Public sector comms leading the way
Public sector communicators gathered in the West Midlands this week for a GCS local event and the private sector can learn much from their collaborative and inclusive approach.
This sector has been much maligned in the past. It has been branded as either ineffective or a waste of taxpayers money, or gets confused with party politics. And yet the folk of GCS (Government Communications Service) have produced industry leading campaigns, standards and processes for many years now. And far from least, produced global class leading professionals along the way.
We were privileged to be invited to speak at their Midlands event which focussed on maximising partnerships in order to leverage low or no cost PR as well as build capacity to reach citizens for crucial behaviour change campaigns.
Our focus was on crisis management and media (and you can see our blogs on this here http://bit.ly/2sGQx7k and here http://bit.ly/2s0n0lw) but what struck us was how many evidence based resources have been produced to help all communicators do their jobs better.
The Mids & Lancs commissioning support unit also shared their insight driven campaigns and civil service local eschewed the benefits of increasing participation - building personal and group professionalism.
The end game for professionals is to be just that - be a respected profession, at the top table during the formation of objectives not just the tactical solutions to deliver them.
And the GCS is doing this in bucket loads. The OASIS work should underpin all great communications: objectives, audience insights and using the appropriate channels and always evaluating.
The Modern Communications Operating Model is also a keystone and any aspiring communicator should make it their starting point. The event in the Midlands was a prime example of how building alliances and partnerships, sharing insights and content can have impact across public sector. In an age of shrinking teams, increasing fragmentation in media and growth is digital - partnerships are increasingly the way forward.
If there is a GCS local event near to you - lap it up. Continual professional development events very rarely come your way for nothing. Grab it with both hands.
Read more: https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/
Follow: @UKgovcomms or @GCSMidlands