Understanding America’s Alert System
During emergencies, it’s critical that people receive the right information at the right time to make informed decisions. As part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) initiative to enhance the effectiveness of its nationwide emergency alert system, we aimed to collect comprehensive, foundational data on how well FEMA alerts reach the public.
Our team developed and deployed a nationally-representative survey to assess this baseline. As the first of its kind, the survey lays the foundation for a scalable, long-term capability for FEMA to continually evaluate and improve the reach and impact of emergency alerts.
The Problem
FEMA lacked a foundational understanding of how effective their emergency alert system was in reaching the public.
My Role
I spearheaded the nationwide survey's full lifecycle—from conception and development through testing, deployment, analysis, and dissemination—collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment with FEMA objectives.
Stakeholders
Primary
Department of Homeland Security
FEMA Leadership
Tertiary
National Survey Vendors
Public Community Partners
Cell Phone Providers
Goals
Product
Empower FEMA with a baseline understanding of alert effectiveness
Engagement
Collect data from 80,000 respondents within one week and achieve target sample sizes for all demographics defined
Anti-Goals
Deduce public sentiment of the emergency alert system
Scoping
During the scoping phase, I worked closely with FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other key stakeholders to ensure the project’s alignment with national emergency alerting objectives. I facilitated discussions to define the survey’s core focus and designed key metrics that would directly inform future alert strategies. I also maintained continuous communication with stakeholders to gather feedback during development, deployment, and dissemination, ensuring that all needs were addressed.
Potential Solutions
Option 1
Embed a survey link into the national alert that is sent to all cell phones in the U.S. and its territories.
Privacy and data quality concerns were why we opted not to do this.
Option 2
Deploy a nationally representative survey using pre-existing vendors.
Data privacy is assured, and leveraging existing vendor relationships will provide valuable insights into our population.