Participatory operating methods in disruptions and emergency conditions

Engaging a culturally diverse population in preparedness and emergency planning and communications during a crisis supports coping in disruptions and emergency conditions. Participatory operating methods also strengthen people’s trust in the authorities and increase the accessibility of communication.

Participatory operating methods can be utilised in

disruptions, i.e. milder crises and accidents that can be managed with the current powers of the authorities.
emergency conditions, i.e. situations defined in the Emergency Powers Act, such as particularly serious disasters or an armed attack on Finland. In emergency conditions, special powers can be granted to the authorities.

On this page, you will find tools and methods for the implementation of broad-based cooperation when you are planning activities that will be carried out in disruptions and emergency conditions.

In community dialogue and co-creation, the target group participates in the planning

Community dialogue and co-creation are participatory operating methods in which people are involved in planning, implementing and evaluating communications.

Community dialogue helps to identify people’s needs and wishes. It facilitates open discussion on questions, concerns, wishes and fears arising from a serious disruption or emergency conditions. It is also a way to build, maintain and strengthen trust between different actors. The methods for implementing community dialogue should always be planned with key persons belonging to the target groups. It is a good idea to invite a diverse group of people to take part in dialogue, such as trusted key persons and representatives as well as other members of communities. It is important to remember that communication includes give and take - all parties must benefit from community dialogue.

Co-creation can mean inviting immigrants, people with disabilities and other groups to be involved when planning communications. When the needs of a certain target group have first been determined through means such as community dialogues, people can be involved in the planning of communications that meet these needs. This way, communications will meet the real needs of the community and the communication material is more likely to be culturally and linguistically appropriate. Co-creation should also be used in assessing the effectiveness of communications.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, these methods were tested and used especially when communication was targeted at people who speak languages other than the official languages of Finland. Correspondingly, the model was applied when people with disabilities were engaged in developing communications that meet their needs. The model is suitable for working with many kinds of groups.

More effective measures can be taken by listening to the target group

The security in serious disruptions workshop serves as a method for co-creating preparedness and emergency planning. The outcomes of the workshop can be used to plan and implement communications that meet people's needs and to find ways to support preparedness and coping.

The aim of the workshop is to

strengthen people’s participation in preparedness by increasing knowledge of what kind of concerns and questions are involved in coping
promote independent and joint preparedness from the point of view of people
strengthen the cooperation required in serious disruptions and emergency conditions

Social listening refers to a systematic process in which information on people's perceptions, beliefs and questions obtained through social media and/or social contacts is used in the planning and targeting of communications in disruptions and emergency conditions.

With the help of social listening, the target group can be understood better, which will also make it easier to plan more credible communications. Credible communications can help build trust between authorities and the public, prevent the spread of misinformation, correct misunderstandings and motivate people to follow instructions. Social listening requires a team whose duties include the collection of data, analysation of data, and on the basis of these, the planning and implementation of communications in disruptions and emergencies. Good partners in implementing the process include organisations that work with persons with disabilities and immigrants.

Professionals involved in the development work

The round table approach

The purpose of a round table meeting is to convene professionals from different fields around one topic to strengthen cooperation, share good practices, improve the flow of information and offer peer support. All actors invited to participate in the meeting have equal rights to participate and speak.

For example, during the COVID-19 epidemic, THL organised joint national round table meetings for health and social sector professionals and communicators working with immigrants. In addition, national meetings were held with organisations representing cultural diversity. The purpose of the meetings was to map out the steps taken in the region and the region’s current status and to share good practices between different actors in order to avoid overlapping work and to ensure that good practices are disseminated as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Outreach services

The accessibility of services during disruptions and emergency conditions can be enhanced by implementing some services as outreach services, in other words, as services that go to where the clients are. They can be implemented as services of the municipality or wellbeing services county itself or, for example, in cooperation with organisations or different religious communities. The advantage of services implemented through organisations and different communities is that often, they also reach those people who are not reached by municipalities and wellbeing services counties through their own services.

Tips for organising outreach work:

Plan the suitable dates, places and objectives for outreach work together with local communities and actors. For example, take advantage of community dialogue.
Once the implementation of outreach work has been thought through, recruit suitable employees for the work. It is important to recruit people with the trust of the target group, competence in the relevant communication methods and languages (e.g. sign language), cultural understanding and suitability for network work.
Plan in advance how you will report on the needs and questions that come to light during outreach work so that the results can also be utilised in other services.

Cooperation with organisations helps to reach the target group

Organisations can support the work of authorities in serious disruptions and emergency conditions and in preparing for these. Experts by experience from organisations play an important role in the development of services and activities. The persons working in organisations carry out advocacy work, provide training, develop the services and support people by giving information and organising activities.

Culturally diverse communities and organisations are often aware of and understand the needs and wishes of local immigrants and channels for reaching people. These actors are often also perceived as reliable sources of information in communities, which means that people may be more open to listening to information that comes through them. It is a good idea to ask for help, for example, from a professional of integration work and from coordinators of the organisations in the municipality or wellbeing services county when trying to reach locally operating organisations. The contact details for reaching religious communities can be found on their websites.

When developing cooperation, you should use an interpreter where required.

Culturally diverse communities also have many so-called key persons who have the role of an opinion influencer in their community. They may be religious leaders, people working in influential positions, community members active in social media or, for example, the community’s elders. These persons can be identified, for example, by asking already existing cooperation parties about persons important from the point of view or cooperation. Cooperation with the key persons helps to get the message across effectively.

The main objective of the Building the Future based on Covid-19 Experiences project produced between 2021 and 2023 by the Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities was to develop operating models that support the coping of immigrants in serious disruptions and emergency conditions. The project was funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).