Course Syllabus

Pre-classroom work: Online, no schedule, Tuesday & Wednesday, May 12-13, 2025
Class Meetings: On campus, SPEA Building Room PV272, Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 14, 15 & 16, 2026 (8:00 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time)

Office Hours: send a text or email for an appointment by Zoom or phone call at other times, including evenings or weekends to the on campus instructor:  Dr. Gwen M White, whiteg@iu.edu, TX 317-492-0118 (text or voice).

Zoom Connections (office hours or emergency class session use; no scheduled online meetings): https://iu.zoom.us/s/9273232615
Meeting ID: 927-323-2615 (no passcode needed)
Phone audio connections, if not using the computer microphone: 305-224-1968 US 

Required Textbook (purchase before class starts) -  Garnett, James L. (1994). Communicating for Results in Government: Strategic Approach for Public Managers. Jossey-Bass. 336 pages.  ISBN 978-0787900007

 Course Description

SPEA-V550 Risk, Trust, Credibility & Public Participation (3 cr.) The goal of this course is to develop an appreciation regarding the critical nature of risk communication and public involvement by managers in the public/non-profit sectors and introduce students to skills crucial to communicating as professionals.

 Learning Outcomes 

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Recognize both effective and non-effective public participation programs, strategies and techniques.
• Develop a foundation for communication as the major platform for public participation and risk communication.
• Develop a better understanding of government audiences and customers, including the hopes and concerns they may have related to a decision, and the roles they anticipate playing in the decision process.
• Select appropriate levels of public participation.
• Set objectives to achieve public participation goals.
• Understand public participation planning.
• Plan for communications to support the public participation process.
• Learn to better recognize issues and situations that are likely to result in public conflict.
• Understand ways of avoiding and/or mitigating public conflicts.
• Communicate more effectively throughout the public policy development process and under varied circumstances.
• Understand and be able to briefly explain the difference between risk assessment and risk communication.
• Explain public participation.
• Explain why you would not involve the public in decisions.
• Explain the ‘curse of knowledge.’
• Explain ‘confirmation bias’.
• Briefly explain factors that inspire trust and credibility.
• Briefly explain the difference between precautionary advocacy and outrage management.
• Explain two ways to reduce public anger a build trust and credibility.

Skills:

1. • Situation analysis, strategic outreach, facilitation, and evaluation with stakeholders, administrative, nontechnical, and funding audiences.
   • Teamwork, peer review, technical writing, and presentations skills.
   • Efficient and effective use of peer-reviewed and other authoritative literature.

 Course Requirements 

Required Textbook (purchase before class starts) - Garnett, James L. (1994). Communicating for Results in Government: Strategic Approach for Public Managers. Jossey-Bass. 336 pages.  ISBN 978-0787900007

Recordings of asynchronous lectures and supplementary resources will be posted online in Modules. If you prefer offline access to lecture slides or readings, you may download them from the Lectures and Readings subfolders in Files on Canvas.

We may access additional software periodically during the course, also available at no cost.

CLASS ATTENDANCE -- This course will consist of asynchronous and on campus components over a period of just five (5) days. Due to the very compressed time frame for this course, please plan ahead and block your time for this course. Unexpected absences will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Please communicate with the instructor as soon as you are aware of a potential conflict.

Beginning Tuesday, May 12, log into the Canvas course site daily for pre-classroom work. There are no scheduled online meetings during these first two days. You will be responsible for independently reviewing the recorded lectures, reading materials, and completing all assignments for Modules 1, 2, 3 & 4 before attending class in person from Thursday to Saturday (May 14, 15 & 16) from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in the SPEA Building Room PV272.

Activities and assignments will be posted in advance providing ample time for completion. The intensive nature of this course means that you will need to complete assignments during evening hours. Please plan your schedule accordingly.

Lectures and in-class exercises, in addition to self-directed exploration and team projects are designed to learn by doing and reflecting. Professors will provide recorded lectures, textbook chapters, readings, videos, classroom presentations, and other background materials to guide you in learning workplace skills, developing your communications skills, and seeking answers to any questions that you have.

Contact your instructor as soon as you anticipate any concerns about class participation or completing your work. Projects during this course build on each other and involve team coordination. Begin working on assignments as soon as guidance is available so that you do not fall behind. If you have any questions before submitting your products or after receiving review comments or grades, do not hesitate to ask for additional feedback or direction.

Technical Requirements -- You will need the following in order to participate in this course:

• Computer or tablet (bring a portable device to the classroom)
• Reliable internet connection
• Microphone
• Some way to make and post a simple video (e.g., using a webcam, or a smartphone)
• Access to Canvas using a supported web browser

 Technical Support

For additional help with technical issues, consult:

• University Information Technology Services (UITS) (human support)
• IU Knowledge Base (IUKB) (guides)
• IUware (download free software)

 Course Assessment & Grades

Assignments:

Paper and presentation guidelines are provided on Canvas and will be discussed at length in class. Take home exercises and quizzes will be open book, untimed, and submitted online. There is no final exam.

Class Participation (50%)

This is an active, participatory course in skills development. Engagement with instructors and peers in class is designed to guide you in learning workplace skills, developing your communications skills, and seeking answers to any questions that you have. Therefore, attendance and active participation constitutes a significant proportion of your grade.

Exercises & Quizzes (20%)

There will be one exam covering the online and classroom material. The exam will be a short-answer format covering topics from the online Modules, in-person discussions, readings, and assignments.

Strategic Communications Plan (15%)

Develop a Strategic Communication Plan based on the tips in the Canvas assignment. Take time to consider the management setting for communication. Identify a realistic high conflict or controversial situation that an actual government agency or nonprofit organization may need to address. For example: downsizing staff, reorganizing positions or programs, soliciting funding, testifying about a high conflict situation at a public meeting or in a congressional session, promoting a new program idea, etc. Be as specific as possible in your description. The reason for a strategic communication plan is to identify target audiences and construct a logical strategy to provide messaging in a format that will accomplish your mission. Further, clearly outline your approach so that someone else can follow and implement it.

Crisis Interviews – Outline & Video (15%)

You will be assigned a risk management situation during class. You will develop a one-page method for managing the situation, which will address the difficulties of the crisis along with questions for conducting an interview and talking points for responding. You will be paired with another student to videotape your brief risk communication on-camera interaction by switching places to play roles as both the Interviewer and the Respondent.

Grading (percentage for each assignment):

Class Participation                                  50 %              

Exercises and Quizzes                            20                 

Strategic Communications Plan            15  

Crisis Interview (outline & video)          15                           

Total:                                                       100 %

How Will I Know How I’m Doing in This Course?

Generally, grades will be posted on Canvas within 48 hours of the due date for most assignments (larger papers or projects may take up to a week for grading). Since Canvas keeps track of your scores, you should always be able to calculate your current grade in the course. If you need assistance, please contact the on-campus instructor.

Late Work

All work must be completed and turned in by the due date and time. A ten percent (10%) per day penalty may be applied to late work if there is no communication between you and the instructor about an extension. Pace yourself and start as soon as you receive guidance to make it easier to finish your work by the due date. Assignments in this course build on each other. If you anticipate turning in an assignment late or missing a session, communicate immediately with the campus instructor to request an extension and complete makeup work. Oral presentations and team interactions cannot be rescheduled.

Schedule: The schedule below is subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. Assignment due dates are fixed, unless otherwise noted by instructors during the course. Materials and deadlines will generally be available on Canvas; if they do not appear there, contact the campus instructor immediately.

ONLINE COURSEWORK – Tuesday & Wednesday (May 12 - 13)

Materials & Assignments are on Canvas for your asynchronous, independent study. 

Recordings for V550 Lecture # correspond to presentation File names in Canvas. All of these lecture recordings are linked in the Modules, or you can go directly to the Canvas navigation link to view them in the Kaltura: Media Gallery.

There are no online scheduled Zoom meetings during these first two days. Work on your own time.

Work to be completed on Tuesday, May 12 is on Canvas in Modules #1 - #2:

Work to be completed on Wednesday, May 13 is on Canvas in Modules #3 - #4:

ON CAMPUS CLASSES –

Thursday (May 14), Friday (May 15) & Saturday (May 16)

Class meets in person for 3 days at IU Bloomington in the O'Neill SPEA Building Room PV272 (8:00 am – 5:00 pm Eastern Time).  Work to be completed during this time is on Canvas in Modules #5 - #10. We will provide guidance for these assignments during class sessions. Module components will be published each day.

SAVE PAPERS AND ASSIGNMENTS UNTIL FINAL GRADES ARE ASSIGNED

Assignments to submit on Canvas by due date and time (subject to change with notice). The midday assignments will keep you on pace but are not hard deadlines. However, keep in mind that this class will move quickly as we only have 5 days to cover the course material. We advise you not to schedule any other activities during these days due to the short timeframe.