What Are Leadership Techniques to Catalyze the Civic Infrastructure?
Citizen Involvement in Pressing Public Matters Leaders have a range of techniques for mobilizing the civic infrastructure for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery ends.‡ Research and practical experience indicate that community engagement, which complements mass communications, may help leaders tackle some of the more intractable problems posed by extreme events: Communication Operating in a communications mode, an official or agency conveys information to members of the public in a one-way fashion, often with the intent of educating and informing the populace. Public feedback is not required or specifically sought. In the context of disasters and epidemics, this has largely taken the shape of pamphlets, press releases, public meetings, and websites like ready.gov and pandemicflu.gov that instruct citizens in how to prepare a family communication plan, gather an emergency supply kit, and recognize characteristic features (or health signs) of a specific hazard.59,60 Consultatio
