Task 3: Develop an Outreach Strategy – Overview

Task 3: Develop an Outreach Strategy

Overview

The discussion endorsed by the mitigation planning process among the community members regarding the development of a safer and disaster-resilient community is the key to its success. Reflecting the priorities and values of your community accurately in the hazard plan will boost its authenticity within the community and consequently facilitate the execution of the mitigation actions to diminish threats and risks.
As per the Federal laws, the approval of the mitigation plan requires the general public and the stakeholders to be given opportunities to participate in the planning process, as well as in the completion and maintenance of the plan. Hence, the members of the community can offer inputs that can help influence the content and results of the mitigation plan.

Task 3 is based on the idea (outreach strategy) that we already discussed in Task 2 – Assemble the Planning Team. This strategy describes what can be achieved through outreach efforts, the persons or agencies to involve in the process, as well as when and how to effectively engage your community.

To create a particularly strong outreach strategy, consider using some of the best practices found in high-quality plans, such as:

• Involving a wide range of stakeholders (strongly linked to parts of Task 1 and Task 2)
• Utilizing many methods of including the public (see Task 2 and FEMA’s list of outreach methods)
• Using outreach methods that can be sustained after the plan is developed and throughout the plan’s implementation process (also see Task 7)

Task 3 Requirements
Element A1: The mitigation plan document should describe how it was prepared and also list all the members for each jurisdiction involved in the planning process. The document should also include the scope, schedule, and mitigation actions that contributed to the development of the plan.

Element A2: The mitigation plan should recognize and assemble all planning team members as well as stakeholders who participated or had the opportunity to participate in the planning process.