Newsletter - Communications and warnings cluster

This newsletter has been put together by the Communications and warnings cluster to keep end‐users informed about key work across each of the projects. For each of the cluster projects it aims to explore:

• progress to date;
• what to look forward to in the coming year
• what the end product of the research might look like.

Improving the role of hazard communications in increasing residents’ preparedness and response planning

Progress to date with the project (year in review)
The past year has definitely been eventful. First, there was the RAF in Adelaide, where discussions with end‐users helped us tweak some of our problem statements to increase their relevance. Second, we welcomed Elle McIntosh on board as our Research Assistant, and officially started the project. Next, we increased our knowledge of floods and created an appropriate set of dependent variable measures of bushfire and flood preparedness. Again, we couldn’t have done so without the help of our end‐users. Following this, we developed two survey studies (one on bushfires and one on floods) that will help us answer the question “How effective are the use of different information sources (e.g., community information sessions, websites, brochures, etc.) in increasing different aspects of preparedness?”. We are currently in the middle of data collection, and are planning to finalise this by the end of February.

What to look forward to in 2015 (the year ahead)
The current data collection will result in a report containing the first set of answers to come out of the project. The next phase (starting mid to late 2015) will focus on how the existing information sources can be made more effective in increasing different types of preparedness.

What the end product of the research looks like (utilisation)
This project will provide agencies with evidence‐based feedback about the effectiveness of their current information strategies in motivating people to prepare and plan for natural hazards. It will also result in evidence‐based suggestions regarding ways to improve the effectiveness of existing information strategies.

Building resilient communities: creating effective multi‐channel communication during disaster response and recovery

Progress to date with the project (year in review)
To date, the project has:

• Developed an interview guide for upcoming interviews – piloting will occur with end‐user contacts in early 2015 before administering the interviews in each Australian state and territory

• Developed a framework of message compliance that identifies the key factors informing message compliance, including perceptions of risk, individual differences (e.g., self‐efficacy, income, past experience), situational factors (e.g., environmental cues, ties to community), and risk and warning communication (e.g., message style, type, and source).
• After conducting a review of existing emergency messages to see what sorts of messages are being disseminated to the public, we will be able to examine whether messages could be framed in a way that results in more individuals being compliant. These messages will be tested using experiments, which will be developed from the data collected in upcoming interviews in 2015/2016.
• Reviewed emergency management plans at a national, state, and local level across Australia to identify the operational and legal issues around inconsistencies in these plans. These findings will be submitted for publication in two papers to the Australia Journal of Emergency Management.

The key learning from our research so far is that there are a number of ways a message can be framed to produce compliant behaviour.

What to look forward to in 2015 (the year ahead)
Testing these different types of messages for best efficacy in the emergency context will occur in the coming years of this project.

Managing animals in disasters

Progress to date with the project (year in review)
The project commenced in March 2014, with the year dedicated to a series of small scoping studies and an audit of legislation, plans, and initiatives. During the period June to August researchers conducted a study of frontline responder experiences and needs in the management of animals and their owners in disasters and emergencies, alongside a mirror study with a national sample of response organisations and stakeholders to explore the challenges they face in this area. Interviews were also held with livestock producers in South Australia who had been impacted by bushfires early in 2014. The team held a stakeholder knowledge workshop with stakeholders in August, presented findings from the responder survey at the CRC Research Forum in Wellington, and presented the South Australia livestock producer research at the Australia and New Zealand Society for Risk Analysis conference.

What to look forward to in 2015 (the year ahead)
The research team is working closely with the project end users to review the scoping work and decide on the priority areas for research in the next phase of the project. In 2015 two or three focused field work studies will be conducted in priority area, with data from these studies used to inform the main project outputs.

What the end product of the research looks like (utilisation)
Currently it is anticipated that outputs could be training or workshop materials for animal owners or responder and/or guidelines and community engagement materials.

Child‐centred disaster risk reduction

Progress to date with the project (year in review)
The research began with large scale scoping and review and pilot research. This includes:

• a five chapter compendium focusing on the following topics linked to CC‐DRR, serving as a scoping document for planning our main research.
• From the compendium, a condensed “CC‐DRR best practice guidelines” document.
• Involvement in international negotiations for the post‐2015 Framework on DRR
• Pilot research

What to look forward to in 2015 (year ahead)
A suite of studies across the policy‐practice‐research nexus is planned that build on scoping and review and pilot research in Year 1. Years 2‐3 are aimed at a suite of studies that reflect an overall research narrative, linked to research on CC‐DRR long‐term effectiveness and to large scale, sustainable implementation of CC‐DRR initiatives, respectively.

What the end product of the research looks like (utilisation)
The first end product is a set of best practice guidelines for end users (and others) that are being developed, based on large scale review. Another planned end product is a set of updated recommendations about what would constitute an evidence‐supported CC‐DRR program. As part of this development, a capacity building set of exercises with end users has been initiated through a consultative process. Through this process, our end users recommended a capacity building exercise await the end of the current fire season, alongside some useful suggestions for the focus. The team has made a short YouTube video for end users, recaping the research to date and plans for capacity building in early 2015. Watch it here.

Capacity building will focus on end user identified needs coupled with a plan to develop a set of evidence‐supported CC‐DRR modules that will be evaluated in 2015‐16. Pending supportive outcomes, these would then be available to be used as part of brief school and EM delivered education programs. Thus, utilisation/end products of this project would include school and EM‐friendly program, and teacher training, components that would facilitate larger scale, sustained use in schools and by end users.

Community understanding of the tsunami risk and warnings systems in Australia

Progress to date with your project (year in review)
An initial series of interviews were conducted inAn initial series of interviews were conducted in Western Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania in December 2014. The interviews elicited people’s views on causes and location of origin of tsunamis, travel times, warning times and how long they will have to respond to warnings, warning sources and media of dissemination, what people will be warned of, and their views on what actions warnings should trigger and how this will vary (e.g., by community, location, demographics etc.). While the interviews are on‐going at this time, it has become evident that while all respondents know what a tsunami is, some included storm surge in their definition. Some 50% were unaware of a national warning system and views about what to warn of and how best to disseminate warnings has been diverse. Some respondents believe that no resources should be devoted to tsunami risk management.

What to look forward to in 2015 (year ahead)
Interviewing and analysis will continue in 2015, and will include more of the above and further exploration of:

• the nature and implications of the diverse views on warning content and dissemination
• people’s concerns about the accuracy of warnings
• exploring in more detail issues about the short and long term issues people believe they need to be warned about
• examining whether and how these issues can be accommodated in warnings and DRR strategies for tsunami hazards.

Future interviews will also examine issues about the link between national and local warning systems (e.g., to accommodate geographical, community, demographic and residents vs. coastal user issues that differ at a local level).

What the end product of the research looks like (utilisation)
While the embryonic nature of this project means that only tentative ideas can be proposed at this stage, initial analysis suggests that utilisation processes will encompass strategies to increase community inclusion of tsunami within local hazard‐scapes, increasing acknowledgment of the national warning system and its functioning, developing integrated national and local warning processes, integrating tsunami warning and response strategies into community development programs, and identifying the inventories of issues people need to accommodate in planning how they will receive and act on tsunami warnings. These issues will be refined as the project progresses in 2015.