Integrating social media into traditional emergency management command and control structures: the square peg into the round hole?

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1 Integrating social media into traditional emergency management command and control structures: the square peg into the round hole? Martin Anderson Digital Media Manager, Strategic Communications CFA (Country Fire Authority), Victoria, Australia Paper Presented at Emergency Media & Public Affairs Conference Melbourne 8 May

2 Integrating social media into traditional emergency management command and control structures: the square peg into the round hole? Abstract How can emergency services adapt to a world where ordinary members of the community can exchange information more quickly and effectively with each other than seems possible within traditional emergency management command and control structures? Can a system that traditionally relies on linear information flow and strict authorisation processes adapt and stay relevant in a world where photos of disasters can be circulating around the world before emergency service personnel have even left the station? Victoria's emergency services have been grappling with this problem since Black Saturday and for the first time this bushfire season began the process of formally integrating social media into their incident management structures both at agency level and in Victoria s State Control Centre. This paper will give a first hand account of the competing viewpoints on how social media should fit into the emergency management process and explores the cultural implications, opportunities and risks of the move to embrace the open, transparent, and honest nature of social media. It will also look at the practical steps that have been taken in Victoria to try to bridge the gap between those competing viewpoints including the hosting of a multi-agency training exercise using a social media crisis simulator called FireBell. Keywords: social media, communication, technology, mobile 2

3 Introduction The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission established the critical need for improved information flow between emergency services and the community during major emergencies, calling on agencies to place as much value on warnings as they do on fire suppression. The 2010/11 Victorian Flood Warnings and Response Review called on agencies to actively pursue the use of social media as part of their emergency warning and public information system and undertake further trials to explore the opportunity for greater use of social media as a credible source of information to and from the public during an emergency. While some members of the community, including individual emergency service members, used social media to communicate and share information on Black Saturday, it was not used in any official emergency capacity. (CFA had established a Facebook page in November 2008 but by February 2009 it was only being used to share general news and community education content, not emergency warnings or other incident information.) Subsequent disasters around the world, in particular the Haiti earthquake in 2010 demonstrated how effective social media combined with mobile communication devices can be during emergencies. Haiti allowed us to glimpse into a future of what disaster response might look like in a hyper-connected world. Paul Conneally, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (TED Talk, Feb 2012) Adapting to the speed and perceived loss of control that social media seems to involve has proved a difficult cultural challenge for emergency service organisations (ESOs) around the world. 3

4 How can ESOs adapt to this new mobile world where ordinary community members can exchange emergency information with each other more quickly than seems possible within traditional emergency management communication structures? Can a system that traditionally relies on linear information flow and strict authorisation processes adapt and stay relevant in a world were photos of disasters are circulating around the world before emergency services have even responded? This paper will argue that social media has an important role to play in creating resilient communities by helping to transform the relationship between ESOs and the community from one of command and control to one of collaboration and joint responsibility. Accepting reality If you can t get the skeleton out of the closet, you might as well make it dance. George Bernard Shaw There now seems to be a general acceptance within ESOs that social media is a reality that isn t going away. It has to be accepted and dealt with but the debate over what exactly that will mean for traditional emergency management culture has still to be resolved. Some see the social media revolution as something to fear and believe the only way to manage the risk is to try to constrain it within official command and control structures. Others see it as an opportunity to move away from command and control structures and generate a more open, transparent, honest and collaborative approach to emergency management. 4

5 The debate has raised many questions. Can, or even should, emergency service organisations try to compete or engage with the various unofficial sources of community information on social media channels? If official emergency service channels are not always the best source of information for the community what does that mean for agencies relevance / credibility? How do agencies provide quality emergency warnings and information without creating a passive community incapable of making decisions for itself? Can the tools of social media and the growth of mobile technologies provide an opportunity to develop effective emergency communications and warnings systems without disempowering the community? Test and learn Victoria s experience The grassroots has been strengthened through the social power of sharing and they are challenging the old models, the old analog models of control and command. Paul Conneally, TED Talk, Feb 2012 For those used to working within linear command and control structures the shift in mindset required to make effective use of networked communication platforms like social media can be difficult. There is a tendency to apply traditional static website (Web 1.0) principles to the dynamic information streams of social media (Web 2.0). 5

6 One-way social media? A common argument is that emergency agencies should use social media to push official information out to the community but not respond or engage as this could lead to the release of incorrect, inconsistent, or unauthorised information. In traditional communication terms this would be the equivalent of phoning someone to tell them an important piece of information and then hanging up as soon as they asked a question. Recent research by the Bushfire CRC and RMIT University into Effective Communication: Communities and Bushfire, highlights how simply pushing out official information reinforces the power-dynamics of control, making audiences passive. This perpetuates the disempowerment felt by communities who are not engaged in a dialogic process, further broadening the gap between expert fire authorities with knowledge and experience of bushfires and the community as non-experts. Design-led strategies for bushfire preparedness Yoko Akama, Susan Chaplin, Richard Philips, Keith Toh By using social media effectively, emergency managers have the ability to break this power dynamic by creating a more collaborative approach to emergency management. By engaging with the community in real-time via social media, agencies can help foster an understanding that both the community and emergency services have an important role to play in all four phases of emergencies (Planning, Preparation, Response and Recovery). 6

7 You got to go with the hypothesis that the public s not a liability, they are a resource... if information is coming from the public, we need to see it. Craig Fugate, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator, USA, Jan The one-way social media argument also fails to understand the significance of the changes that this new form of networked communication entails. While almost everyone in crisis communications understands that these changes are big, I d like to suggest that they are much bigger than most realise. Crisis communication in the social media era is not even the same game as it was before Gerald Baron (2011), Social Media & Crisis Communications The potential of social media as a tool for gathering community intelligence that could inform operational decision-making is developing rapidly thanks to academic research and the development of various crowdsourcing tools. The potential for intelligence gathering has been recognised in Victoria by the establishment of a Social Media Monitor role within the State Control Centre structure. Authorisation processes One of the key recommendations by Queensland Police after their widely praised use of social media during the floods and cyclone of 2010/11 was to rethink clearance processes trust your staff to release information. (QPS Social Media Case Study 2011) This is difficult for organisations that traditionally require information to be fed up through the chain of command, verified, authorised and then fed back down again for dissemination to the community. 7

8 This linear information flow does not encourage the timely dissemination of critical information but the risks of releasing inaccurate information are often seen as more significant. It has been identified that emergency service culture often resulted in personnel waiting until they have all the information they feel the community might need and are 100% sure of its accuracy before any information was released. Victoria s Fire Services Commissioner specifically addressed this issue when he introduced new requirements for timely, relevant, and tailored emergency warnings and advice. The choice of words, and their order, emphasised that timeliness is now considered the most important factor when it comes emergency information. A 100% perfect warning (if such a thing exists) after the threat has passed is useless. In Queensland the police media director sat in on briefings to Premier Anna Bligh and tweeted new information directly from those meetings. This ensured the latest information was being provided to the media and community. Victorian fire services have attempted to address the authorisation dilemma in social media by developing a close relationship between the Social Media Officer and the State Duty Officer (who can authorise the release of information). The Social Media Officer has also been physically seated next to the Public Information Section Leader to ensure the latest information can be released via social media as soon as it is available. This also allows community intelligence from social media to be fed back into the system as efficiently as possible. 8

9 Templates, templates, and more templates The need to post potentially large numbers of emergency warnings as quickly as possible has been addressed in Victoria by integrating social media into the One Source, One Message (OSOM) tool. OSOM was created after Black Saturday to enable information officers around the state to publish warnings simultaneously to multiple mediums agency websites, emergency broadcasters, Victorian Bushfire Information Line etc. The integration of social media into the OSOM system means that all warnings are automatically posted to agency Twitter and Facebook accounts as soon as they are issued. Sample warning tweets from OSOM: 9

10 Sample warning post to Facebook from OSOM: However, while this ensures warnings are posted in a timely fashion, it also means information can be repetitive and users have said this makes the warnings less effective. The format of the message is being reviewed to consider including more useful information on social media channels rather than directing readers to agency website links. It s worth noting that many mobile users can t access the web if they don t have credit on their phone but have free access to Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime, the issue is being addressed by posting additional information manually and by monitoring and responding to any questions posted to official social media platforms. There has also been a desire to generate standard templates / statements for common questions that are asked on social media to ensure consistency and accuracy. Once again this has led to repetitive messages and, on occasions, a lack of the personal, conversational style that is more effective on social media. 10

11 One way of addressing that would be to allow experienced social media officers to be more personal in their engagement and not require them to cut and paste pre-prepared responses. Removing old social media posts When the decision was taken to post official emergency warnings on Twitter it was argued that old tweets should be removed once a warning expires, just as old warnings are removed on the static agency website. When this was implemented it quickly became clear that removing old tweets caused serious confusion and anger among Twitter followers. Users clearly understood Twitter as a chronological stream of information and were confused when agencies tried to whitewash old tweets from history. Taking a traditional media example, the deleting of old tweets is the equivalent of trying to gather up all the old copies of yesterday s newspaper and burning them to stop anyone getting out of date information. It also became clear that users look at an account s history as a way of establishing its veracity and to identify the sort of information they can expect to receive if they follow the account. The two-way nature of social media allowed agencies to quickly identify this issue and the deleting of tweets was stopped. The language of open, honest and transparent engagement vs command and control In order to take best advantage of the benefits of social media and break down the us and them mentality, emergency services need to be open about their limitations and honest about their mistakes. 11

12 For those from the command and control tradition, who believe it is important to preserve the authority status of their emergency agency, this can be difficult to accept. This fire season, in Victoria, official social media spokespeople have welcomed community reports of issues, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies with official warning information and acted quickly to correct issues. This has led to a much more collaborative approach that has allowed agencies to improve their communications and gain credibility with the online community. The number of unconstructive negative comments has reduced while the number of constructive reports of issues and suggestions for improvements has increased. By providing quick responses and resolving issues agencies demonstrate that they aren t afraid to accept their mistakes and are committed to working with the community to fix them. 12

13 Practical steps to smooth integration Building trust Social media advocates within the Victorian emergency services have delivered a series of presentations to senior operational staff across the various stakeholder agencies in an effort to build trust and understanding of the potential benefits for emergency management. These sessions have given those with concerns the opportunity to ask questions and provided reassurance that measures are in place to address those concerns. A one-page guide was also produced for State Control Centre State Duty Officers to explain their important role in ensuring effective social media engagement. Policies and procedures Social media and emergencies are both unpredictable and dynamic environments that can change rapidly. As such, it is difficult to develop detailed policies and procedures to cover every eventuality. But producing policy, guidelines and procedures has proved useful in providing reassurance to those from a command and control background. The development of social media procedures and a social media manual has also provided useful guidance to the less experienced social media officers who have filled the role during extended emergencies this fire season. 13

14 Training - FireBell social media crisis simulation The FireBell exercise was the first of its kind in Australia, with three primary overarching objectives of informing, identifying and improving capacity and capability in the use of social media for emergency situations. The exercise provided a series of key learnings for the State Control Centre and the emergency service organisations involved. The exercise was an invaluable tool for training staff in the use of social media during an emergency, allowing participants to develop an understanding of the threats and opportunities without the risk of using live social media accounts. It also allowed those unfamiliar with social media the opportunity to see it in action in realistic emergency scenarios. The exercise evaluation report by the Victorian Emergency Services Commissioner said its success was a result of a combination of the following factors: Collaborative approach of organisations involved Effectiveness of social media responses including appropriate, concise and efficient language Leadership qualities displayed on a range of levels High sense of responsibility amongst participants 14

15 Conclusion Concerns about the risks of new communication technologies are nothing new and have been a predictable cultural aspect of technological advancement throughout history. We are dealing with an old story rather than a new one. Although the computer and satellite have reduced time to a picosecond, an instantaneous present, and the globe to a point where everyone is in the same place, this is simply the latest chapter in an old tale. James Carey, Communication as culture: essays on media and society (1998) Social media advocates within the emergency services need to be conscious of the historical perspective and work to build trust in the new technology by understanding the concerns and addressing the risks. The urge for emergency managers to try to apply command and control principles to social media and mobile technologies is understandable but it is neither possible nor desirable when the technology and its benefits and risks are fully understood. Social media provides an unprecedented opportunity to help transform emergency communications from a top down, broadcast function into a collaborative, empowering force for both the community and emergency managers. The planning myth that any crisis management operation is best organised in a military-styled command and control mode is being challenged on a number of fronts. 15

16 Effective responses in such extreme circumstances are necessarily improvised, flexible and networked (rather than planned, standardised and centrally led) the internet and its social networking sites have added a whole new layer of opportunities as well as complications in organising communication and meaning making in times of crisis, which needs to be addressed and not willed away in crisis planning processes. (Boin and t Hart, The Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 69, no ) The biggest challenge of all may be for emergency service organisations to accept that in a hyper-connected world they are no longer the only source of authority when it comes to emergency information. Tapping in to community information contained on social media channels may not only provide emergency managers with a useful source of intelligence but it also has the power to help transform the relationship between emergency services and the community. 16

17 References: Akama, Dr Yoko, Design-led strategies for bushfire preparedness, 2012 Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference paper. Baron, Gerald. Senior Advisor, O Brien s Response Management, Author of Now is Too Late 2: Survival in an Era of Instant News Social Media & Crisis Communicaions - It s a Whole New Game Boin, Arjen and t Hart, Paul. Organising for Effective Emergency Management: Lessons from Research, The Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 69, no.4, pp Carey, J. (1998) Communication as culture: essays on media and society - Google Books Conneally, Paul. Public communications manager for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (TED Talk Feb 2012) Firebell Training Exercise Evaluation Report, Emergency Services Commissioner, February (to be published March 2012). Fugate, Craig. Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), USA Haiti: the importance of Social Media Use During a Disaster Using the Mobile Platform to Push Critical Information to Disaster Victims 17

18 Queensland Police Service Social Media Case Study (2011) 18

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