AI Crisis Communication Buddy
The Municipal Crisis Management Bureau Haaglanden (BGCH) supports the Municipality of The Hague and the municipalities in the Haaglanden region with coordinating crisis communications during incidents. When a major incident occurs, the crisis communications team comes into action. Different disciplines work together within the team to quickly build a reliable picture of the situation, determine the right communications strategy and inform residents, the media and partners in good time.
Every minute counts in crisis communications. At the same time, communication must be careful, factually accurate and well coordinated. The Crisis Communication Buddy supports crisis teams with a secure AI solution that brings information together faster, structures analysis and helps prepare communications and key messages.
The challenge
The existing crisis communications process was largely manual and time-consuming. An environmental analyst gathered news articles, social media posts and other relevant signals to build a picture of what was happening outside the organization. Gathering, analyzing and summarizing this information took an average of 40 minutes per situation report.
Based on that picture and additional information, such as regional plans and existing procedures, the team then prepared an analysis to identify audiences, communication needs and the right communications strategy. This took an average of another 20 minutes. The team then drafted and coordinated initial communications, which took about 15 minutes more.
Because team members often work at different locations, information also had to be shared manually. This caused further delays and made it harder to work from one up-to-date picture. Speed, overview and consistency are essential, especially in the first phase of an incident.
The solution
Techletes worked with BGCH to develop the Crisis Communication Buddy: a central application that brings together key parts of the crisis communications process and supports them with AI technology.
The application helps crisis teams prepare situation analyses, structure information, plan communications and draft messages. AI supports the team but does not make decisions. Crisis communications professionals remain in control and review, enrich and publish all final communications.
Key features
- Automated situation analysis
The Crisis Communication Buddy helps gather, filter and summarize relevant information from news sources, social media and other available input. This gives the team a current, structured picture of what is happening sooner. - Faster analysis and decision-making
Using the situation report and available crisis communications formats, the tool generates an initial proposal for the communications approach. This helps the team determine more quickly which audiences are affected, what information they need and which communications line is appropriate. - Help drafting communications
The application helps prepare draft messages, key points and public-facing communications. These align with the chosen communications strategy and can be checked, edited and coordinated by the team before use. - Central collaboration
Everyone involved works in one secure environment. Information is therefore available to the whole team immediately, without manually forwarding reports or separate documents. - Human oversight and source use
AI output is intended to provide support. Users retain full control and can review, edit and supplement generated analyses and texts. Where possible, information is linked to its underlying sources so users can verify what the output is based on.
Security and privacy
Because crisis communications can involve confidential information, security was considered from the outset in the design of the Crisis Communication Buddy.
The application is hosted within the European Union and designed with privacy, information security and auditability in mind. Access uses secure authentication and authorization, so only authorized users can access the relevant parts of the application. Measures are also taken to handle personal and identifiable data carefully. AI output is configured to avoid showing personal data unnecessarily. Logging and monitoring make it possible to review and evaluate use afterwards.
The solution was developed with the requirements of public organizations in mind, including the GDPR, BIO, EU hosting requirements and the secure handling of information in crisis processes.
Results
- Shorter turnaround
The overall crisis communications process was reduced from approximately 90 minutes to around 40 minutes. The team can therefore produce an initial picture, communications line and draft messages sooner. - More overview under pressure
The application brings information together in one central environment. This helps crisis teams gain an overview sooner and prevents important signals from being scattered across separate documents, messages or systems. - More consistent communications
Because analyses and messages are built from standard formats and available information, the team's work and communications are more consistent. - Better collaboration
Team members work with the same up-to-date information. Coordination is easier and there is less reliance on manually forwarding material or managing separate report versions. - Secure use of AI
The Crisis Communication Buddy makes it possible to use AI in a controlled and secure way within a sensitive government process. The technology supports the team while preserving human review and due care in decision-making.
Looking ahead
The Crisis Communication Buddy was developed for Veiligheidsregio Haaglanden, but the need is broader. Other safety regions, municipalities and crisis organizations also work under significant time pressure and follow similar processes.
The application was therefore designed to be modular and scalable. Its features can be expanded in stages and adapted to the working methods of other organizations. Potential additions include integrations with knowledge bases, plans, contact lists, collaboration platforms and existing crisis management systems. This could allow the Crisis Communication Buddy to grow into a secure, practical AI solution for crisis communications throughout the Netherlands.