The Right Message, to the Right People, at the Right Time
The Right Message, to the Right People, at the Right Time
The National Disaster & Emergency Management University (NDEMU) Public Information Officer (PIO) training program is designed to provide PIOs with the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities to support proper decision-making by delivering the right message, to the right people, at the right time.
Public information is a vital function in disaster operations that contributes greatly to saving lives and protecting property. Public information entails the processes and systems that enable effective communications with various target audiences. The NDEMU training program provides PIOs with the opportunity to learn and practice the tasks of gathering, verifying, coordinating, and disseminating public information at all levels of government.
The PIO program series moves progressively through public information awareness & basics to advanced PIO concepts, and culminates in a master public information officer course series. The courses in this series thematically focus on the 95/5 concept and whole community strategic communications planning.
The 95/5 Concept
Like most emergency managment professionals, a dedicated public information officer will often undertake a variety of activities while in a non-emergency posture.
The 95/5 concept directly correlates to the non-emergency and emergency ratio of PIO activities. Inevitably, about 95% of the work PIOs perform will be completed in non-emergency times, while typically about 5% directly related to incident response or recovery.
The activities a PIO engages in during a non-emergency posture (95%) has a significant impact on how successful they will be in the 5% spent in emergency response and recovery. The PIO program series focuses on both parts of the 95/5 ratio to ensure that a successful PIO can implement communications strategies to the whole community to deliver the right message to the right people, at the right time. And to help people before, during and after emergencies.
Public Information Officer Programs
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Public Information Awareness and Basics
Underlying concepts, and the basic skills needed for full or part time PIOs
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Advanced Public Information Officer
Apply Advanced Public Information Skills in a Multi-Day Functional Exercise
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Master Public Information Officer Program
Expanded Role in Delivering Strategic Public Information and Warning
Further Information
For more information, please see the EMPP list of frequently asked questions
For further inquiries about the PIO Program, please see the EMPP points of contact list
