Stakeholder procedure to develop an end user focused early warning system

The inclusion of stakeholders and those affected locally in the design of warning systems is of vital importance for the success of disaster risk management in general and emergency management in particular. This presentation... [ view full abstract ]

The inclusion of stakeholders and those affected locally in the design of warning systems is of vital importance for the success of disaster risk management in general and emergency management in particular. This presentation will describe the preliminary results of a stakeholder procedure to develop an end-user focused early warning system in the landslide-prone community of Gschliefgraben, in Upper Austria. The preparatory work included a literature review and media analysis, semi-structured interviews and a discourse analysis to elicit stakeholders’ perspectives with respect to the nature of the problem and its solution. The results reveal that stakeholders’ perspectives on warning systems differ considerably on issues such as costs and financial aspects, responsibility allocation between scientific advisors and local authorities, technological features, use of public engagement tools -especially innovative ITC tools- to promote increased preparedness. These differences lead to the identification of three main options for the warning system labeled respectively as: a cost effective system; technical expert system; a resident-centered system. This is the starting point for experts to co-produce technical options based on their specialized knowledge. The presentation will focus on the design of the technical options based on local perspectives, on the co-production of knowledge between experts and stakeholders and on the methodological approach and challenges to formulate a compromise solution to a future early warning system.

Symposium title: The societal side of early warning and evacuation decisions