Crisis Preparedness Improves Through Understanding Vulnerable Groups and Learning from from Collective Experiences

The project addresses a fundamental preparedness need: residents and the organizations supporting them should prepare for crises and be able to make informed decisions during a crisis. In the preparation phase, official parties and community leaders must practice smooth communication with the population to ensure accurate and rapid hazard notifications reach residents during emergencies. Special attention must be paid to ensuring that crisis guidelines are accessible and understandable to target groups with different needs, and that people have the capability and motivation to act according to the guidelines.

Additionally, authorities need to improve the involvement of spontaneous volunteers—individuals who often arrive first at the scene and are ready to provide assistance within their capabilities. To ensure this valuable resource is not overlooked during the planning phase and in emergencies, researchers are mapping best collaboration practices of spontaneous volunteers and official crisis management organizations.

A guide for improving crisis preparedness is the preparedness assessment system, which relies on social vulnerability analysis. "By knowing who is affected by hazards and what assistance the at-risk residents need, interventions can be specified to prepare for specific crisis scenarios," explains Kati Orru. The novel system is being tested in scenario-based workshops.

Recently, workshops held in the Netherlands and Estonia simulated flood and military attack scenarios. Vulnerabilities such as individuals' pre-existing health risks, language barriers, and distrust of official communication emerged. To avoid these pitfalls, it is necessary to be prepared to adapt crisis messages according to the characteristics of societal groups, identify the most used communication channels, and refute crisis-related misconceptions during peacetime.

Another significant practical advancement in strengthening preparedness is the development of a crisis solutions knowledge repository. The repository contains best crisis solution experiences and guidance materials for crisis management institutions and community leaders. Users will find inspiration and guidelines tailored to their role, experience, or hazard context, assisting in drafting crisis plans, mapping capability gaps, enhancing community crisis readiness, and adapting the surrounding environment to be more crisis-resilient. The best practices repository is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

Participating in the project from the University of Tartu's Risk and Resilience Research Group are Kati Orru, Oliver Nahkur, Sten Hansson, and Kristi Nero. Representatives from the Southern Estonian Rescue Service and the Võru County Development Center are also involved from Estonia. The project will continue until November 2026.

For more information about the SYNERGIES project, visit: https://synergiesproject.eu/