Risk, Science, and Health Collaborations During Cascading and Simultaneous Disasters

This chapter argues that there will be a pressing need for interorganizational collaboration among scientists and risk and crisis managers in the coming decades as societies face cascading and simultaneous disasters. We first identify challenges to collaboration among scientists and other stakeholders, including crisis communicators, policymakers, and the public. We propose that organizational communication theories can enhance understanding of these collaborations. Using a case study of a local crisis collaboration working during the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 wildland fire season, we find that cascading and simultaneous disasters will require flexible crisis response plans, greater relationship building among scientists, public health practitioners, and risk and crisis practitioners, and that public information sharing will be essential.