AN ASSIGNMENT ON CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

Introduction

My principal role as a public relations manager at Saint Augustine’s University (SAU) is to efficiently manage any issue that occurs on or affects the university. Disasters or calamities can strike at any time, causing the University’s usual operations and support services to become overburdened. The University requires systems that fulfill the needs of emergency response operations and recovery management during a crisis. SAU has designed these emergency response protocols to address such situations. These procedures give recommendations for the administration of the immediate actions and operations required to respond to an emergency or disaster. During a crisis, the University’s top objectives are the safety of people, valuable research, property, the community, and the environment. The overarching goal is to respond to emergency situations and manage the process of restoring academic programs and services at the University. This document is the Campus Emergency and Crisis Management Plan, which covers the SAU campus’s facilities, services, and administration.

Crisis description

The new £100 million state-of-the-art scientific building at Saint Augustine’s University (SAU), located in the center of the main campus, has been completely destroyed by fire. The gases from the fire are wafting across to the next school building. Forty firefighters have been called to the location to put out the fire, which is threatening to spread to surrounding structures. I hereby request that all students and staff members leave the building immediately and go to a secure location.

Assessment of crisis

As a result of the incident, a portion of the state-of-the-art science building has been damaged, as have science facilities including tables and chairs. This incident happened during a class period. This will have an academic and non-academic impact on science students. I urge everyone to be calm and trust that all of the damaged facilities will be operational soon.

Stakeholders and other audiences

One of the first steps in developing a crisis communications plan is to identify the audiences that the incident needs to reach during an emergency. There are a variety of audiences who may want information during and after an incident, each with its own set of requirements. The task is to identify possible audiences, establish their information needs, and then select who in the crisis is best suited to communicate with that group.

The following is a list of potential stakeholders and audiences.

Associate Vice President, University Relations: The team will be in contact with the President or her/his designate through the Associate Vice President, University Relations.

Director of University Communications/Public Information Officer – The Director of University Communications/Public Information Officer, as a member of the Emergency Resource Team (ERT), will act as a liaison between the CCT and the ERT, providing the CCT with the most up-to-date information on the crisis.

Assistant Director of Communications

Throughout the crisis, the team will design a plan of action and supervise communications difficulties. The team will examine the facts of the issue in order to decide the best course of action and a communication plan for both internal and external communications. Others can and should be drawn into the crisis communications process as needed, depending on the nature of the situation, to address the unique concerns and risks that need to be controlled.

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