Unlocking National Impact: Continuing the legacy of our Communicating Flood Risk Project to a national scale.
The Communicating Flood Risk (CFR) project, initiated in response to challenges faced by flood risk practitioners, has evolved into a groundbreaking training tool – FLEEX. Now, we aim to extend the project’s reach and national impact by repurposing its outputs into professional training tools.
Challenges Addressed:
- Understanding diverse interests, perceptions, and cultures within target audiences about flood risk communication.
- Selecting appropriate language, context, and tone for effective flood risk communication.
- Combating information fatigue and sustaining interest in post-flood events.
- Determining the effectiveness of flood risk communication efforts.
The FLEEX Training Tool:
FLEEX, a free flood engagement exercise launched in 2022, aims to immerse participants in a fictional town’s flood scenarios. This exercise provides a platform that encourages discussions and offers solutions to real-world flood risk communication challenges. The exercise received positive feedback and recommendations from participating organisations, enhancing understanding, and improving engagement.
Success Stories:
FLEEX was used as a training session by several organisations, including West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, Kirklees Council, and the Environment Agency. We delivered 12 exercises for 70 participants. This project has also received positive feedback and a strong recommendation from participating Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) and members of public.
- 84% of participants improved their understanding of flood risk communication.
- 96% would recommend using FLEEX in their respective organisations.
Opportunity and Demand: To extend the CFR project’s impact to a national scale and to address the wider demand for this interactive exercise, we have repurposed its output tools into a comprehensive training tool for external organisations, including RMAs, universities, community groups, and professional bodies. We are working to refine and translate FLEEX sessions to align with Welsh policy. This initiative includes a “Train the Trainer” session, empowering RMAs to independently use these tools, and fostering resilience and effective communication.
We are going to:
- Make the ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions available for interested organisations.
- Conduct community/flood action group sessions with vulnerable communities.
- Release a package tool of the exercise on iCASP website, catering to in-person and online delivery.
Expected Impacts:
- Use FLEEX findings to inform local flood risk management strategies and communication plans.
- Encourage knowledge sharing between RMAs and community groups.
- Build capacity within authorities for preparing for emergencies, aligning with policy objectives effectively.
- Stimulate discussions on engaging hard-to-reach or disengaged communities.
To know more about this exercise please get in touch with us on icasp@leeds.ac.uk.