1. Program Lead Chief Design Officer
Presentation to the
Crisis Intervention & Management Australasia (CIMA)
Biennial Conference, Melbourne 2017
Immersive Bushfire Experience
Paul Davis
Program Lead
Chief Design Officer

2. Problem

5. What we have identified so far…
Today, people that have a fire plan or in the process of developing a plan, are making critical decisions that involve their family and friends lives.
Those decision are not tested in a realistic environment, under stressful conditions or sensory load that for many, are not expected, known or have been experienced before.
These decisions are based on preconceptions, myths, fragmented one way messages and normal human / family dynamics.
If we can narrow this gap by providing a realistic experience of a bushfire, we can improve decision making.

6. Reality What actually happened was…
Expectation
I believed that…
“Our house is prepared and we have a plan”
“We could work together as a family.”
“We’d read all the brochures, seen the TV ads, made a checklist, spoke to CFA locals…”
“We’ve got a water pump that we’ll use when the fire comes”
“We’ll have time to decide whether to stay or go”
“Our kids were stuck at school, and we couldn’t decide what to do.”
“We were caught short, like we’d missed something in what we read and heard”
“The noise was terrifying; we were paralysed and couldn’t do a thing.”
“The power went out, and the pump didn’t work. We weren’t able to adapt our plan.”
“The fire came from two directions, blocking all the roads. We couldn’t escape.”
Reality What actually happened was…

7. Solution

8. Design thinking

9. Multiple disciplines Experiential learning Sensory arousal
Experience design
Immersive environmental design
A real story
Behavioural Science

10. The experience
Replication and recreation of a bushfire, all the sensory aspects of a real bushfire, grounded by a narrative and real experience
Highlight the irreversible consequences of decisions made in the heat of the moment
Offer the participant an experience before, during and after the bushfire threat, and what that feels like to go through these stages
Learn together, self paced, supported and safe, opportunity to bond and connect through a common experience’
Underpinned by an evidence base, behavioural science, behavioural logic and duty of care
Co designed with communities who have experienced bushfire, using their advice and experience to inform design decisions

11. Learning model - experiential
Learning from experience or learning by doing. It is commonly used in adult learning, it is based on using real experiences to learn. Experiential education first immerses learners in an experience and then encourages reflection about the experience to develop new skills, recognise gaps, mistakes and consequences, new knowledge or to identify new ways of thinking. When coupled with immersive design techniques, a powerful space is created for people to have a safe, self initiated and self guided experience of a bushfire, ‘as if’ they were in a real bushfire. When coupled with real stories or real people and real experiences of bushfires, first hand accounts, we are able to connect the learner with the real experiences…and not just listen but really get what its like in a bushfire. Assumes that people have their own unique experiences, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and capacity to learn, and what they need is an environment that supports the learner to learn. It offers a better understanding how the experience of a bushfire differs from people’s expectations, and what impact that difference has.

12. Experiential – shorthand…
Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand. Offer me an experience and I will get to know what others know, feel what others felt…and what to expect if it happens to me…
Test experiential learning and behavioural logic as a potential tool that could support individuals and communities to make better decisions before faced with or on lieu of real threat of fire.
Test the ‘creation' of a scenario and simulation that delivers an emotional and sensory stimulation / experience offers a realistic environment or 'experience' of a bushfire and what to expect.

13. “ This could play a great role in the future, Not preachy, not paranoid, not hierarchical, experiential…that allows our own emotions and reactions to drive our motivation and action, as opposed to someone else’s….”
Emerald prototype participant,
Professor Frank Archer , Monash University