Risk communication skills are essential for coastal community leaders in order to successfully implement resilience planning. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve and NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management recognized that coastal decision-makers needed effective risk communication skills and strategies and developed a one-day training to meet this need.
This project transferred this approach to build risk communication capacity in four coastal communities. Staff from National Estuarine Research Reserves and area partners participated in a two-day event that included: (1) the Office for Coastal Management general risk communication training, and (2) a technical assistance workshop specific to the needs of each local decision-making community. Coastal outreach personnel gained skills and insights to inform their resilience work and developed ideas for specific local projects involving risk communication.