Dr. Liu highlights how social media can be an effective communication channel in disasters, how emergency managers can incorporate data provided by the general public into actionable intelligence during an emergency response, and how citizens can assist with data collection, processing, and analysis. This PrepTalk can directly inform planning and operations in response to COVID-19. For today’s release, Dr. Liu has also provided useful resources for COVID-19 crowdsourcing, citizen science, and open innovation.
Dr. Sophia B. Liu is an Innovation Specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science and Decisions Center specializing in participatory science and open innovation. She is also the Co-Chair of the Federal Community of Practice for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science (CCS) and the USGS Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Coordinator. In 2007, Dr. Liu helped initiate the FEMA Crowdsourcing Unit.
Discussion Materials
- Discussion Guide – Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science as Force Multipliers for Emergency Management (.ppt)
- Additional Resources – COVID-19 Resources for Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science (.pdf)
- Biography – Dr. Sophia B. Liu’s (.pdf)
PrepTalks are given by subject-matter experts and thoughts leaders to spread new ideas, spark conversation, and promote innovative leadership for the issues confronting emergency managers now and over the next 20 years. For more information and more talks, see https://www.fema.gov/preptalks
