Launch of Guidance on Risk Communication and Community Engagement Practices
Over the past year, UCC researchers have been collaborating with Cork City Council, the University of Malmö and the City of Malmö in Sweden to identify good practices for communication of climate and disaster risks at the city level and engaging with local community groups.
Building on discussions during two multi-stakeholder workshops in Cork and Malmö, on 12th September 2024 the Guidance on Risk Communication and Community Engagement Practices: Experiences from Cork, Ireland and Malmö, Sweden was launched in the UCC Environmental Research Institute’s Ellen Hutchins Building.
One of the report authors, Dr Lydia Cumiskey of the UCC MaREI Centre explained: “The guidance addresses short-term risk communication (e.g. forecast and early warnings for immediate threats) and longer-term risk communication (e.g. adaptation planning and awareness raising when there is no immediate threat), and how these can be enhanced through community participation and engagement processes to ensure meaningful and trustworthy communication and feedback loops.”
Dr Dug Cubie, UCC Disaster Research Cluster, added: “After identifying a series of key challenges for both local authorities and civil society groups, the Guidance sets out a series of 13 guiding principles for effective climate and disaster risk communication and community engagement. The document then provides examples of risk communication and community engagement practices in Cork and Malmö, as well as a series of other useful resources and toolkits.”
Dr Marie Aronsson-Storrier, UCC School of Law, noted: “The guidance aims to be used primarily by other municipalities/local authorities, but also civil society organisations, business groups and educational institutions, to reflect on and inspire new ways of approaching climate and disaster risk communication and community engagement for enhancing resilience in cities.”
Copies of the Guidance can be accessed here.
The guidance document was developed within the Promoting Resilient Cities through Community Participation and Communication of Climate and Disaster Risks (PROCOMMS) project, with seed funding from the EU-funded UNIC initiative (The European University of Cities in Post-Industrial Transition). The PROCOMMS project aimed to strengthen connections between Cork and Malmö municipalities in tackling the impacts of climate change and disaster risk at the city level.
