The aim of the study is to propose policy guidelines that can help to improve the likelihood of success in crisis events, highlighting the need of better knowledge management to improve crisis management. After a brief analysis of three crisis events occurred in the USA, Chile and Peru, the study deepens in the situation that was lived in the Peru's earthquake. Furthermore, an innovative model of inter-institutional collaboration based on the concept of open data as a tool for knowledge management is proposed, obtaining information from the problems encountered in situations of crisis that occurred previously. Three groups of stakeholders (academics, public servants and citizens) validated the proposed policy guidelines and the open data model. Finally, this study can serve as a starting point for the development of an open data platform that helps society to face crisis events through knowledge management, promoting transparency, participation and collaboration among stakeholders.