at building the social-psychological metacognitive skills required for cohesive interoperability (micro-level).
- The Principle-Implementation Change Framework for Interoperability (PICI) is a comprehensive evaluation tool for researchers and policymakers to categorize and understand organizational change towards interoperability, helping to structure the ongoing evaluation of change interventions and bridge the gap between the principle of change and its implementation.
Power, N., Philpot, R., Levine, M., & Alcock, J. (2025). Bridging the Principle-Implementation Gap: Evaluating organizational change to achieve interoperability between the UK Emergency Services. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98, e70010. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.70010
https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.70010Observing interoperability: a behavioural framework and analysis of multi-agency interactions in the UK emergency services
In the context of UK Emergency Management, interoperability among the emergency services is essential for effective response to disasters. This study employs qualitative and quantitative observational methods, to introduce a behavioural codebook that measures physical and psychological manifestations of interoperability in cross-services operational meetings, involving the police, fire and ambulance services. Applying this coding framework, we measure the frequency of interoperability behaviour in team meetings—including markers of trust, identification, goals, communication, and flexibility (Power et al., 2024a). Through a series of multiple logistic regressions, we determine the impact that interoperability behaviour has on subsequent team interactions. Analysis of 5 high quality videos and 102 video stills showed a notable tendency for physical clustering within service units. Effective communication was the most frequently observed component of interoperability, yet it also reinforced intra-group siloed interactions. Goals were frequently discussed, and these mentions were associated with a decreased likelihood of individuals paying attention to, speaking to, and being openly receptive to members of their own service unit over others. Conversely, markers of shared identity were associated with increased cross-service physical clustering—though this did not significantly increase cross-service verbal communication or open gesturing. These results underscore the complexity of achieving genuine interoperability and the need for targeted strategies that address both operational and psychological barriers. Our study contributes to the development of practical measures for assessing and enhancing multi-agency interoperability, essential for improving emergency response coordination.
Philpot, R., Levine, M., Betts, C., Nelson, M., Duck, E., & Power, N. (2025). Observing interoperability: a behavioural framework and analysis of multi-agency interactions in the UK emergency services. Safety Science, 191, 106947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2025.106947
Projects
Articles
Academic Publications
Bridging the Principle-Implementation Gap: Evaluating organizational change to achieve interoperability between the UK Emergency Services
From the journal abstract:
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.
Practitioner points
- JESIP's approach to organizational change has been limited by a principle-implementation gap. There is wide support for the principle of interoperability, but issues have impeded its implementation.
- A principle-implementation gap was identified across three levels: the macro-systemic level, the meso-organizational level and the micro-psychological level. Efforts to bridge the gap can use this structure to scaffold change.
- We recommend three ways to bridge the principle-implementation gap for interoperability: (i) increasing financial investment and widening the scope of JESIP (macro-level); (ii) mapping the organizational structures across emergency teams to inform alignment (meso-level); and (iii) developing team-oriented interoperability training aimed at building the social-psychological metacognitive skills required for cohesive interoperability (micro-level).
- The Principle-Implementation Change Framework for Interoperability (PICI) is a comprehensive evaluation tool for researchers and policymakers to categorize and understand organizational change towards interoperability, helping to structure the ongoing evaluation of change interventions and bridge the gap between the principle of change and its implementation.
Power, N., Philpot, R., Levine, M., & Alcock, J. (2025). Bridging the Principle-Implementation Gap: Evaluating organizational change to achieve interoperability between the UK Emergency Services. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98, e70010. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.70010
Observing interoperability: a behavioural framework and analysis of multi-agency interactions in the UK emergency services
In the context of UK Emergency Management, interoperability among the emergency services is essential for effective response to disasters. This study employs qualitative and quantitative observational methods, to introduce a behavioural codebook that measures physical and psychological manifestations of interoperability in cross-services operational meetings, involving the police, fire and ambulance services. Applying this coding framework, we measure the frequency of interoperability behaviour in team meetings—including markers of trust, identification, goals, communication, and flexibility (Power et al., 2024a). Through a series of multiple logistic regressions, we determine the impact that interoperability behaviour has on subsequent team interactions. Analysis of 5 high quality videos and 102 video stills showed a notable tendency for physical clustering within service units. Effective communication was the most frequently observed component of interoperability, yet it also reinforced intra-group siloed interactions. Goals were frequently discussed, and these mentions were associated with a decreased likelihood of individuals paying attention to, speaking to, and being openly receptive to members of their own service unit over others. Conversely, markers of shared identity were associated with increased cross-service physical clustering—though this did not significantly increase cross-service verbal communication or open gesturing. These results underscore the complexity of achieving genuine interoperability and the need for targeted strategies that address both operational and psychological barriers. Our study contributes to the development of practical measures for assessing and enhancing multi-agency interoperability, essential for improving emergency response coordination.
Philpot, R., Levine, M., Betts, C., Nelson, M., Duck, E., & Power, N. (2025). Observing interoperability: a behavioural framework and analysis of multi-agency interactions in the UK emergency services. Safety Science, 191, 106947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2025.106947