Project Background
Despite widespread recognition of the public as a vital resource in crisis preparedness and response, little is known about what enables or hinders public mobilization in real crises. Without a deeper understanding of the factors that influence individuals' willingness and ability to contribute — whether to protect themselves, support responders, or comply with official instructions — authorities run the risk of developing preparedness strategies that do not reflect actual public behavior.
Project Purpose
PREPCI examines the conditions for public action in emergencies and evaluates the effectiveness of emergency responders' engagement with the public before and during different types of crises— from natural disasters to sabotage and war. Using a comprehensive research approach, including focus group and in-depth interviews, surveys, survey experiments, case studies, historical analysis, and crisis simulations, PREPCI examines how demographic, psychological, social, and institutional factors influence preparedness, support, and compliance. We also seek to understand why people who declare themselves ready often fail to act.
Project Approach
To ensure that emergency planning is based on realistic expectations, we assess whether emergency responders' assumptions about population behavior match actual capabilities. To address these challenges, PREPCI is developing a framework that accounts for crisis-specific differences while remaining applicable across emergency contexts. Through interdisciplinary collaboration with the the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB) and the Norwegian Red Cross and academic partners, PREPCI will generate knowledge that improves public participation in crisis response.
By providing actionable insights, PREPCI will support authorities to develop more effective preparedness strategies, bridge the gap between public capacities and institutional expectations, and ultimately improve society's resilience.
