The COntribution of Social Media In Crisis management (COSMIC) project will identify the most effective ways to utilise new information and communication technologies (ICTs) in crisis situations for the protection of ordinary citizens. It will ensure better linkages between prevention, detection, reporting and rescue in crisis situations as well as assist officials and first responders (i.e. police, law enforcement agencies, search and rescue and medical personnel) in using new ICTs and applications to be more effective and efficient during crises.COSMIC will review information and communication needs, infrastructure bottlenecks, security priorities and major stakeholders associated with crisis situations, particularly those involved at search and rescue missions/operations, and the role of first responders in those situations. Second, the project will examine new ICTs and applications and their use (or misuse) in crisis situations. Next, the project will explore emerging ICTs and applications, and identify political, social and industrial challenges and opportunities arising from these. We will develop scenarios that consider possibilities for their use in crisis situations by the public, officials and first responders. We will examine the role of citizens as first responders, social activists and citizen journalists in new media communication, and the ethical issues and political consequences of citizen participation. The project will result in a set of guidelines for citizens, government authorities, first responders and industry for the most effective use of ICTs to aid citizen security during crises.COSMIC threads stakeholder engagement throughout the project and the information from work packages two through four will be validated using stakeholder engagement workshops and a web platform of international first response organisations. We intend for these to form a breeding ground for future activities and efforts in the use of new and emerging ICTs in crises.