When a service complaint, privacy concern or governance failure becomes a public crisis, a statement alone is not enough. NGOs need to spot risks early, clarify responsibilities and co-ordinate action. How can they protect those affected, respond to stakeholders and address weaknesses in their organisations when time is short and the facts are still emerging?

This course brings together crisis communication and organisational governance theory, NGO case discussions and practical simulations. Participants will work through the decisions senior managers face, from prevention and setting the direction of a response to approving public statements. They will also explore how AI can help organise information, anticipate questions stakeholders may ask and identify weaknesses in draft messages. Fact-checking and human review remain central to management judgement.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

●    Recognise crises and warning signs: Distinguish crises from incidents and complaints, and assess risks in relation to organisational responsibility, service delivery and governance.
●    Make clear decisions and delegate effectively: Clarify responsibilities, escalation points and the limits of delegated authority to co-ordinate a response under time pressure.
●    Use AI to support analysis and approval: Organise information, explore stakeholder questions and review statements. Identify errors and unrealistic commitments, and apply data protection and human review principles.
●    Balance stakeholder needs and organisational responsibilities: Consider those affected, funders and staff. Practise explaining decisions, answering questions and examining governance weaknesses in a simulated crisis.

1. Before the crisis: Spotting risks and governance gaps
●    Distinguish crises from incidents and complaints, and identify frontline warning signs and risks commonly faced by NGOs.
●    Draw on Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), analyse possible response strategies from multiple perspectives.
●    Use case discussions to examine gaps in processes and systems that need organisational improvements.

2. Making crisis decisions with AI support
●    Use the four-step approach to structure decisions, allocate responsibilities and define the limits of delegated authority.
●    Decide when to escalate an issue and co-ordinate action across management, communications and service teams.
●    Use AI to organise and categorise  ,and explore the questions stakeholders might ask about different responses.

3. Approving statements and testing them with AI
●    Check that a crisis statement is supported by evidence, acknowledges responsibility, shows care for those affected and makes realistic commitments.
●    Use AI to role-play questions from stakeholders, checking draft responses for gaps in logic, tone and unrealistic commitments.
●    Identify errors in AI-generated drafts and apply principles for handling sensitive information and conducting human review.

4. Crisis simulation: Team decisions and a mock press conference
●    Work in groups on a fictional scenario, checking information, weighing competing priorities and co-ordinating a response as new details emerge.
●    Draft a public statement and key points for funder communications. Discuss the implications of different decisions through a mock press conference, follow-up questions and voting.
●    Look back at the period before the crisis to examine missed signals and gaps in procedures, and identify decision-making and approval principles to apply in your organisation.

【Remarks】
●    Bring an internet-enabled device and a Google Gemini account. If your organisation has an approved AI tool, you may use that instead.
●    The simulation uses fictional material. Please follow your organisation’s data protection requirements when using AI.