California's Stakeholder Matrix: A Liaison Tool for the first 96 hours of Response

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research on crisis and risk communication continues to illustrate the need for and benefits of early and sustained stakeholder engagement during disasters, both natural and manmade. The California citizenry is deeply committed to environmental protection and expects to “engage” with their government on policy development and environmental solutions. Stakeholders expect a high-level of government transparency, driving the need for engagement even more during emergency responses such as oil spills. Within the Incident Command System (ICS), it is the responsibility of the Liaison Officer (LOFR) to coordinate and share information with stakeholders. A review of “After Action Reports” and “lessons learned” from oil spills, both nationally and within California, point to the continued need for strong stakeholder engagement by the LOFR and has become a priority of California's lead oil spill response agency, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR). Building off stakeholder engagement tools found in crises and risk communication literature and in Incident Command System job aids, OSPR crafted a stakeholder matrix that was readily scalable, easy to use, and easy to translate to Incident Commanders and other Command Staff during response. This matrix is a template of simple inputs, allowing stakeholders and engagement strategies to be identified, grouped, and prioritized. It is intended to be a planning tool for the first 24–96 hours, a precious time in a response. It is often too early to expect the LOFR to have completed a stakeholder engagement plan, yet this time is critical to initiating early stakeholder communication that will set the tone for the response. This matrix serves as the initial plan for the LOFR. This paper will describe the development of this tool, its evolution, and its use. It will also highlight feedback from exercises and response partners. It will describe the flexibility and scalability, and considerations for broader applications.