Risk Communication: Application and Case Studies in Military and Emergency Settings

A workshop
to be held in conjunction with the

Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting

 8am-5pm
Sunday, 7 December 2003

Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
Baltimore, Maryland

This workshop will explore strategies for addressing risk communication challenges in military and emergency settings.

Synopsis
Overview of topics
Presenters
Registration
Venue
More information
Related links

 

Synopsis

This full-day workshop will explore strategies for addressing risk communication challenges in military and emergency settings. The U.S. military can offer many examples of leading edge risk communication efforts. Over the past few years, the military has been adopting and applying basic and advanced risk communication principles to a variety of health, environmental, and safety risk challenges. Basic risk communication training is now included in several military leadership schools, as well as in medical, safety, health, and environmental courses .A focal point of the workshop will be the illustration of the process in current efforts with the U.S. military to systematically identify effective health benefits and to produce risk communications strategies for vaccines, including anthrax and smallpox vaccines. Simple in structure but powerful in application, the process deals explicitly with the knowledge and judgments of the technical experts and non-experts involved in a communication “transaction.” It enables appropriate strategies and salient messages to be developed from a mapping of the information and views held by both groups. Also, it takes advantage of simple measurement methods to enable communicators to adjust strategies and messages in ways that can also improve their overall process for developing both. Presenters will explore the process in detail. The workshop will provide a forum for dialogue about the recent developments in the field of risk communication, and provide participants an opportunity to practice risk communication planning and strategy development through hands-on exercises. Case examples of successful applications from around the world will be offered. Participants will be encouraged to share examples of their past or current risk management and risk communication challenges to stimulate “real time” applications of the process.

Communication efforts often fail because those responsible for doing the communication are not familiar with the diversity of audiences interested in an issue, or have not clearly identified the communication and involvement needs of those audiences. From “educating and informing” audiences, the professional practice of risk communication is fast evolving toward a process orientation, one that takes advantage of current understanding in the relevant disciplines and is true to the best principles and practices of science and communications. Rather than being seen as an event, or task, risk communication planning and implementation is being seen as integral to an effective risk management process.




Overview of topics (tentative)




Presenters

Caron Chess

Caron Chess, PhD is a professor in Rutgers University (RU), Cook College's Department of Human Ecology and Director of RU'S Center for Environmental Communication, which conducts research and training to improve communication about environmental issues. Her experience in academia, government, and environmental advocacy underpins her research interests and numerous articles. Chess has co-authored publications that are used widely by government and industry practitioners including "Communicating with the Public: Ten Questions Environmental Managers Should Ask" (which was named # 1 on the Society for Risk Analysis' must-read list for industry communicators) and a manual for industry (which was named #2). In addition, "Improving Dialogue with Communities: A Short Guide to Government Risk Communication" has been translated into three languages. Her current research interests include methods to evaluate public participation and study of the impact of organizational factors on public participation and risk communication. She has served on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Risk Characterization, Board on Radioactive Waste Management, and Committee on NIH Research-Priority Setting. She also has been a member of the governing board of the Society for Risk Analysis and on a subcommittee to EPA's Science Advisory Board. She currently serves as president of the Society for Risk Analysis and on the editorial boards of "Risk Analysis" and "Risk: Issues in Health, Safety, and Environment." Before moving to academia in 1987, she coordinated programs for both advocacy organizations and government. She played a leadership role in the campaign for the U.S.'s first right to know law, giving the public information about toxic chemicals, and implemented a similar law as Right to Know Coordinator for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Rebecca T. Parkin

Rebecca T. Parkin, Ph.D., MPH is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at The George Washington University. She is also the Scientific Director of the Center for Risk Science and Public Health at the University. Previously Dr. Parkin was director of Scientific, Professional and Section Affairs at the American Public Health Association and the assistant commissioner of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Health at the New Jersey Department of Health. Throughout her career, Dr. Parkin has focused on the interface of science and policy, with particular interest in community issues and contexts. Her areas of expertise include environmental epidemiology, immunization risk/benefit communication and policy, public health policy related to a wide range of environmental concerns, and risk assessment and communication. She serves on several national committees to further the science and public policies in these areas. She currently has sponsored research projects to develop new methods for identifying emerging environmental health concerns, investigating long-term environmental health problems, and advancing risk communication methods and strategies for both environmental health and vaccine issues. She has recently coauthored a book on microbial risk assessment, including the chapter on risk communication.

Gordon Butte

Mr. Gordon Butte is the President of Decision Partners, LLC. Before forming Decision Partners (DP) in 1992, Gordon directed corporate communication activities for the North American chemicals and plastics businesses of Bayer AG, Germany. Prior to joining Bayer in 1990, he held a number of senior communication positions in Canada and the U.S. with The Dow Chemical Company. Gordon is a member of the Institute for Risk Research Institute at the University of Waterloo and the Society for Risk Analysis, as well as an associate member of the Canadian Standards Committee on Risk Assessment and Communication.

Sarah Thorne

Ms. Sarah Thorne, is President of Thorne Butte: Decision Partners Inc. and Partner, Decision Partners, LLC. Sarah joined Decision Partners in 1995, after spending more than 15 years managing chemical industry issues and communication initiatives at the senior level. Sarah served as Dow’s internal leader in risk issue management technology and training. Sarah is a member of the Canadian Standards Association’s Technical Committee on Risk Assessment and Communication, which developed the state-of-the-science Q850 Risk Management Process. She is also a member of the Institute of Risk Research and the University of Waterloo and the Society for Risk Analysis.

Igor Linkov

Dr. Igor Linkov, a Senior Risk Assessor with ICF, has more than 12 years experience managing human health and environmental risk assessment, as well as expertise in communicating risk to public and public education. He received his PhD in environmental and occupational health from University of Pittsburgh, MS equivalent in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. His educational experience also includes Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Harvard University. Dr. Linkov's skills include project management, assessment of human health and environmental risks from chemical and biological agents, basic research on chemical carcinogenicity, toxicology and advanced modeling. He is also developing software for environmental modeling, risk assessment and policy support. He is currently supporting Army Natick Laboratory in a large-scale risk assessment of site-related contamination and communication site risks to local communities and stakeholders. His current interests include developing of risk-based protocols for developing reuse options for military sites. Dr Linkov has organized four international conferences on risk-related issues for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and managed two research projects. Most recently, he was invited speaker at the NATO conference on social and psychological consequences of terrorism where he proposed the use of risk-based approaches as an efficient communication and evaluation tools.

Marilyn K. Null

Marilyn K. Null is currently serving as the Program Manager for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) Health Risk Communication Program at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Ms. Null came to Aberdeen in October 2001 from the Pentagon, where she worked directly for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH). As the Air Force Deputy for Community-Based Programs for seven years, Ms. Null guided the policies and programs related to risk communication and stakeholder involvement in Air Force and Department of Defense (DOD) environmental, sustainable range, and readiness efforts. She was significantly engaged in turning around a very contentious situation at the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod, and provided advice and assistance on numerous other Air Force and DOD ESOH issues for which she recently received the Air Force Exemplary Civilian Service Medal.

Lori S. Geckle

Lori S. Geckle brings to USACHPPM more than 15 years of experience in the environmental health risk communication field. She has developed short- and long-term communication strategies for Army sites worldwide to help improve the collaborative decisionmaking process with local communities. She has helped develop new training modules related to communicating health and deployment issues, and regularly provides training at conferences, Army schools and installations nationwide. Lori spearheaded a project for the Army Surgeon General to identify why young service members and their families are the most dissatisfied with the health care they receive; and is currently providing health risk communication support for several deployment-related and industrial hygiene issues. She has also provided risk communication support for several other projects, including anthrax-related issues for the Military Postal Service Agency, Homeland Defense issues, and a Congressionally mandated health study at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant.




Registration

The registration fee is $350 before 10 November, or $410 on site. You do not need to register for the Annual Meeting to attend the workshop. Registration will be handled by

Secretariat sra@burkinc.com
Society for Risk Analysis www.sra.org
1313 Dolley Madison Boulevard, Suite 402
McLean, Virginia 22101 USA
703-790-1745, fax 703-790-2672



Venue

The event will be held 8am-5pm on Sunday, 7 December 2003, at

Renaissance Harborplace Hotel
202 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202 USA
800-468-3571 (toll-free reservations)
410-547-1200 (direct to the hotel)

The room for the event has not yet been determined; check with the hotel concierge. To reserve a room at the hotel, call 800-468-3571 before 10 November 2003. Be sure to identify yourself as a SRA Annual Meeting attendee to receive the SRA group rate of $135 per night (single or double occupancy) plus 12.5% tax. Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours in advance. See a description of the hotel at http://www.marriott.com/dpp/PropertyPage.asp?MarshaCode=BWISH.




More information

More information can be obtained from Igor Linkov ILinkov@icfconsulting.com, telephone 781-676-4053, fax 781-676-4072.




Related links

Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting http://sra.org/events.htm#annual

Society for Risk Analysis www.sra.org