Scroll down or use the listed links to jump to risk communication information resources, or to see a list of organizations and groups you might be interested in. Visit the Recordings page on this website to see materials from our past webinars or activities (recordings, slide presentations, panel summaries, etc.).
Climate Change
Hazard and Risk Communication – General
Indigenous Organizations and Communities – resources to support collaboration and partnership
Northern or Arctic Focus
Sea Level Rise and Flooding
Tsunami
Visual Communication of Risk (graphics, images, video, visualizations)
Emergency Warnings
Just Added!! The WARN Room – tips and best practices for composing warning messages by lead editor and researcher, Dr. Jeannette Sutton. Jeannette Sutton, Ph.D., is a sociologist and risk communication scholar who conducts research on disaster and risk with a primary focus on online informal communication, and public alerts and warnings. (https://www.thewarnroom.com/).
Northern and Arctic Focus
Whither the Arctic Ocean is a book published by the BBVA Foundation. It presents the multidisciplinary vision of 30 leading experts on the Arctic meltdown and its global repercussions. You can download a free copy (pdf) from the BBVA Foundation’s website here. Watch an interview with Paull Wassmann, the editor.
March 2020 Newsletter – contains links to many resources relating to Arctic-focused issues and risk communication resources.
Tsunami
What’s that Sound?: Public and Official Perceptions of the January 2018 Tsunami Warning and Evacuation of the Alberni Valley – Final Report, March 2019
Climate Change
Enabling climate change adaptation in coastal systems: A systematic literature review. Peer-reviewed, open access article. Cabana, D., Rölfer, L., Evadzi, P., & Celliers, L. (2023). Earth’s Future, 11, e2023EF003713. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003713
ClimateReadyBC. Website. Hazard mapping, risk data, and other information resources for BC residents.
FrameWorks. Website. The FrameWorks Institute is a USA-based non-profit research organization focused on communication, with the goal to “bring leading-edge insights from social science to the nonprofit sector, supporting the sector’s capacity to reframe social problems as policy issues and drive social change”. Includes a library and toolkits to support effective climate change communication.
Climate Communication Science and Outreach. Website. A project of the Aspen Global Change Institute, a non-profit organization in Basalt, CO.
Communicating climate change during the Covid-19 crisis: what the evidence says. By Climate Outreach. May 2020.
Words into Action guidelines: Engaging children and youth in disaster risk reduction and resilience building: SOURCE(S): UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION (UNDRR)
#TalkingClimate Handbook: How to have conversations about climate change
#TalkingClimate Workshop Package – December 2020
Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate
Geodatabase CANCOAST – CanCoast 2.0: data and indices to describe the sensitivity of Canada’s marine coasts to changing climate.
Evaluating Risk Communication During Extreme Weather and Climate Change: A Scoping Review. Elaina MacIntyre et. al., April 2019. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy, and Practice. 39(4):142-156
Canadian Centre for Climate Services – Climate Info Library
Canada’s Marine Coasts in a Changing Climate. Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN). Canada’s Marine Coasts in a Changing Climate assesses climate change sensitivity, risks and adaptation along Canada’s marine coasts.
Communication Handbook for IPCC Scientists (2018)
Sea Level Rise and Flooding
FEMA Flood Risk Communication Toolkit: (USA) The Flood Risk Communication Toolkit was developed to help community officials begin and maintain an open channel for communication. The Toolkit includes templates and guides for designing a communication plan, effective public meetings, and a social media strategy for addressing flood risk. It is supported by story maps and videos that visually communicate the objectives of updating flood risk data and maps.(May 2021)
Rising Seas and Shifting Sands: Combining Natural and Grey Infrastructure to Protect Canada’s Eastern and Western Coastal Communities (December 2021)
Security and Sustainability Forum. Webinar: Tidal and Sea-Level Rise Flooding: Actionable Intelligence for Local Communities and the Neighborhoods they Serve. November, 2015, 90 min. The focus is on new technologies that can help coastal communities adapt to floods and minimize damage from storms and innovative ways to employ social science-based strategies to powerfully communicate coastal climate risks. (link updated May 18, 2021).
Rethinking Flood Risk Communication. Rollason, E., L. J. Bracken, R. J. Hardy, and A. R. G. Large. (2018). Natural Hazards. (Creative Commons License)
Responding to Rising Seas OECD Country Approaches to Tackling Coastal Risks.
Community Guide to Flood Risk Communication. June 2018. By Natalie Heldsinger, Jessica MacKinnon, and Shawna Peddle. Partners For Action, University of Waterloo.
Hazard and Risk Communication – General
Principles of Risk Communication: A Guide to Communicating with Socially Vulnerable Populations Across the Disaster Lifecycle. Campbell, Nnenia, Kamryn Roper-Fetter, and Mary Yoder. 2020. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder.
Communicating Geographical Risks in Crisis Management: The Need for Research
An Emergency Management Framework for Canada – Third Edition (May 2017 Edition)
Risk Communication and Natural Hazards. Höppner, C., Bründl, M., and Buchecker, M. (2010). CapHaz-Net WP5 Report. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Risk Communications and Behaviour: Best Practices and Research Findings, July 2016. NOAA Social Science Committee.
NOAA – Risk Communication Basics Page, training, and publication
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (2014). This handbook describes crisis and emergency communication best practices from the context of health-related emergencies.
Global Risk Perceptions Report 2021. Future Earth, Sustainability in the Digital Age, and International Science Council. 2021. Global Risks Perceptions Report 2021. Future Earth Canada Hub.
Collaboration and Partnership with Indigenous Communities
Indigenous Peoples: A Guide to Terminology: Usage Tips and Definitions. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. 2022.
Resilience by Design Lab, Royal Roads University – Resources and Guides. Focus on Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in disaster risk reduction and climate action.
Lessons Learned through Research Partnership and Capacity Enhancement in Inuit Nunangat. (2019) Natalie Ann Carter, Jackie Dawson, Natasha Simonee, Shirley Tagalik and Gita Ljubicic
National Inuit Strategy On Research – A resource for working with Inuit communities
Summary of Panel Suggestions: Risk Communication at the Local Level: Towards Meaningful Community Collaborations on Environmental Hazards. CMOS Congress & MEOPAR Annual Scientific Meeting, June 14, 2018.
Building Indigenous Relationships – Compiled Resources. Science Writers and Communicators of Canada Workshop. Nov 17, 2018 Workshop, Victoria, BC
Incorporate Indigenous perspectives for impactful research and effective management. Natalie C. Ban, et al. October, 2018. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2 , 1680–1683
Negotiating Research Relationships with Inuit Communities: A Guide for Researchers (2006)
Indigenous Research Ethics Institute – Carleton University, Canada
Panel on Research Ethics: TCPS 2 (2018) – Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada
Communicating Risk Using Imagery and Visualization
Climate Outreach Ocean Visuals – New image collection freely available to non-profits, media and educators for impactful storytelling
Climate Visuals – Seven principles for visual climate change communication by climateoutreach.org (UK)
New Climate Visuals Library. Climate Outreach (climatevisuals.org)
Organizations and Groups
- COLC – Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition
- CMSRF – Canadian Marine Shipping Risk Forum
- CCRF – Canadian Coastal Resilience Forum
- ORCA – Oceans Research in Canada Alliance
- ONC – Oceans Network Canada
- CZCA – Coastal Zone Canada Association – Cold Regions, Living Shorelines Community of Practice
- SRA – Society for Risk Analysis
- SWCC – Science Writers and Communicators of Canada
- CRHNet – Canadian Risk and Hazards (Knowledge and Practice) Network
- Climatlantic
- CAKE – Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange
- Security and Sustainability Forum – The Security and Sustainability Forum is a public interest, membership organization that hosts free educational webinars (climate change focus).
- COINAtlantic – Coastal and Ocean Information Network Atlantic (Canada).
- ArcticNet
- Climate Outreach
- George Mason University Center For Climate Change Communication
- Climate Interpreter. A USA-based community of practice focused on climate and ocean change established by the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation (NNOCCI).
- Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium. Themes: Hydrologic Impacts, Regional Climate Impacts, and Climate Analysis and Monitoring (less focus on climate risk communication)
More About *Risk Communication….
McComas, K. A. (2006). Defining Moments in Risk Communication Research: 1996–2005. Journal of Health Communication, 11(1), 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730500461091
See also: Aven, T., Ben-Haim, Y., Anderson, H. B., Cox, T., Droguett, E. L., Greenberg, M., Zio, E. (2018). Society for Risk Analysis Glossary. Retrieved from http://sra.org/sites/default/files/pdf/SRA Glossary – FINAL.pdf