Preventing damage to properties and the environment while avoiding risks to human life is a priority in flood forecasting and management, as is effective communication and engagement.
We are involved in appraising approaches to better communicate the local and national flood forecast messaging to Environment Agency’s (EA) National and Area incident roles. As part of this, we assess how forecast communication products could be redeveloped, to account for technological developments in the Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) and recent research in communicating the flood context, to address issues from recent flood events and improve the usability of the products.
Product concerns include: • Local Flood Outlook – this product is prepared by EA forecasters to communicate local flood impact assessment over the next 5-day period to EA Areas. • Slide Pack – this product is prepared by EA forecasters to communicate the national flood forecast narrative to EA senior managers.
We engaged with RAB Consultants, due to its previous involvement in supporting business change and recent roll out of IMFS, to complete stakeholder engagement, appraise user needs and produce options appraisal reports. Through this effective collaboration, we expanded the technical abilities and overall offering to the EA for a strengthened outcome.
The options appraisal reports have been well received and used to assess the next steps in improving and streamlining forecasting communication outputs. Our client commented, “Thanks to you and the team for the two reports. They are a useful, informative read and provide some very helpful suggestions and thoughts on improvements and changes that we should consider.”