Project to advance crisis and emergency communications practices

The authors collaborate onboard Mobile One, Trillium Response Emergency Exercise, Thunder Bay Ontario

Patrice Cloutier, Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and Barry Radford, Barry Radford & Associates Communications Planners, have completed a collaborative project with Partnerships Toward Safer Communities – Online (PTSC-Online).

We presented information and invited emergency management practitioners to comment on a document intended to advance crisis and emergency communications practices.

We invite you to visit the project at http://www.ptsc-online.ca/crisis and emergency communications

The end results are two-fold:

1. PTSC-Online members and readers will have a clear understanding of the absolute necessity for organizations to have a crisis communications plan and be prepared to deal with increased expectations for a prompt and effective response.
2. The PTSC-Online community will have a better understanding of the knowledge, training, preparation and other facets of an effective crisis communications plan.

Here is an outline of the content we covered:

Project introduction: project to advance crisis and emergency communications practice

Current trends and challenges

• Current trends in crisis communications planning and the provision and dissemination of emergency information
• How social media is changing the expectations of audiences/public

Crisis Communications Planning

• Basic overview of the main components of a crisis communications plan (plans/procedures, people, preparation, practice)
• How to build one

Plans and Procedures

• Hazards and risks identification and how they apply to audiences
• Monitoring traditional and social media
• Procedures and checklists
• Logistics and equipment

People

• Skill set and characteristics of effective communicators during a crisis
• Media relations training
• IMS, business continuity and other training
• Social media as crisis communications tools

Preparations

• Key messages: their importance and how they relate to expectations from your audiences
• Message mapping … a crisis communications technique
• Key message delivery
• Social media integration
• Other crisis communications techniques
• Public Information Officer toolkit

Practice

• Communications and emergency information exercises
• Broader exercises and communication team’s involvement

Best practices and case studies

• In delivering emergency information
• In crisis communications and reputation management
• Crisis communications planning and NGOs/not-for profit
• In communications related to BCP and COOP

Additional resources

• Setting up and running an Emergency Information Centre or Joint Information Centre
• The public alerting and emergency information continuum
• Public alerting and technological developments
• Others

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