information management course - dissemination and displays

European Civil Protection

Dissemination and Display of Information

Gisli Olafsson – Consultant

Disaster• Relate as People

• Orgs are the problem

• People are the solution

Normal (routine emergencies)

• People relate as roles• People are the

problem• Orgs are the solution

Catastrophe• Society breaks

down• No relationships –

survival• Only happened a

few times (Hiroshima)E=mc2 of disasters

The IM chain

Input Throughput Output

Collect Analyse DisseminateProcess

Timely information is important to sustain collaboration. Different actors

have different requirements to be informed.

Information Economics

Displaying Information

Displaying Information

• When• Where?• Why?• For whom?• How?

Arriving in country

Arriving in an affected country

• How do we „catch“ responders?• How do we get information about

them?• How do we provide information to

them immediately?• What are some of the first things

they want to know?

OSOCC Displays

OSOCC Displays

• The system for displaying information should reinforce the purpose of the OSOCC which is to display situation awareness and to coordinate support for emergency response.

• Displays are the primary source of information about the scope of the emergency and the progress of emergency support coordination.

• Having all displays on the walls of the OSOCC has advantages over briefing books or individual computer screens. Wall displays are always visible, so there is never an “out of sight, out of mind” risk.

OSOCC Displays (cont‘d)

• All displayed information can be viewed, simultaneously, and at a glance.

• Who should update displays? – It depends on the priority of the information coming into

the OSOCC. – OSOCC staff members should update displays with

urgent information. – Specialists should update displays with routine reports.

Who are we displaying it for?

Effective OSOCC Displays

• Legible from anywhere inside the OSOCC• Summarizes the status of various

functions• Summarizes critical statistics• Sufficient to aid coordination• Available at all times• Organized by function and close to them• Easily updated in a timely manner• Visually appealing and with meaning that

is self-evident

Displays during meetings

• Information displays can enhance coordination meetings

• Ability to point to a location on a map

Who are we working for?

• What language should you disseminate information in?

• How do you translate into local language?

• How do you disseminate to the local community?– Bulletin boards– Radio– Social Media

Information Dissemination 2.0

Group Exercise

• Plan your OSOCC displays– What will you be showing?– How will you organize it?– Who should update each display?

• Put together a dissemination strategy for your team– Towards response organizations– Towards affected population

© European Commission

Thank you

gisli.olafsson@nethope.org

Gisli Olafsson

Skype: disasterexpert