Communication Strategies
As you are building capacity for this initiative within city hall and with intermediary community groups, communication is vital to ensure that both internal and external constituents are kept informed and involved with process.
Internal Communication and Documentation Strategies
How will information be shared across departments? How will processes be documented for the initiative?
- Meetings – This is accessible to all. The format could be all staff, inter-agency working groups, etc.
- Memos – This is accessible to all and easy to distribute to all city staff.
- E-mail blasts – This is accessible to most and easy to distribute to all city staff who have e-mail access and addresses.
- LISTSERVs – This is accessible to most, though posting only reaches those who are signed up.
- Social networking sites like CollectiveX, Facebook, Twitter, Meetup, and the Service Connection Blueprint for Change Group. This strategy is accessible to most since not all city workers have Internet access. Social networking makes getting feedback easy. For help in using web 2.0 in this process, check out Code for America, an organization offering assistance in using web tools to transform government.
- Blogs – This is accessible to most. It is similar to LISTSERVs in that only those monitoring the blogs receive information.
- Text messages – While this only reaches those who opt to receive text messages, it is a very effective way to reach people who have mobile technology, but not computer access.
External Communication Strategies
As your campaign branches out beyond your internal team, consider the following external communication strategies:
- Public forums, meetings, and focus groups – This strategy can help you work with a large group all at once.
- Memos, paper surveys, and newsletters – These can reach a lot of people, particularly those without access to technology.
- Grassroots public engagement campaigns via neighborhood-to-neighborhood or door-to-door outreach. This strategy can also reach a lot of people without any technology requirements.
- E-mail messages, online surveys, and e-mail LISTSERVs – These can reach a lot of people who have Internet access.
- Social networking sites like Service Connection, CollectiveX, Facebook, Twitter, Meetup, etc. This strategy is accessible to most, and the capacity for easy feedback is a plus.
- City website, and blogs - This is accessible to most. It is similar to LISTSERVs in that only those monitoring the blogs will receive information this way.
- Mobile applications and text messages - Again, this strategy only reaches those who have it as part of their wireless accounts and choose to receive texts. It is a very effective way for some people to receive information.
- 311 call centers - This is accessible to most people, but is limited by the people who use the call centers to seek information. Making call center operators aware of the city’s service initiative can get this information out to people who are seeking information on other city services.
- Media partnerships, newspaper and/or magazine articles, and radio – While this strategy won’t reach everyone, it is another great technique to reach and engage large groups of people.
