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Course Description

Even a well-designed strategy can become ineffective if assumptions are wrong, contexts change, or audiences cannot act on the guidance risk communicators provide. New evidence, evolving risks, organizational constraints, political developments, crises, and rapidly changing communication technologies can all reshape what a strategy produces. To remain effective, strategic risk communicators must continuously evaluate their efforts, monitor the environments in which they operate, and adapt their approaches while staying focused on their communication objectives.

In this course, Professors Katherine McComas and Dominic Balog-Way will help you look inward, outward, and ahead. You will explore how to define meaningful measures of success, distinguish communication activities from outcomes, and integrate evaluation throughout the planning, implementation, and assessment process. You’ll also examine how political, institutional, historical, and audience contexts influence strategic decision making as well as how organizational preparedness, surge capacity, and trusted relationships can support communication efforts during periods of uncertainty and change. Finally, you will explore the opportunities and challenges created by artificial intelligence, social media, and other emerging technologies that are reshaping communication ecosystems.

Through practical examples and applied activities, you will develop the skills needed to assess communication effectiveness, respond strategically to evolving conditions, and maintain trust and credibility in an increasingly complex risk environment.

The following courses are required to be completed before taking this course:

  • Mapping Your Risk Communication Strategy
  • Engaging Your Risk Communication Audiences
  • Designing Audience-Informed Messages

Faculty Author

Katherine McComas; Dominic Balog-Way

Benefits to the Learner

  • Embed evaluation into your overall strategy
  • Situate your strategy in context
  • Adapt your strategy as communication ecosystems evolve

Target Audience

  • Communications directors and PR managers responsible for communicating about risk across their organizations and externally
  • Risk communication and country risk teams developing communication strategies before challenges or incidents arise
  • Public information officers at health, environmental, and food safety regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe
  • Risk management leaders at pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech, and energy companies operating in highly regulated environments
  • Health, emergency, and public safety managers communicating hazards to the communities they serve
  • Executives, operations leaders, and project managers who oversee or coordinate risk communication without formal training in the field
  • Technical specialists, analysts, marketers, and professionals in advocacy, education, and public lands whose roles include communicating about risk

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in

Type
2 week
Dates
Jan 20, 2027 to Feb 02, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Apr 14, 2027 to Apr 27, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Jul 07, 2027 to Jul 20, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Sep 29, 2027 to Oct 12, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Dec 22, 2027 to Jan 04, 2028
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
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