About us

The International Risk, Crisis, and Science Communication Research Group (iRisCS-Com) at the Institute of Media and Communication Studies at the Ilmenau University of Technology is involved in research, teaching, consulting and further education in the fields of crisis, risk, science and technology communication. iRisCS-Com and the Ilmenau University of Technology are among the most productive research centers for risk and crisis communication in Germany (see Scopus analysis).

With its work, iRisCS-Com not only aims to further develop research and teaching, but also to make a social contribution to the sustainable protection of civil society against risks and crises and to promote the perception of science as a core component of democratic and free societies.

The objectives of (iRisCS-Com) are:

1. Conception and implementation of empirical research on topics of crisis, risk, science and technology communication
2. Production of findings that in practice facilitate communication between different stakeholders in the context of various threats, crises or technological transformation processes and protection against physical and/or psychological harm
3. Supervision and promotion of young scientists on topics relating to crisis, risk, science and technology communication
4. Further development of best practices in crisis, risk, science and technology communication, in particular for civil society and disadvantaged groups, in order to mitigate the risks and threats for various social groups (e.g. consequences of climate change, natural disasters, armed conflicts, disinformation, etc.)
5. Formation and further development of networks between scientists, practitioners, political decision-makers and other stakeholders
6. Strengthening trust in science as a core component of democratic and free societies

The Crisis Communication Research Group was founded in 2002 by Martin Löffelholz, headed by him until 2025, and from 2017 onwards shared the role with Andreas Schwarz. The initial focus was on research into war reporting and crisis journalism. In later years, other focal points were added, such as research on organizational crises, security policy communication and disaster communication. In 2006, Andreas Schwarz joined the management of the research group, which was renamed the International Research Group on Crisis Communication (IRGoCC).

An important milestone was the launch of the international conference series International Crisis Communication at the Beginning of the 21st Century in Ilmenau. The conference rationale was developed by Andreas Schwarz and Martin Löffelholz and received funding twice from the German Research Foundation DFG (Crisis1 in 2009, Crisis3 in 2013). The conference series has developed into the most important presentation and networking platform for risk and crisis communication research in Europe and most recently took place in Lisbon (Crisis5), Leeds (Crisis6), Gothenburg (Crisis7) and 2025 in Bucharest (Crisis8). The conference resulted in the first Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research (Wiley-Blackwell) (Schwarz, Seeger, & Auer, 2016), which offers a more global and integrative overview of the research field compared to other handbooks. The second, fully revised edition was published in 2025 as The Handbook of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research (Schwarz, Seeger, & Kim, 2025).

Due to a lack of platforms and cohesion in the research field of risk and crisis communication, Andreas Schwarz, together with Winni Johansen and Alessandra Mazzei, founded the temporary working group for crisis communication at the European Communication and Education Association (ECREA) in 2011. This was successfully transformed by the founders into the world's first division for crisis communication with full status within a communication science association. Schwarz was Chair of the division until 2018, which today represents one of the larger sections of ECREA with more than 200 members.

From 2025, the research group was expanded to include the topics of science and technology communication and from then on continued as the International Risk, Crisis, and Science Communication Research Group (iRisCS-Com) led by Andreas Schwarz.