Creating More Successful Community Communication Programs in Emergency Management By David J Elloway A Major Research Project submitted in partial

fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS In DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT We accept this Major Research Project as conforming to the required standard.

____________________________________ Joan Nandlal, PhD Academic Supervisor

____________________________________ Jean Slick, M Ed. Program Head, MA Disaster and Emergency Management

____________________________________ Gregory Cran, PhD Director, School of Peace and Conflict Management

ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY April 2010 David Elloway, 2010

Acknowledgements I would like to thank my academic supervisor, Dr Joan Nandlal, for the guidance, expertise, and encouragement she has offered during this project. Thank you also to Lois Giles, a senior staff member of the City of Guelph, who offered her encouragement and resources as the sponsor of this research. Thank you to Cindy Richardson, the neighbourhood services manager for the City of Guelph for the support she and her staff provided to this project, for the time and information that she was able to provide. Thank you also to Harry Dunning, the Community Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Guelph, a colleague, mentor, and inspiration, for all the encouragement he has shown on this academic journey I have taken. Thank you also to Marina Grassi, who works with Information Services at the City of Guelph, who assisted me in the set up and use of the electronic survey system used to gather some of the data for this project. Thanks also go to the Guelph Police Service who provided training and other opportunities for me as an alternate CEMC for the City of Guelph. I would like to thank the research librarians from Royal Roads University for their patience and suggestions, and for facilitating the acquisition of materials referred to as part of this paper. I am indebted to the faculty of the School of Peace and Conflict Management, particularly the faculty in the Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management program, who provided the academic background and knowledge to assist me with the synthesis of academia and practitioner. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Natasha, for all the patience and support she has shown with the long hours spent on academic work, the sacrifices in companionship that were made to facilitate deadlines, the support and love shown during

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the academic courses, and the research and writing of this submission. Without you, this would not have been possible.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Table of Contents ... Chapter 1 - Introduction Background. Purpose of the research... Definitions.. Frame of reference.. Benefit for the municipality in collaborating on emergency management. Research needs... Assumptions... Chapter 2 Literature Review Literature review.... Crisis defined International guidelines North American experiences Community and neighbourhood groups... Neighbourhood group involvement.. Literature review synopsis Chapter 3 Ethics, Survey development, and Data collection

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Research conduct and ethics ................. The source of the survey.. Introduction.. Design... Individual section Neighbourhood group preparedness section Events information section Public warnings. Pineridge tornado.. Communications options.. Ethics.. Challenges.. EOCG members and alternates. Data collection Chapter 4 Data analysis Data analysis Neighbourhood group results - the community responds... Question one: Understanding our roles Question two: Effective communications. Question three: Local knowledge... Question four: The need to self organize Question five: Repeated warnings.. The EOCG responses..

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Question one: Understanding our roles... Question two: Effective communications Question four: The need to self organize.... Chapter 5 Discussion and recommendations Discussion. Recommendations Recommendation one: Combine community outreach and education in emergency management with neighbourhood group social activites ... Recommendation two: Add neighbourhood groups to the Distribution list for official information during emergencies.. Recommendation three: Familarize neighbourhood group leadership with emergency management by offering them basic emergency management training...;. Recommendation four : Acknowledge community capacity.... Recommendation five: Create and maintain supplies in the community... Recommendation six: Neighbourhood group first aid training Recommendation seven: Enhance and provide repeated warnings. Limitations .. Future research. Chapter 6 Conclusions.

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References.. Appendix A Appendix B Survey Neighbourhood group executive members Appendix C Survey EOCG members .

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