Risk can be perceived very differently by populations that experience similar kinds of events based on culture, economic practices, education, and length of flooding events. Due to this, it is not enough to relay to people that they are at risk; it is necessary to help them understand, through compelling and clear messaging, what can be done so they feel empowered to take action.

The Coastal Management Program (CMP) was awarded funds to partner with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (Arts Council) and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) to develop a replicable risk communications campaign that will address the need of the CMP and local decision-makers to have tools to better communicate the risks and impacts of coastal hazards.

The CMP wishes to adopt new methods of communication to have a more wide-spread and effective approach to communicating risk. The risk communication campaign will involve several components - increasing the awareness and understanding of the risk of coastal flooding through a Know Your Tides social media campaign and community-based art installations, as well as providing materials and training that will help improve communication efforts. Each component aims to improve the methods and materials used by the CMP and local-decision makers when communicating about the risk of coastal flooding hazards.