Identify a risk communication program that is in place to complete the case study. This could be a local effort or a national campaign. It may or may not be related to disasters.
Objectives:
a) Articulate and apply the basic principles of crisis and emergency risk communication
b) Analyze how leadership and decision-making are applied in the process and activities required to create a successful campaign.
c) Identify key messages, audiences, stakeholders, communication channels, underlying theories, and other pertinent factors (outrage, trust, credibility, etc.)
d) Examine the media coverage, agency press releases, and public information materials, websites, any pertinent data sources.
e) Critique the strengths and weaknesses of the risk communication plan.
f) Articulate the rationale for citizen engagement in preparedness and response activities
g) Evaluate if the risk communication activities lead to personal action.
Delve into the HVA that was done to develop the hazard risk, how the target population was identified, and what appropriate solutions were explored. You will need to find your key informants – who helped create the project? They will provide you with critical information and background on the development and execution of the project or program. This information will be used in your case study.
Obtain information on who was on the planning team and talk with as many as you can. What did they contribute? How did the delivered project change over time and as new information was found? Was the final outcome broader, more focused or exactly as was originally discussed?
Explore the project management and how project management principles were applied. Identify how and who assumed the roles to schedule, define assignments and timeline work. Who and what agency had the lead? Were subcommittees created and what were they? If so, why were they needed and who was the lead on each subcommittee?
Evaluate the campaign strategy. What obstacles and influential external variables were encountered? Was there an ROI that needed to be reached or measured? If, what and how?
Was the message provided in an appropriate setting, channel and method for the intended audience? This builds upon your indepth knowledge of the person, community or population you have chosen to study. This should be a detailed analysis. If a communicator was used, was he or she the best one for the message and audience? Why and how was that communicator selected? Was the program developed for multiple languages or audiences? Culturally appropriate? How did you determine this?
How did the project work? Answer the question – did it produce an effect or was it effective in meeting the intended goals? Evaluation is essential – review the principles of program evaluation and many methods it can take. Be creative in identifying other parameters that could be used to evaluate the specific program you are reviewing.