How planning cycles can bolster and elevate your internal comms

UC Berkeley’s top internal comms officer shares a trove of guidance on crisis planning, preparation and mitigation.

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Disaster prep tips from FEMA

Most emergency responders in the United States adhere to a structure for managing emergencies called the Incident Command System. This case study will look at how one of the key concepts from this system, planning cycles, can help you improve your internal communications.

About the Incident Command System

If you work for a hospital, government agency, utility or other organization that would be involved in responding to emergencies, your organization probably uses FEMA’s Incident Command System. ICS was developed in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire in 1970, where the lack of a unified structure for communication and coordination hampered the emergency response.

Communication professionals play an important role in ICS. This role is known as the public information officer and reports to the incident commander. Even if you don’t formally serve as the PIO for your organization, it is helpful to understand how the ICS structure works. Free online courses are available via the FEMA website.

Understanding planning cycles

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