Because the TM is aimed to support future Trial organizers and thus future Test-bed users (i.e. the TM’s learners), one can distinguish two main categories of training target groups for the TM:
1. Trial organisers, being the TM’s primary training target group, who could be employed as:
- High-level crisis managers – as they have first-hand experience in encountering CM gaps directly, or to experience the cascading effects or lessons identified of these gaps. They also are in a strategic position to trigger a process to search for a solution for these gaps. Therefore they are the most logical spot to kick-start a project to organize a Trial. To be able to run this well, they should have a good understanding of the TGM and how to work best with it (in a team).
- Senior CM field practitioners – as they have multiple years of experience working in the field and/or in command/coordination centres, they have first-hand experience in current CM gaps, especially at the operational level. As such they are foreseen to be a logical spot at which the concept of a Trial emerges (e.g. “We often experience issues A or B in these types of incidents:can’t we try out how to solve this best?”). Therefore, they should at minimal be able to participate as practitioner expert in the committee organizing a Trial or they even need to be able to use the TGM fully.
- CM policy makers – because they are involved in the development of new policies, often requiring the implementation of new socio-technological solutions and requiring an assessment of new policies and solutions piloted/implemented. Therefore, they need to understand the concept of a Trial and be able to (manage a team to) follow the TGM.
- CM procurement officers – because they could use the TGM as objective assessment method for new socio-technological solutions to acquire. Therefore, they need to understand the objective character of Trials and the TGM and how to apply this in their procurement processes.
- CM innovators – usually working within a CM organisation, their job is to chase CM innovation. To assess the success of these innovations, all aspects of the Test-bed are most useful for them. To implement and use it well, they should have a full understanding of the Test-bed.
- Researchers in the field of CM – as these are working on their independent research in CM and innovations to solve these, or because they can be involved by a CM organisation to assist them in innovation research. These persons can be found to work at (applied) universities and public research organisations. They should therefore have a full understanding especially of the TGM and supportive tools and methods. Because of their research background, they probably have or should be drawn to different focus areas within the TM.
- Consultants in the field of CM – because they can be involved by a CM organisation to assist them in innovation assessment, for instance as data analyst, evaluation expert or as toolset implementer. These persons can be found to work at public research organisations, and commercial consultancy companies. Dependent on the expertise for which they are hired, they need to be able to use certain aspects of the Test-bed (e.g. to prepare and execute the evaluation approach, or to select and implement simulations required to run a realistic Trial scenario).
Next to this primary target group, there are also other stakeholders in a Trial, who are the TM’s secondary training target groups:
- Practitioners (not being the main Trial organizers) – because they are needed as players during the Trial runs and/or as observers. Therefore, they must understand what a Trial is and particularly what is expected from them to play or observe during a Trial run.
- Solution providers – because their solution is being trialled. They must have a good understanding of what a Trial is, have a basic understanding of the TGM, and must understand the process to prepare, execute and evaluate a Trial well such that they can cooperate effectively. In addition, this enables them to better provide suggestions on how to best assess the performance of their solution during a Trial.
- Developers and technicians (for any kind of socio-technical solution) – because they are needed to organize a Trial, they must have a basic understanding of what a Trial is and the TGM, and they must have in-depth understanding of what the Test-bed technical infrastructure can bring them, how to implement it and of the technical and logistical preparation processes. They can work for solution providers, but also for CM organisations hosting a Trial or research organisations.