Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Gestión fiscal

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Decentralization
    • Public Spending
    • Taxes
  • authors
  • Publications
  • English
Comunicación en crisis covid-19

Coronavirus Crisis Communications: 10 Practical Recommendations for Local Governments

May 8, 2020 by Romina Nicaretta Leave a Comment


The coronavirus pandemic has presented governments with the challenge of implementing public health measures to contain the spread of the epidemic by promoting social distancing, forcing people to work from home, and closing schools, business and events as well as forcing quarantine measures.

The actions to contain the epidemic[1] seek to “flatten the curve” related to the growth of the disease and, thus, reduce the risk of overwhelming the emergency care system and, more importantly, save lives. The containment measures, even though disruptive and costly in the short-run, are at the moment the best public health policy option for governments to fight the novel disease while the scientific and medical community are still seeking to develop a vaccine and effective treatment protocols for the disease.

Given this current scenario, a good crisis communication strategy has become a key pillar in ensuring a good implementation of containment measures. In this blog we offer practical tips to aid local governments in this task.

The communication challenge

The containment measures to fight the disease present governments with three communication challenges:

a) Change social norms. Social distancing forces people to limit their physical interaction with others, employees must be forced to work from home and students may be forced to take classes online.

b) Manage conflicting interests. Forcing people to stay home will hurt businesses and workers in the informal sector may feel they have no option other than breaking the containment measures to be able to pay their bills and feed their families. The pressure from these constituents may erode support from certain government and political actors for the containment measures.

c) Ensure compliance. Containment measures may last for several weeks and compliance during the period will be key for the success of these measures.

10 recommendations for a good crisis communications for governments

Local governments can play a key role in addressing such challenges given their proximity to citizens and in-depth knowledge of local conditions and specific audiences. A good communication strategy and implementation at a local level can go a long way to contain the epidemic.

Here are 10 recommendations for local governments should consider in their crisis communications:

1. Define your objective. For this epidemic, the objective should be to slow the spread of the disease. As a result, it is important that governments follow closely this indicator. However, given the fact it will take time to see the impact of the measures, governments should ensure that in their plan they keep track on certain performance indicators that can allow them to measure whether the communication is being effective: number of events cancelled, monitor the number of people on the streets and gatherings, for example.

2. Define your key audiences and channels. Governments need to identify key actors and how best to reach them. It is important that governments understand their needs and tailor specific messages to address their concerns or potential blockers that will prevent them from taking the desired containment actions. For example, governments should consider messages for specific age groups and segments of society, such as workers in the informal sector, small businesses, salaried workers, students, etc.

3. Centralize and establish a clear chain of command for your communications. This will help you avoid inconsistent messages to the public. However, you need to make sure you team works in a agile manner since good timing is of essence for an effective communication in fast evolving situations. Dissent and disagreements within governments should be addressed to ensure all public officials are on the same page on what the message is and what is expected of them. Authorities should ensure that communication activities are coordinated at local, state and federal level and across different agencies.

 4. Define your key spokespeople and coordinate messages. Governments should choose spokespeople that are good communicators and that can sound credible and authoritative to audiences. It is important that these people work in a coordinated manner and their messages complement and reinforce each other.

 5. Produce and promote content based on reputable sources. It is important that your communications team sets up specific criteria to select sources that will be used for creating and curating content to avoid spreading misinformation. Original content produced must be reviewed by experts to ensure accuracy. It is also vital that content creators have access to experts if specific content is needed to be produced and there is an expedient process to review and approve content inside the team.

 6. Use appropriate format, language and tone: When crafting messages governments need to ensure that citizens understand why this is being done, and, above all, why it is important for them to comply. Moreover, since containment measures will require behavioral changes, governments need to provide how-to guides and provide explanations on how citizens can practice social distancing, wash their hands, when and how to self-quarantine, where to search for reputable information, how to work from home, whether or not they should visit a certain park, etc. Governments should not assume citizens will know how to do those things by themselves. The content needs to be clear, simple and written in a friendly way, adapted to specific audiences. For example, if there is a large portion of a given community that is illiterate and with limited access to digital communications, governments should produce flyers and posters and distribute them in these communities. These posters should contain illustrations so these audiences understand what they need to do.

 7. Be calm, reassuring, clear and frequent in your communications. The tone of the message is as important as the message itself. When discussing containment measures, the tone of the conversation should be calm and reassuring, to avoid creating panic. There is already a lot of uncertainty caused by the crisis, and governments should be a reassuring and assertive voice to work with citizens in providing a solution. The frequency of the message is also key. Changing behaviors and maintaining those changes over time is a very difficult task. Citizens need to be constantly reminded of what they need to do: frequency and repetition are key.

8. Manage expectations and the public’s anxiety. In their frequent communications, governments should also ensure to communicate progress of the quarantine measures and manage the public’s anxiety. In situations of uncertainty, citizens may behave irrationally. That can make a difficult situation worse. For example, in several countries, citizens began hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizers, causing disruptions in supply. In others, it has caused disruptions in trash collection services and a spike in the consumption of potable water, increasing stress in local systems. Governments must try to anticipate such behaviors and act. On one hand, communicate that is not necessary to hoard food or cleaning products and, on the other, work on contingency plans to ensure provision and continuity of basic services.

9. Identify possible blockers and act. Governments need to recognize that there are structural and economic challenges that can undermine containment measures in our region. With a large share of the working population in the informal sector[2], living paycheck to paycheck and in unsanitary conditions with limited access to water, it can be hard to make a lot of our citizens to comply. It is crucial that governments recognize those blockers and create solutions that allow citizens to stay at home. Besides measures of direct money transfers being considered at the federal level, local governments should consider partnering with local civil society organizations to distribute food or distribute meals through their public schools, for example, as well as improve the distribution of water in vulnerable communities. These measures should be part of the communication strategy and content to be produced and disseminated. Hoarding food and cleaning supplies should be prevented and local governments should work closely with local retailers to implement measures to prevent hoarding such as limiting the number of items people can buy in one visit. Public spaces such as parks should be closed to prevent public gatherings.

 10. Partner with key media outlets and civil society organizations. Governments should also consider creating an extended communications team comprised of local media organizations, civil society organizations and local influencers to help create content and promote and reinforce messages related to the containment measures. These partners could close important content and dissemination gaps and ease the pressure on local governments to produce and disseminate information to citizens.

If you want to learn more about the IDB Group’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, visit our knowledge platform.

References

[1] Managing Epidemics, Key Facts About Major Deadly Diseases, WHO, https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/managing-epidemics-interactive.pdf

[2] About 92 million people in the region are extremely poor and another 77 million are moderately poor, according to the IDB Working Paper, “Poverty, Vulnerability and the Middle Class in Latin America,” May 2015).


Filed Under: Decentralization, Fiscal Policy

Romina Nicaretta

Romina Nicaretta is a journalist and communications strategist. She currently works as a senior communications specialist at the IDB, where she coordinates content for the Bank's website and supports communications related to fiscal management and development effectiveness. Before joining the IDB, Romina worked as a journalist for Bloomberg and Reuters. She holds bachelor's degrees in journalism and economics and has a master's degree in international affairs with a focus on economic policy management from Columbia University in New York.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

RECAUDANDO BIENESTAR

Welcome to the blog of the IDB’s Fiscal Management Division. This is the place where we talk about fiscal policy and management at the national and subnational levels in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Search

Recent Posts

  • Electronic Invoicing: A Latin American Innovation with Global Reach
  • Unveiling the Truth: How Sticking to Fiscal Rules Boosts Investment in Latin America
  • How Developing Countries Reduce the Impact of Climate Vulnerability on Sovereign Risk
  • Making Good Macro-Fiscal Forecasts for Medium-Term Fiscal Sustainability: Lessons from International Practice
  • Smart Public Procurement for Better Public Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean

Categories

  • Administración financiera y tributaria
  • Compras Públicas
  • Compras Públicas
  • Decentralization
  • Fiscal Policy
  • Gestión Fiscal
  • Política fiscal
  • Public Spending
  • Taxes
  • Uncategorized

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
To learn more about cookies, click here
x
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT