Welcome

Crisis Management

How to Prepare, Manage and Continue a crisis

Inge Wijnja - Fontys University of Applied Sciences
Maike Wensveen - The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Rogier Ragetlie - Erasmus University Rotterdam
Peter Wurtz - University of Amsterdam
Michael Mehrow - Windesheim University of Applied Sciences
What is a crisis?

 A crisis (from the Greek κρίσις - krisis;[1] plural:

"crises"; adjectival form: "critical") is any event that is, or is
expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation
affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society.
Preparation
Preparation

• Crises lead to a lot of insecurity and every crisis is different. However, it is still
possible and useful to prepare

• Preparation (‘the cold fase’) originates from the following elements:

1. A crisis plan with uniform procedures and starting points

2. Inventarisation crisis scenario’s (high impact)
3. Practice, training and educating crisis teams and crisis functionaries
4. Invest in relationships with security - and crisis partners
5. Draw lessons from incidents en crises (evaluation)
 Preparation: crisis plan (1)

Strategical & tactical level of the crisis organisation (managing board)

Index crisis plan:

• Strategical starting points for crisis management

• Composition crisis teams & tasks, responsibilities & competences
• Procedures for notification, alarm & upscaling (criteria)
• Processes: crisis communication, coördination en decision-making
• Attachments:
• Operation framework crisis scenario’s
• Practical tools for crisis teams
• Stakeholders
Preparation: inventarisation scenario’s (2)

From generic to specific…………

What kind of scenario’s do you want to prepare your HEI for?

• Start with the risk profile in mind: target groups, locations, societal
developments, buildings, environment
• Then think of crisis scenario’s with a high impact
• Operation framework for managing the impact:
• Which are the areas of impact?
• What are the critical moments?
• About which issues should a crisis team take decisions?
• Who are your most important stakeholders?
 Preparation: OTO (3)

• Crisis teams practice with crisis scenario’s

• Members train skills

• Educate about crisis management procedures (internal & governmental)

Preparation: invest in network (4)

Who are your most important stakeholders? Get to know them and invest in
the relationship…

External
• Safety: police, justice, municipalities, safety regions, fire department
• Companies (hired and in the area)
• Insurance, experts
• Education institutions domestic and abroad & networks………..

Internal
• Student representation
• Student association and sororities
• Services
• Education & research
Preparation: learning from incidents (5)

• (Almost) incidents and crisis situations

• With internal and external stakeholders
• Education and services
• Crisis teams and ‘regular’ organisation

• Translate lessons learned to (new/altered) procedures and agreements

• Use as input for practice
Crisis scenario’s
 Questions case studies

1. Calamity abroad

2. Widespread exam fraud/ theft

3. (Threat of) schoolshooting

• How well are you prepared?

• Who do you notify/ involve?
• How do you act during the incident? (what are the critical moments and decisions)?
• What are the focus areas for the follow-up phase?
a crisis ?!
How to manage,
Alarm, upscaling and downscaling
• Alarm:
• Who sounds the alarm?
• What team(s) will be alerted?
• In which situations should an alarm be sounded?
• Upscaling
• What criteria play a part
• (Organisational, financial, communicative, etc.)

• Conferencing method:
• BOB procedure;
- Forming an image of the situation (Beeldvorming)
- Judging the situation (Oordeelsvorming)
- Decision-making (Besluitvorming)

• Downscaling
 Forming an image of the situation

Situation-analysis.

Forming an image of the situation starts with uncovering

the facts.
• What is going on?
• What is the situation?
• What is the source?
• What are the effects?
• What are the areas of impact?
• How does it affect the safety, continuity and reputation of the organisation?
• What is the cause and will this cause affect the rest of the incident?
• Is your organisation only the victim, or are you also the perpetrator?
Limit the analasys about the cause of the incident in the beginning to the relevant
elements, or else you will loose to much precious time during the next steps.
 Forming an image of the situation

Scenario-analysis.
The second step in forming an image of the situation is assessing the
development of the incident.
• How will the crisis probably end? (Waar gaat de crisis waarschijnlijk heen?)
• What other scenario’s can you reasonably expect?
Consider not only the likelihood that a certain scenario will happen, but also
consider the undesirability: what should absolutely be prevented?
Scenario-analysis can lead to managing multiple crises at the same time: the real
crisis that is happening at the moment and the crises that have to be prevented at
all cost.
 Judging the situation

Option-analysis.
If the situation and scenario’s are clear, you can start judging the situation with
identifying the options.
• What can you do?
• What is your operation framework (handelingskader)?
• What are the short-term options and what long-term actions can you take?
• Do not stop the option-analysis to soon. It is very tempting to immediately use a
familiar respons for the problem, but don’t forget this is a big crisis. Give yourself
some time and put a brake on you ‘action-modus’ for a little while. But stay alert
to act when necessary and return to the option-analysis afterwards.
Judging the situation

Consequenses-analysis.
The second step in judging the situation is waying the consequences from the
option-analysis.
What does every seperate option mean for the safety, continuity and reputation of
your organisation?
Be aware that every consequence has consequences of its own.
Keep asking yourself ‘what does that mean?’ until you can’t go any further.
 Decision making

Goal.
If you have completed all the steps, you should have enough information to start
making decisions. Determine your goal. What do you want to achieve and when?
What should you do to achieve this and who has to do this? Make your decisions
explicite and formulate your goals SMART.

Actions.
The last step is delegating actions and monitoring the progress of the crisis
management. After that you can start again with step 1 of the cycle: forming an
image of the situation.
• Is the situation changing?
• Are the scenario’s still developing in the way you predicted?
• Are there new options or have your options diminished?
• What does that mean?
• Will you still reach your goal in time?
• Etcetera. Until you are done.
Continue
 Recovery

Follow-up phase- diagnosis: Make an overview of the needed actions and intensity.
Think about the following categories:

1. Organisation and communication

2. Research and accountability
3. Recovery and care
4. Financial provisions
5. Business continuity

Make contacts beforehand, complete your internal and external network and draw up
pilot-contracts (waakvlam-contracten) with external experts if necessary.
Recovery : organisation and communication

1. Organisation and communication

Optimal progress and connection between processes, keeping the overview, supervision, inform
stakeholders about the risks and expectations about consequences and the way to act.

Examples:
• Coördination and organisation
• Information distribution
• Public relations (externe voorlichting)
• Supervision
• Register and monitor vicitms
Recovery : research and accountability

2. Research and accountability

Getting clarification about the consequences (gravity and scope of the damage) and causes,
what can result in learning, punishing and questions of accountability

Examples:
• Damage assessment
• Monitor damage to nature, environment and landscape
• (Evaluation)research and learning
• Research ensurance
• Criminal investigation
• Questions of accountability
Recovery : recovery and care / financial

3. Recovery and care

Carry out activities dedicated to the recovery of and care for humans, the evironment and society.
Examples:
• Reconstruction
• Psycho-social shelter and care
• Funerals and memorials
• Interest group and self-organisation of the victims
• Stimulate social cohesion HEI

4. Financial provisions

Examples:
• Damage
• Needed financial resources
Recovery : business continuity

5. Business continuity

Ensure the functioning of vital infrastructure and continuation of education.

Continuity and recovery of:

• Housing
• Energy
• Telecommunication resources/IT
• Drinking water
• Financial
• Order and safety within the HEI
 Crisis
Communications
Prepare Crisis Communications
Audiences
to identify potential audiences,
determine their need for information and
identify who within the HEI is best able to communicate with that audience.

Messages
goal: to move from reacting to the incident, to managing a strategy, to overcome the incident
aim: to ensure consistency of message
(partly) pre-scripted > approved by the management team

Resources
available within the primary site
(provisions to set up similar capabilities within an alternate site)
Manage Crisis Communications

Contact & Information Centre(s)

 communications hub

incoming questions and requests for information

within gathering information about the

Student
Affairs
incident

Students out answers and information

& Parents
> ‘audience proof’ !
 Resources Crisis Communications

•Telephones with dedicated or addressable lines for incoming calls and separate lines for outgoing calls
•Access to any electronic notification system used to inform employees
•Electronic mail (with access to “info@” inbox and ability to send messages)
•Fax machine (one for receiving and one for sending)
•Webmaster access to company website to post updates
•Access to social media accounts
•Access to local area network, secure remote server, message template library and printers
•Hard copies of emergency response, business continuity and crisis communications plan
•Site and building diagrams, information related to business processes and loss prevention programs
(e.g., safety and health, property loss prevention, physical and information/cyber security, fleet safety,
environmental management and product quality)
•Copiers
•Forms for documenting events as they unfold
•Message boards (flipcharts, white boards, etc.)
•Pens, pencils, paper, clipboards and other stationery supplies
Inge Wijnja
Maike Wensveen
Rogier Ragetlie
Peter Wurtz
Michael Mehrow