What does it mean to collaborate?
We throw this word around often in the emergency management sector. In my world, I promote the need for us to work together in partnership, share resources, and maximize training opportunities – this all boils down to collaboration.
I’ve recently had the opportunity to travel within Alberta, onto Ontario and last week to New Brunswick to deliver crisis communications and media training workshops. The clients were from different sectors (Regional Emergency Management, Executives who operate Women’s Shelters and an Indigenous Council), but they all saw the value of collaboration.
Each client was building on the foundational knowledge that we are “better together.” Better, stronger, more resilient and prepared to tackle the next big challenge.
The training workshops brought people together to build capacity within their networks to support one another. The conversations highlighted shared scenarios and concerns, response approaches, language choices, and lessons identified. Nobody was truly alone, as there was always someone who had been there before.
Here are four observations that traversed all of them:
1. Your worst nightmare is likely shared or has been realized by somebody else
2. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel - leverage resources and tweak
3. You may have limited resources, but there is always someone you can call for help
4. Building repositories to share information across the network is an excellent way to share lessons identified and build a knowledge base for your
Who can you bring into your bubble to promote improved collaboration and increase your resilience?
Shawna Bruce is passionate about Risk and Crisis Communications, Emergency Public Information, and Public Engagement. She delivers crisis, PIO, and media training workshops in-person and virtually. For more information, please visit our website or connect with us at: bruceandassociatesltd@gmail.com.
#collaboration #emergencymanagement #planning #networking #bestpractices #crisiscommunications #training #issuesmanagement
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