Trust networks part two

Inspector Eric Berry, Community Safety Officer for the Blue Mountains, brings us the second instalment of a three-part series posted over three weeks, looking at how we can use trust networks in community engagement.

Part one of this blog explained networks and how people receive information. Now we discuss how to build and maintain a trust network.



To get people to act before disaster threatens, we need to become part of their “trust network”.

We often hear talk of building “community networks”, or of networking with our communities, but all too often this is either lip-service, being used to inform the community of an action we already plan to take, or it is seen as being a one-way path to get our message out to as many people as possible. We might develop information channels and processes, but if we only use them during “time of war” then they will be viewed as being yet another media release or piece of propaganda.

A true network is based on trust and, in order to do this, we must show ourselves to be worthy of that trust and truly make it a reciprocal relationship. We have to build these networks well in advance of any disaster, make sure they are robust, and most of all ensure that we are committed to using them at all times as part of our core response to any and all events.

Accept that you will never create a trust network that will get your message to all of the community, all of the time. Even “blanket” systems such as Reverse-911 or NEWS will still miss some of your target audience. Instead you need to build a diverse network that will get most of the people, most of the time.

There are many scholarly and practical guides around to help you design and implement your networks, so they don’t need repeating here. The advent of social media has provided additional opportunities for fire services (and all other emergency agencies) to connect with their communities and start building networks. Once the process has started, it must be nurtured, promoted and supported at all levels of the organisation. The best intentions will amount to nought if your networks are only used occasionally, haphazardly or as an afterthought once everything else has been done. 

What does need to be highlighted is how to connect to your community to create these networks. Your community must learn to trust you and your organisation – if you like, your “brand”.



Warragamba Dam Fest 2011

The most important thing you can do is be yourself. People like to identify with an individual within an agency, so someone must be the public face, voice and fingers. This person (or indeed persons), identified either by choice or by circumstance, has to be given the freedom to build on the other steps required to build the trust relationship.

Join us for part three of this series on trust networks to find out how to use trust networks to achieve action.