Should You Share ‘Worst Case’ Scenarios Publicly As An Advocacy Strategy? On Wednesday the City of Edmonton’s Mayor Iveson made a public announcement about the considerations being made in light of the pandemic. ‘Worst Case’ Scenario At first glance, it appears the only thing the news media heard was “Edmonton may park its buses and LRT for…
Welcome to May, otherwise known in 2020 as Jumanji level 5. As we head into the month six of the pandemic, I’m wondering where you’re at in terms of settling into the ‘new normal’ and what steps you’re taking to prepare for what’s to come. The standard Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Lifecycle consists of five…
Dark Sites What are they, and why do you need them? As fast as it takes someone to snap a photo or video, and post it to social media, is how long it takes for an event to go viral. A dark website is a critical tool to have in your crisis communication toolbox to…
An effective social media policy protects your agency while encouraging employee advocacy through transparency, education, and empowerment. First, your social media policy must be transparent, clearly laying out the acceptable use of social media for agency business as well as how personal social media accounts are affected. After the rules of engagement have been established,…
Grande Cache in Alberta, which touts itself as a mountain oasis surrounded by spectacular wilderness, has announced its intention to dissolve as an official municipality and fold into the surrounding Municipal District of Greenview. The reason for this decision is primarily sited because of the economic downturn in Alberta. Mayor Herb Castle noted that, “it’s…
More and more, municipalities are seeing the value of collaboration and creating joint strategies including economic development, and emergency communications. The importance of looking to surrounding First Nations for this same effort is invaluable in coming together to learn from each other and work on common priorities. When considering the join communications approach with First…
The Importance of Establishing online Authority BEFORE an emergency In times of non-emergency and “normal” daily operations of your municipality, where do your audiences go for sources of truth? Do they check the website for updates, follow the police department’s Twitter account, or look to the Mayor’s Facebook page for all the latest? Perhaps it’s…
The Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016 was a tragedy that touched people across the globe. Heather Fagan, City of Orlando; Kena Lewis, Orlando Health; and, Michelle Guido, Orlando Police put together a timeline of events, communications actions taken short and long-term, and lessons learned. Download this presentation, provided courtesy of the Ottawa Police Department, here.
Back to School Safety Campaign Ideas for Municipalities Back to school season is here and it’s time to start rolling out your safety and awareness campaigns. The best way to implement a campaign about services that are provided by another agency is to pool resources and collaborate. If you haven’t already done so, it’s time…
