Public empowerment: Guidelines for engaging the public in crisis management

AUTHOR(S)
Vos, M.; van het Erve, A.; de Gouw, N.; Haataja, M.; Hokkanen, L.; Johansson, C.; Linnell, M.; Olofsson, A.; Öhman, S.; Rantanen, H.; Sullivan, H.T.; Stal, M.; Vergeer, F.; Wall, E.


The aim of this guide is to help managers and communication experts develop strategies for empowering people in the different phases of the safety chain. The first part of the guide is based on some desk studies and an online international expert questionnaire. It explains how public empowerment can be enhanced and describes key enablers for community resilience.

The second part of this guide is based on a desk study, data base analyses and interviews. It clarifies how a community approach, involving social groups and communities in crisis preparedness and response, is used taking into account experiences and success factors in connecting with local community needs and bottom-up initiatives.

The third part of this guide is based on several desk studies, focus group interviews, and expert interviews. It gives advice how technology can support citizen preparedness and response, taking technology acceptance models and inclusiveness into account. This includes social media tools and mobile devices.

Finally, guidelines are given for public empowerment in all phases of a crisis, with links to example practices. The guide is a compilation of the main initial parts of the Wiki, for those who wish to have a download version of the
recommendations.

http://www.crisiscommunication.fi/images/pep/Public_Empowerment_Guide.pdf