In the relatively recent past, the U.S. Government has been working to improve its public image concerning U.S. supported international development work. One example of this is the “Telling Our Story” initiative from USAID. I think this is a commendable effort by the U.S. Government to show what U.S. taxpayers are getting for the money invested in international development and assistance programs. However, from my perspective, the more relevant story lies beneath the end products of case studies, first-person success stories and before-and-after briefer sheets. What interests me is how all of that material was produced.

An organization, be it governmental, an NGO or a private sector firm, needs to have a communications strategy in place that lays out what is going to be produced along with how it will get done and what benefits will result from the communications efforts. Since this is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of every possible communications program allow me focus my comments on how USAID approaches communications. (Disclaimer: the comments made here are based solely upon my personal experience and in no way represent the official opinions or goals of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Please visit the USAID website if you want to see what USAID has to say about itself.)

First, by appointing a single individual to lead a communications effort at a USAID field mission it becomes much easier to get a communications strategy in place and operational. The Development Outreach Communications specialist (DOC) fulfills the role of coordinating with internal and external stakeholders as well as making sure that communications products are produced and that the impact of communications campaigns is measured. Having this single point of contact makes it easier for people to contribute, query and follow up on communications activities.

Next, having a clear plan for what types of materials will be produced is essential to avoid last minute scrambles or never-ending production times. The outreach communications effort in the U.S. Government is not a new concept but it had previously been underutilized in the area of international development. Now there is an emphasis on producing a consistent stream of information in a user-friendly and readable (read “without government acronyms”) format. An added benefit of developing interesting story-like content is that people, both inside and outside of the government, will actually want to read the pieces and (hopefully) search for more.

The production plan also makes it easier to create benchmarks to measure the effectiveness and impact of the communications strategy. In my opinion, the feedback loop is an essential aspect of a communications effort. In some cases, there may be dissenting opinions about the depth of measurement needed (e.g., number of surveys to be conducted or how many questions need to be asked) but there definitely needs to be some way to measure the success of a communications effort. One of best descriptions of measurement I have seen can be found in The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Communications (Clarke L. Caywood, Editor):

“Evaluating the success of a communications or public relations strategy should take place at two different levels. First is the strategic level, in which communications is seen as integral to the goals and objectives of the organization. It can be difficult teasing out of a larger strategy the precise impact of the communications efforts. If, however, there is a communications plan that identifies the audience, messages, and vehicles for conveying those messages, and if there is some baseline information about the level of awareness before the communcations strategy is launched, follow-up survey work can determine if the effort was successful and suggest areas that need more attention.” (pp. 493, 496)

What I take away from the above text is that you really don’t have a communications plan or strategy unless you have thought about, and actually conduct, measurements of your strategy’s successes and failures. Otherwise, how can you possibly know if your activities are reaching the audiences you are aiming for?
The next part of the quote highlights the more micro-level evaluation of communications activities:

A media relations effort…should be launched with the intention of achieving a certain level of coverage in certain media outlets. Measurement of results should be how well it accomplished those objectives, not on a vague larger objective like the impact of media coverage on helping improve public education or reduce poverty….It is important to measure results, but [it is] also important that the criteria used for such measurement be appropriate.” (p. 496)

I think the last sentence is particularly interesting in clarifying the role of measuring communications in a larger project effort. It is important to avoid trying to draw connections between the impact of media coverage of a project’s work and the actual impact of a project. Despite the potential for additional costs, the monitoring and evaluation of a project and its intended goals likely should be kept separate from measuring the effectiveness of public relations. If these two areas are co-mingled, I think you risk trying to attribute the public’s awareness of a program as part of the measurement of whether or not the program has achieved its intended goals. You need to spend money to know if your communications are working, but this presumes that your public relations claims are backed up by real results in a program or project.
Going beyond than the organizational level mentioned above, some of the broader key ideas of an effective public sector (i.e., government) communications strategy are mentioned in the following resources:

  • U.S. Public Diplomacy – Interagency Coordination Efforts Hampered by the Lack of a National Communication Strategy (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05323.pdf)
  • Jeffrey B. Jones. “Strategic Communication: A Mandate for the United States,” Joint Forces Quarterly, Issue 39, October 2005. (http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/jfq_pubs/1839.pdf) – This article approaches public sector communication from a more military-oriented perspective but the ideas are crystal clear and provide an excellent ‘galactic-level’ perspective of strategic communications and the roles of various governmental entities in the implementation of the strategy.