Effective communication is an essential component of crisis response. In recent work I did for the World Bank I prepared case studies from different countries regarding disaster risk management. In all cases, communication was a central piece. In this article, I share three lessons that were common across successful cases with examples that illustrate each point.
Communicate clearly
Crises require clear, simple, and consistent communication, both within government and with the public. Nancy Koehn, Harvard Business School Professor, argues leaders need to provide brutal honesty and credible hope. That means acknowledging the situation, addressing people´s fears, and helping them accept the change they may resist. One of the intangible assets a government has is the citizens’ trust. Trust eases the challenges of social coordination and enhances community response.
The quality of communication can impact the course of a crisis. Both in terms of public health consequences and trust in public institutions and government. Korea learned this the hard way. During the 2016 MERS outbreak, the government’s communication was delayed, resulting in a widespread pandemic. The government withheld information about patients – for ethical reasons – and about hospitals where patients were being treated. Officials feared economic fallout for hospitals and other businesses that might have to shut down for decontamination. There was also the concern of reduced medical capacity due to the hospital’s rejection of possible cases. As a consequence, trust in the government and in the health system was significantly damaged.
The best way to build and maintain trust is by being honest and clear, and by managing people’s expectations. During the current pandemic, the Korean government has made a conscious effort to earn trust. It has led an aggressive and transparent information campaign in all matters related to the evolution of COVID-19, especially regarding risk factors and containment measures. There has been a massive campaign on personal hygiene and social distancing, twice-daily press briefings at the peak of the outbreak, and information online is regularly updated.
Listen to people and engage with them.
Communication is a two-way street. While it’s essential to communicate clearly, you also have to create the mechanisms to listen to citizens, engage with them, and understand their needs. And I don’t mean simply for policy compliance or to complete a project checklist; but because it can make a difference.
Medellín, in Colombia, has been showcased as an example for its transformation of informal settlements. Medellín was once the most dangerous city on the planet, home to the renowned criminal, Pablo Escobar. In 2004, the local government started the first Integral Urban Project (Proyecto Urbano Integral, PUI). A PUI is a planning and physical intervention in areas characterized by poverty and poor living conditions, where government intervention has been absent in the past.
One of the elements of success of these holistic interventions was that the local government leveraged their proximity to the citizens to involve them from the start. The municipality reached out to neighbourhood leaders at every phase of the projects – from diagnosis and planning to execution. The community was actively involved, accompanying the technical teams, social workers and communicators. Committees were set up to facilitate channels of communication and to strengthen the leadership of community members. Agreements were reached between the community and the State that helped build trust and credibility.
Keep the collective memory of the disaster alive
In many countries, the impact of a crisis lasts as long as the collective memory of the disaster does. In other words, how close people perceive risk. For example, people are more willing to do evacuation drills soon after an earthquake, but after years of not having one, people stop doing it. Their perception of risk is lower. Countries that have been successful in implementing sustainable policies for an emergency response have been able to maintain the urgency to act in the population, even long after the disaster has passed.
Santa Fe, in Argentina, is an example of effective local disaster risk management. The city is at risk of severe flooding. In 2003 the flooding of the Salado River caused the city’s worst-ever disaster. A third of the city was flooded, 120,000 people were affected, 24 died and there were millions of dollars in damages. A similar event occurred again in 2007. The city was cut-off and 30,000 people had to evacuate for 2 months. The local government won elections in 2008 with a proposal to turn disaster risk management into a State Policy.
One of their factors for success was to develop a culture of risk prevention. Communication was prioritized as part of the strategy. It included training programs in schools and for the media, workshops in neighbourhoods, evacuation drills, information, among other elements. They also created a Water Circuit for people to visit the dams and other mechanisms that would be activated in case of an emergency. Likewise, they built the River Circuit, which marks emblematic parts of the city with the height the water reached during the floods. People are constantly reminded of flood risks. The figure illustrates the high attention towards disaster the city has developed.
Final thoughts
Communication is a key determinant of the effectiveness of our policies, particularly in a crisis. It’s important to communicate to citizens clearly and frankly. Establish trust. Listen to people. Think of crises as an opportunity for the future. What can we learn or do better next time? What are the systems that need to be in place to make this happen?
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This article is part of a mini-series regarding responding to emergencies. The first blog discusses lessons learned from Ecuador’s response to the earthquake. The second one talks about housing reconstruction, and this last one is about how to communicate effectively during a crisis.
Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
