Researchers from the Institute of Social Studies are compiling an atlas of best practices for crisis preparedness in the frame of a pan-European project

The Institute's risk and resilience research team is contributing to the development of crisis preparedness solutions within the SYNERGIES project, aimed at safeguarding the lives, health, and property of individuals in emergency situations.

Crisis preparedness involves the readiness of individuals and institutions for situations where our normal lives are disrupted or endangered due to extreme conditions. To enhance crisis preparedness, it is essential to identify vulnerable population groups and how to convey precise messages and instructions to them. One of the tasks of the SYNERGIES project is to map stakeholders related to crises and to test and improve previous solutions. The Institute of Social Sciences contributes to the project with the involvement of Kati Orru, Associate Professor of Sociology of Sustainability; Sten Hansson, Associate Professor of Communication Studies; Oliver Nahkur, Research Fellow of Research of Social Well-being; Kristi Nero, Junior Research Fellow in Crisis Sociology, and students.

Analysis of past experiences revealed that traditional crisis communication methods, such as informing people by means of informational brochures, do not adequately prepare them for crisis situations. To enhance coping, it is necessary to motivate members of society to collaborate. One possibility is to encourage people to develop their community crisis management plans or agreements on how to operate and assist each other in crisis situations. According to Kati Orru, Associate Professor of Sociology of Sustainability, this is particularly crucial for regions in Estonia where official assistance may take more time. Official crisis management network also requires contributions from volunteers.

In addition to trained volunteers with specific roles in crisis prevention or emergency response, the project also examines the activities of spontaneous volunteers. These are individuals who often arrive first at the scene and spontaneously want to help and share necessary information without being affiliated with official authorities. To use this valuable human resource efficiently in crisis situations, researchers are investigating the best collaboration practices between spontaneous volunteers and official crisis management organisations.

The project takes into account the experiences of different countries and adapts them so that the developed solutions can be applied elsewhere.