Managing stakeholder relationships for improved situation awareness during volcanic emergencies: An Eastern Caribbean case study

Abstract

During periods of volcanic unrest, civil authorities around the world depend on information from scientists to guide their decision making. In some instances, limited experience among these authorities cause scientists to take on decision-making responsibility usually reserved for non-scientists. These actions increase the managerial risks faced by scientists as they can lose credibility and could be legally liable for the negative outcomes. Using semi-structured interviews and content analysis we sought to understand how scientists at The UWI Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) managed scientific communication at the science-management interface during volcanic emergencies in the Eastern Caribbean. Thematic analysis of the interviews yielded two major themes: (1) communication practice and (2) stakeholder relationships. Our findings indicate that strong relationships between volcano scientists and authorities coupled with purpose driven communication methods can improve decision making capacity among public officials, reducing public vulnerability. To reduce managerial risk, we propose the prioritisation of situation awareness when communicating volcanic hazard information. We present a format for scientific advisories based on the three levels of situation awareness: perception, comprehension and projection. A case is also made for the role of routine science-emergency management interaction in facilitating effective hazard communication.