Session 7

Crisis and Risk Communication

Session 7 Slide Deck

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Session Objectives

1. Summarize Actions Performed to Assess Risk Communication Needs

2. Explain the Importance of Risk and Vulnerability Assessments

3. Define and Analyze the Target Audience4. Identify Appropriate Solutions

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Assessing Needs• Risk communication begins with the

identification of the problem(s) the campaign will address

• In a perfect world, it would be possible to communicate all information about all hazards

• Communicators must understand the problem if they are to bring about change, and must achieve a balance in size/scope

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Communication Problem Factors

• Factor 1: The hazard or hazards (which are the root of risk)

• Factor 2: The population at risk from the hazard

• Factor 3: The risk reduction ‘solutions’

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Problem Questions

• Factor 1: What hazard or hazards will our campaign address?

• Factor 2: Who are the people that our messages will be designed to address?

• Factor 3: What can we tell people to do that will decrease their vulnerability and/or risk?

• For each, the answer lies between two extremes

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Why Limit the Problem?• As the number of hazards grows in size, the amount

of information and related material grows as well• The burden of time, attention, and understanding on

the part of the audience members also grows given the amount of material and information they will have to cull through

• Because all people and all groups communicate differently, the range of communication preferences grows in scope as the size of the target population grows in size

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Why Analyze Communication• To better understand hazards and risk• To delineate the communicators’ role• To better understand the audience• To identify viable risk reduction solutions• To determine what to say, how to say it, and

who will do the talking• To manage the project• To identify obstacles

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Three Steps

• Performing Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Assessments

• Defining and Analyzing the Target Audience

• Identifying Appropriate Risk-Reduction or Preparedness Solutions

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Hazard Definition• Any event or physical condition that has the potential to cause:

– Fatalities– Injuries– Property Damage

• Infrastructure damage• Agricultural loss• Damage to the environment• Interruption of business• Economic losses or instability• Other types of harm or loss

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Hazard Categories

• Natural Hazards• Technological Hazards• Intentional Hazards

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Five Steps of Risk Assessment

• Hazard Identification• Hazard Profiling• Risk Analysis• Risk Comparison• Vulnerability Assessment

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Hazard Identification

• Goal = understand all hazards that can cause negative impacts

• Begins by identifying each hazard affecting the geographic area in question

• Identified through brainstorming, expert analysis, and/or other information sources

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Hazard Profiling

• Provides a much better understanding of hazards

• Provides communicators with all the hazard information they need to begin identifying a target population and vulnerability reduction solutions in one place

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Risk Analysis

• Risk = likelihood X consequences• Risk analysis tells us how often the hazard

will occur, and what will happen if it does• Consequence measures the human,

structural, economic, and environmental effects

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Risk Comparison

• Prioritize hazards according to severity• The risk matrix plots risk likelihood on

either the X or Y axis, and consequence on the alternate axis – it is the most common tool used to accomplish comparison

• Relative severity becomes apparent when direct comparisons are made

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Vulnerability Assessment• Risk analysis does not adequately explain why

figures are the way they are• Vulnerability = “a measure of the propensity of an

object, area, individual, group, community, country, or other entity to incur the consequences of a hazard.”

• A combination of factors or processes are considered• Vulnerability is distinct between individuals,

families, groups, neighborhoods, religions, ages, and many other designations.

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Vulnerability Profiles

• The Physical Profile• The Social Profile• The Environmental Profile• The Economic Profile

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Audience Profiling

• Communicators consider many populations when conducting risk analysis

• Each group/individual differs with regards to risk and vulnerability, abilities and capacities to mitigate, prepare, respond, or recover, and methods for receiving and processing information

• There is no single solution • Resources are always limited

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Audience Determinations

• What messages must be developed• How those messages are communicated• What risk reduction options are possible• What results are likely to be achieved• Also called “Market Research”• Primarily defined by demographics and defining

characteristics

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Defining Characteristics• Population by location• Physical or mental

ability• Urban or rural

livelihoods• Income• Transience• Religion• Age

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• Gender• Literacy• Ethnicity• Employment or school

status• Psychographics• Health• Language

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Baseline Questions• What people make up this group? • What are their special characteristics and needs? • What specific hazard consequences affect them?• How are they vulnerable?• How do they perceive risk?• What specific characteristics places them at increased risk?• What abilities do they have to address risk/vulnerability?• Does this group want to reduce vulnerability?• What obstacles does this group face?• What could help affect change / influence message delivery?• What benefits are associated with behavior change?• Etc.

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Risk Solutions

• Those things the communicators are going to tell the target population to ‘do’

• Seek to:– Decrease hazard likelihood (mitigation)– Reduce impacts (mitigation)– Prepare for response (preparedness)

• The chosen solution(s) will be that or those most likely to succeed.

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Solution Analysis• Benefit • Cost• Time • Availability• Secondary negative consequences• Sustainability• Target audience obstacles• Feasibility obstacles • Likelihood that individual members of the population will take the mitigation

or preparedness action• What, if any, segment of the population is already taking this action, and their

successes and failures in doing so

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