Deliverable D5.2 Pandemic communications toolkit

Work package 5 (WP5) in PANDEM-2 addresses the critical challenge of providing effective and timely communication in a pandemic health emergency. Previous work in Task 5.1 focussed on the theoretical groundwork and established essential components for effective communication. Building on this, Task 5.2 aimed to developed practical recommendations for end-users involved in public health pandemic communication. With support and feedback from the PANDEM-2 end-users, deliverable D5.2 provides templates and guidelines for the most common ways of pandemic communication. These templates are intended to be used and adapted freely by the project end-users and be versatile enough to fit crisis communication needs during any sort of outbreak as well as an organization’s need. Especially for smaller organizations, with fewer staff and a small or non-existent communications department, these templates can serve as a basis to lighten the workload of the responsible communication staff and allow them to exchange relevant information with the public in a short amount of time. Templates for contact lists shall further serve as an incentive and motivator for end-users to identify relevant stakeholders within their respective countries and beyond, whose contact details are valuable to ensure fast and efficient communication. A second virtual work package 5 (WP5) end-user workshop was conducted to give experienced staff the chance to test and evaluate the developed guidelines and templates in order to increase their quality and effectiveness.