All emergencies and crisis events are by definition chaotic and highly dynamic, creating physical, emotional, and social disorder. Many emergency response managements face difficulties because of the inability to effectively manage the incident. The Incident Management System (IMS) provides a mean for government authorities and relevant agencies to command, control, and coordinate for such incidents and restore a modicum of order in a chaotic environment.

The IMS is a single standardized emergency management system designed to allow users to work together using common terminologies and operating procedures for controlling personnel, facilities, equipment, and communications in response to the incidents. Users can adopt an integrated organizational structure equal to the complexity and demands of any size or type of emergency incidents. It functions to incorporate and fully utilize all assigned resources and expertise from multiple agencies, and can operate in a multi-jurisdictional environment.

Developed in California in the mid-1970s, IMS is now widely practiced in countries around the globe. IMS was introduced to Asia in 2002 and currently in used by many countries in the region such as India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Maldives, Bangladesh and Iran.

The 3rd Regional Training Course in Incident Management System for Disaster Management (IMS-3) addresses the importance of IMS in emergency response management and planning. The course provides an in-depth knowledge on the IMS, covering a range of topics that are essential to the application of IMS in disaster response management. The good practices and lesson learned on the application of IMS in the region will be shared. The course is designed to enable practitioners to operate efficiently during an incident or event within the Incident Management System focusing on the management of single resources.