EPR-Public Communications - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

EPR-Public CommunicationsL-05

Creating

a

Public Communications ProgramSlide2

Prepare, plan, practice

Make goals clear and

precise;

The

PIO

group should have a mission statement that is understood and frequently referred

to;

Example:

“

To manage, through actions, policies, and messages, the human behavioral aspects of emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

”Slide3

Program setupDesignate jobs, roles, and responsibilities based on the Incident Command Structure (ICS)Slide4

Program setup

Establish internal organizational process for getting messages approved during an

emergency;

Provide for needed resources (space, equipment, communications lines, personnel

);

Establish agreements with other organizations on coordination of information

release.Slide5

Program setupList of contacts (addresses, office and mobile phones, including after-hours numbers, emails, etc.) for:

Media (including blogs and online sites

);

Stakeholders (NGOs, industry, etc

.);

Contacts at other organizations that will be part of the emergency response (including international

);

Other key public and political officials; Members of your own team.Slide6

Public communications activities

The PIO

is responsible

for

delivering

public

information activities;

Some states and organizations may already have groups responsible for public information;Such groups could be used to fulfill the PIO function during a radiation emergency.Slide7

Public communications activities

Strategic planning–to develop a strategy for communicating during the

emergency;

Media Relations—to manage relations with the

media;

Media Monitoring—to monitor effectiveness of media relations and accuracy of

reporting;

New Media—to maintain emergency specific

website.Slide8

Public Communications Activities

Liaison and Coordination—to coordinate information/messages and release of

information;

Public Relations—to provide information to the

public;

Internal Communications—to keep responders and employees informed about what is being said to the

media.Slide9

Program setup

Identify potential ways to contact various audiences. Become familiar with how to use these channels so in the event of emergency you are prepared to use them

immediately;

Where possible, establish these channels (an emergency site on your organization

’

s home page, links to social media, emergency alert systems to reach the public

’

s radios or cell phones. Slide10

Organization and planning

The PIO structure should also include liaison officers– PIO

staff who are assigned to sit in on meetings and discussions in the Planning and Operations

Sections;

The PIO

will also need access to technical experts, so at least one expert will need to be assigned as an advisor to the

PIO

;

The designated spokesperson or spokespersons will also report and work within the PIO structure.Slide11

Phases of Emergency ManagementPreparedness

Response

Recovery

Planning for public communications is necessary for

all potential emergencies in all

three

phases.Slide12

Basic stepsList all potential

emergencies;

For each emergency, identify the goals of your risk communication

plan;

For each emergency, develop a resource of basic information about such an

emergency.Slide13

Circumstances

Context

Risk Perception

Characteristics

Audiences

Channels

Spokesperson

Actions/Messages

Facts, history, summarize issues.

Facts and context about issue in general . Have similar incidents occurred in the past? When? What were the consequences? Note details of current relationship with stakeholders (good, bad, controversial, cooperative…)

Note political realities in local communities.

 Based on facts in column 1, list risk perception factors are involved in the emergency?

List all relevant factors in order of priority.

Who are your audiences?

Which relationships are most important?

Identify special populations.

 List the various ways to reach each audience:

news conferences, press releases, websites, social media,

“

kitchen-table

”

meetings, public meetings, phone calls…

 Determine who will be talking. Spokesperson should have authority and expertise.

 Based on all columns, enter here what you will say.

Example: if

“

trust

”

is a perception factor, determine how you will directly address it.

Copyright, Ropeik & Associates

Time_________

Date_________

Risk

communication planningSlide14

Column 1: Circumstances, context

List basic facts about the

emergency;

Enter facts about the issue in general, including its context and

history.Slide15

Column 2: Risk Perception Characteristics

Based on the facts in Column 1

,

list the psychological factors, like trust, control, or uncertainty that might be involved in the

emergency;

List all the emotional factors that might be involved, but prioritize them based on their

importance;

Trust is always key.Slide16

Column 3: AudiencesWho do you want to reach?

Identify special at-risk

populations;

Some of the risk perception factors in Column 2 will apply to certain audiences more than

others.

3Slide17

Column 4: Channels

List the various ways to reach each

audience:

News conferences, press releases, radio announcements…

Postings to web sites or social media

sites;

One-on-one

“kitchen table”

meetings in people’s homes (take on different forms in preparation and recovery stages);Public meetings (preparation, recovery stages).Slide18

Column 5: Spokesperson

Designate the spokesperson(s) who will be most trusted by the audiences

affected;

Information should always be delivered in plain language, even if the spokesperson has technical

expertise.Slide19

Column 6: Actions, Messages

Based on details from the other columns, enter what you plan to do and what messages you will

deliver;

Risk communication is how you act not just how you

speak;

Refer to the other columns to effectively fill in this

one.

Slide20

Risk communication planning process chart

Use the chart for all three stages of risk

communication;

Use as many pages as

necessary;

Note the time and date on each

page;

Fill in new pages as circumstances change;These charts become a playbook for each plan, a record of the process to refer to as events unfold and later for determining lessons learned.Slide21

Prepare information materials

Topic specific fact

sheets;

Answers to common questions from the

public;

Answers to questions from the news

media;

Resources to quickly distribute to the media (including video and audio).Slide22

Other basic steps to prepare

Create and strengthen relationships with key partners (news media, public health authorities

…);

Develop actions and messages for each potential emergency based on the chart, keep organized and available for

reference;

Research what the public wants to know and address public

concerns;

Test your

messages.Slide23

PracticeRisk communication plans should be an integral part of any

exercise;

Exercises should be designed to test the challenges of managing public behavior during a theoretical

event;

Senior managers and spokespeople should practice delivering key

messages;Slide24

Summary

Set explicit goals and a clear sense of mission and

purpose;

Prepare in advance: create an infrastructure, job assignments and

procedures;

Prepare materials, equipment, contact information, messages, for potential

emergencies;

Message preparation is a process that requires careful thinking about other elements first;Practice risk communication in exercises.