1) The document discusses lessons learned from collaborating with a professional science communicator, TiconUno, on the Know-4-drr project aimed at disaster risk reduction. 2) Key lessons included focusing on a few key concepts or keywords to convey messages, allowing for more nuanced discussions than what is possible during crisis situations, and using multiple formats like interviews and videos. 3) Communicating complex topics like risk assessment and building resilience is challenging but important, and oversimplifying concepts can be problematic; collaborating with professional communicators helped improve the ability to communicate to non-experts.

1. Scira Menoni prepared with Federico Pedrocchi
Final conference of the Know-4-drr Project
“Knowledge management for improving DRR/CAA: state of the
art, findings and steps forward”
Chambery,
26-­‐27
May
2015
Professional
communica<on
in
scien<fic
projects
aimed
at
disaster
risk
preven<on.
Hints
from
the
Know-­‐4-­‐drr
project

2. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
Communication made by professionals: TiconUno, an editor working for an
important national radio (Radio24) and running their own Web TV on issues related
to scientific and technological innovation.
So of course I cannot tell you about professional communication from the side of
professional communicators, but I can tell you what we have learnt by working with
a professional editor, certainly it is much different than disseminating the results of
project in a «traditional» way
www.triwu.it

3. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
We wanted to have on board a
professional communicator because we
thought that we will need to reach to a
certain extent also a wider audience (the
«so called civil society». In some of our
living labs we wanted to inform
communities about what we were doing
in the context of flood risk reduction.
One important thing we have learned
it is really fundamental to focus on
some keywords, on some key
concepts that you want to convey and
then discuss them from different
angles.
We were not communicating in the
time of crisis, but as a sort of scientific
communication, so we were able also
to give messages that would not be
acceptable in times of crisis.

4. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
We did not want to oversimplify the message, but rather suggest that risk
assessment and management are very complex tasks implying hight levels of
uncertainty and therefore it is necessary for example to allow civil protection
officials who are intervening during emergencies to make mistakes and not be
blamed afterwords unless mistakes derive from misconduct or lack of complience
with norms and state of the art knowledge.
So we had to casts at the Radio, one presenting the project and the game we
played in Bolzano, the Flood Control Game in the program «Smart cities», the
second longer regarding complexity in risk management in the program «Moebius»

5. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
There are several videos on the Know-4-drr project, including interviews, project
meetings, and also the work we carried out in one of our living lab, the Umbria
region living lab
After the November 2013 flood, we went there as a Polimi and TiconUno team
together to carry out post-flood damage assessment. The TiConUno team
interviewed civil protection officials, but we also went to the field. The technique that
was used was «remote» recording so that the microphone never interfered with our
work and with the questions we were asking to different affected people while we
were surveying shops, restaurants, residents

6. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
The video regarding the flood control game that we played in Bolzano was recorded
and re-framed to show crucial moments where relevant challenges or stakes were
discussed and managed by the players. An interview is connecting the different
pieces of the game video.

7. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
In the Salzburg workshop different interviews were carried out with participants.
Each interview was carried out by two science journalists (who have a scientific
background in their education). The interviews are in the orginal language (English
for all except one) with Italian subtitles
Each video is
accompanied by
a short written
summary that
guides into the
content of the
video. Of course
the idea is to
make the best of
a Tv that is
internet based
and that therefore
permits to layer
different levels of
information, from
the «simplest», to
deepest.

8. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
In the Salzburg workshop different interviews were carried out with participants.
Each interview was carried out by two science journalists (who have a scientific
background in their education). The interviews are in the orginal language (English
for all except one) with Italian subtitles

9. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
Polimi: we realised it is possible to communicate also difficult and complex concepts
if you are prepared on how to explain them, visualise with examples so that they
can be understood even though the whole theory behind is not known. There is
resistance on the side of researchers to commit in this type of communication for a
number of reasons, however there is an increasing need and call for researchers
able to communicate their research and make it both appealing and understandable
to a wider public.
Pedrocchi: A key point is how to communicate concepts such as prevention,
resilience, that should be managed by citizens if we think they are important for
peole’s own survival and well being in recovery. Conveying the full meaning of
key concepts is not an easy task using traditional and even new media and this is
an issue for all scientific topics, however it is more of a problem for issues that
have a direct impact on people’s life.
In the meantime whilst problems and concepts are complex, we live in an era of
«solutionism» that is the idea that anything canbe solved quickly.

10. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
Pedrocchi: Regarding the different languages what happens often is that scientists
try to translate complex concepts into easy terms, they think are easier and
comprhensible. However either this is not really the case, or the oversimplification
reinforce the idea that easy solutions are right there. Perhaps we need formats that
allow multiple languages to be hosted.
Polimi: in our experience with TiConUno we really realised how important it is to
have the guidance of experts in the field of communication of science, and in a
broader sense topics where scientific content plays a relevant role. In fact we
should work closer to enhance our ability to construct discourses that can be
understood, shared and even challenged in a constructive way by non-experts. In
our experience of the Umbria living lab, but certainly also in the Vietnam living lab
the ability to interact with local communities even when they have been affected by
an extreme event makes the difference in communicating the risks and the way to
protect life and assets.

11. Prof.
xyz
Know-4-drr
So in the Framework for a Knowledge Management System we think it is important
to provide also this sort of guidance regarding how such innovative, not «breaking
the news» approach to risks, disasters, and prevention can take place, giving
access to experiences and also to some reflection in articles or videos, wherever
those are available. We suspect at the moment there is not much but we may
attract initiatives we are not aware of and provide links to such initiatives.
I agree that every crisis is unique and every community is different, however there
may be some principles, some lessons that can be useful «globally» or «glocally»
so that the actual implementation is different in different communities but with
somehow common ideas and concepts that can be shared even though embedded
in different examples and images.