BGU team helps create emergency preparedness website

The “Crisis Communication Scorecard,” website was created by Israeli research team led by Dr. Reich from BGU’s Department of Communication.

By BEN HARTMAN
Ben Gurion University (photo credit: Dani Machlis/ BGU)
Ben Gurion University
(photo credit: Dani Machlis/ BGU)
Incorporating battle-tested Israeli know-how, a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev research team has developed a website to improve emergency preparedness, by helping coordinate effective communications with medical and rescue services.
The “Crisis Communication Scorecard,” website was created by an Israeli research team led by Dr. Zvi Reich from BGU’s Department of Communication Studies, in collaboration with a group of European researchers.
In a statement released by BGU on Sunday, Dr. Reich said “during crises, effective communication with the public becomes a matter of life or death, and the capacity to do so becomes a national security resource. Therefore, it’s critical to equip the spokespeople with effective tools, such as this one, which is largely based on Israeli experience, which will enable them to coordinate with the medical and rescue services.”
BGU said the tool is meant for police and rescue services, as well as city and government bodies in charge of crisis management.
In addition to BGU, the program was developed by research teams from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, the University of Tartu in Estonia, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Emergency Services College in Finland – largely through funding from the the European Community’s