About CrowdCAD

Operational Context

CrowdCAD grew out of a practical problem in event medicine. The teams providing care at campus events, concerts, athletic venues, graduations, and other mass gatherings often work in conditions that differ substantially from municipal EMS systems, but available software options do not always reflect those differences.

What makes event operations different

  • • Teams are often distributed across large venues or multiple posts.
  • • Staffing may include volunteers with varied levels of dispatch experience.
  • • Radio remains central to coordination in many settings.
  • • Connectivity, infrastructure, and equipment can vary widely by event.
  • • Many operations are temporary and need to be set up quickly.

Why simple tools are not always enough

Pen and paper, whiteboards, and spreadsheets can work for small operations, but they become harder to manage as call volume, venue size, and team complexity increase. Once multiple teams, dispatchers, posts, or supervisors are involved, even basic coordination can become difficult to track clearly and consistently.

Why open source matters here

Many volunteer organizations need something more structured than improvised tracking, but less expensive and less infrastructure-heavy than commercial systems. An open-source approach makes it easier for organizations to evaluate, adapt, and improve the tool around their own operational model.

Research and background

The following references informed our understanding of event operations and volunteer EMS response models.

Event EMS complexity and response pressure

Mass gatherings increase operational strain beyond routine response assumptions.

  • • Venue access constraints, crowd movement, and temporary post setups can slow response if not planned up front.
  • • Teams need clear dispatch workflows to avoid delays when call volume rises during peak periods.
PMID 15571196

On-site care can reduce unnecessary transport

Event-medicine programs often resolve many encounters on scene without hospital transport.

  • • Published findings show a substantial share of patient contacts can be managed on site with appropriate staffing.
  • • This can preserve external EMS and emergency department capacity for higher-acuity incidents.
PMID 10179212PMID 17591185

Volunteer response models in event settings

Volunteer teams add meaningful event-day care capacity when operations are structured.

  • • Clear escalation pathways and role definitions improve consistency for dispatchers and field teams.
  • • Training and operational standards remain central to reliable performance across recurring events.
PMID 37983354