Faster, easier to understand, and more emotional – how can government bodies optimise their official crisis communication?

On 19 September 2024, the MIRKKOMM concluding event will take place in Berlin at the German Federal Press Office. MIRKKOMM is a consortium project which combines expertise from the realms of communication, media, and legal science. Over a period of three years, researchers used the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how well the scientific community, the media, and government bodies were able to reach the public in times of crisis. “At the concluding event, we’d like to use the results of the project to discuss how public institutions can further improve their communication in times of long-lasting crisis,” says Professor Dr Gaby-Fleur Böl, the Head of the Department Risk Communication at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). “Comprehensibility, transparency, and openness are the basis of successful risk and crisis communication.” The third-party-funded project was coordinated by the BfR and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

In addition to relevant insights into communication during the COVID-19 pandemic, the project partners will also present courses of action for future crisis situations. Both internal and external knowledge management as well as social media communication and questions about legally secure communication during crises play an important role. In parallel workshop sessions, the insights should be deepened and necessary action should be determined.

See the programme (in German): https://www.bfr-akademie.de/media/wysiwyg/2024/mirkkomm/MIRKKOMM_Abschlussveranstaltung_Programm.pdf

Interested media representatives can contact the BfR press office: pressestelle@bfr.bund.de

Further information about the MIRKKOMM project (in German): https://mirkkomm.de/

Results of the MIRKKOMM project (excerpt)

The BfR pursued the question as to whether or not the understanding of risk and crisis communication must be expanded in terms of knowledge and value conflicts. The results of the sub-project “Discourse” show that an understanding of risk and crisis communication is necessary that includes people with different levels of knowledge and diverging values and thus allows them to participate. Crises often constitute a particular challenge for communicating individual risks, for instance the risk of contracting a disease. Social cohesion and a shared value system are the foundation for a solid starting point.

In the sub-project “Media” of the MIRKKOMM project, the team from the SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences investigated the crisis communication of journalists as well as that of social media content creators. The goal was to optimise the communication with public institutions with regard to future crisis situations. Representatives of traditional media and social media said they would like more uniformity, comprehensibility, and scientific explanation of the data, including direct communication with governments and public institutions.

In the sub-project “Legal framework”, the Europa-Universität Viadrina concluded that government communication must fundamentally be neutral, reasonable, and in line with the existing legal framework. In times of crisis, however, health protection becomes prime, which means that certain legal adjustments are necessary. For instance, more attention-grabbing and less dull news are appropriate during crises. Humorous or controversial content can also help.

For future crises, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology recommends within the scope of the sub-project “Reception” that public institutions be clearer and more understandable in their social media communication and that they should also convey emotional messages. The knowledge tests which were carried out showed that social media is best suited for conveying core messages and less suited for explanations and background information. In addition, crisis communication on social media should be more strongly dialogue-oriented and make more efficient use of the multi-modal potential of this communication channel.

In the sub-project “Government authorities”, the researchers from the TU Ilmenau investigated communication from the perspective of government stakeholders at the federal, state, and municipal levels. They found that for municipal crisis management in particular more attention from higher levels is needed, because municipalities implement measures locally and act as points of communications for government authorities as well as for citizens. Clear responsibilities and stronger bi-directional communication channels between municipalities and their state government could thus improve crisis management.

Mecom GmbH, the operator of the MoWaS modular warning system for protection of the public, performed a usability study in which they surveyed control centre dispatchers and developed suggestions for improvement to increase effective usage of the warning system.

You can find the scientific publications of the MIRKKOMM project here: https://mirkkomm.de/wordpress/?page_id=180

Participating consortium partners

MIRKKOMM was coordinated by the BfR and was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Technische Universität Ilmenau, SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, and the Europa-Universität Viadrina are the consortium partners involved. A practical partner, mecom Medien-Communikations-Gesellschaft mbH, which is a subsidiary of the Deutsche Presseagentur dpa, supplemented the scientific expertise.

Further information about MIRKKOMM on the BfR website

BfR press release, #Krisenalltag – Kommunikation in der Pandemie: Exhibition opens
https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/press_information/2023/13/krisenalltag___kommunikation_in__der_pandemie__exhibition_opens-311933.html

BfR press release, Parliamentary evening at the end of the exhibition “#Krisenalltag – Kommunikation in der Pandemie”
https://www.bfr.bund.de/en/press_information/2023/18/parliamentary_evening_at_the_end_of_the_exhibition_krisenalltag___kommunikation_in_der_pandemie-313192.html