Abstract 26: Critical Communication; Design’s role in post-terrorist incident communication (ACCEPTED)

“An effective and consistent communications strategy could reduce the impact of the event and also diminish the terrorists success.” Becker, 2004; 198

On the 7th July 2005 at 8.50am multiple terrorist bombs are detonated in the city of London simultaneously. In the following aftermath; multiple communication methods fail resulting in increased confusion and subsequent stress in the public.

This paper questions design’s role in facilitating the deconstruction and reconstruction of post-terrorist incident communication structures.

The research supporting this paper originates in an EPSRC funded scoping project investigating designs application in the realm of counter-terror. Written and informed by research gathered within the framework of the project, this paper aims to disseminate a critical assessment of the role of design in the deconstruction, assessment and future management of post-terrorist emergency response communications within the public domain.

Post-terrorist incident communications demand the employment of multiple networks, teams and communication methods. The process of mapping post-incident communication pathways serves to simplify and disseminate the complexity of emergency response communication structures; disentanglement and assessment of this complexity subsequently highlights the intrinsic requirement for increased clarity and flexibility in incident-response communication. Using visualisation as a core example, this research will seek to demonstrate the role of design methods as effective tools in the investigation and exploration of complex structures. Simplifying complex post-incident communication structures will further serve to account for the multiple stakeholders functioning within the network and the various sector specific platforms from which they operate.

Focusing predominantly on external public post-incident communication this paper will outline the issues pertaining to terrorist incident communications and seek to explore the inherent potential for design intervention within these structures. Using the 7th July London bombings as a central case study, this investigation will employ multiple research methods to critically assess post incident communication patterns and aim to highlight the disparity in communication requirements within the multiple stakeholder framework. 7th July Review Committee transcripts and reports will serve as key texts; informing and contextualising the research. Documented failures in communication structures, supported by findings through research, will be used as the foundation to draw hypothesis that design can offer a critical service in the re-design of terrorist incident communication platforms.