Creating an accessible emergency management communications scorecard for public information

The proposed project will synthesize and create a way for city emergency management agencies benchmark their materials for accessibility. Emergency management agencies are responsible for the protecting communities and coordinating planning and emergency response to ensure safety. This makes effective communication, especially with groups considered to be vulnerable during emergencies, highly critical. This project is a partnership between researchers at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning and the City of Vancouver’s Emergency Management Agency. We will summarize key insights from communications research, such as how to reach people with disabilities and cultural and linguistically diverse people effectively. It will create a reusable scorecard that public emergency management agencies can use to benchmark their outreach materials, identify gaps, and strategically plan for future improvement.

Faculty Supervisor:

Theodore Lim

Student:

Partner:

City of Vancouver

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public administration

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: