The Strategy for the Outreach / Communication campaign to Launch INNOVMED

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1 The Strategy for the Outreach / Communication campaign to Launch INNOVMED Introduction and Background: The Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region, INNOVMED, was launched on 6 June 2006 by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs UNDESA. The rationale behind establishing the Network is that it can facilitate the dissemination, knowledge sharing and adaptation of innovations in governance, as well as promote inter-institutional cooperation among the countries of the Mediterranean region. Promoting innovations in governance through knowledge-sharing is one of the best ways to support the development process and improve governance in the region. In fact, no one institution has all the knowledge and capacity to accomplish its mission on its own. Partnerships allow to lever resources and expertise of various institutions and people needed to broaden the reach of knowledge programs, to strengthen their impact and to promote multi-directional sharing of local and global knowledge. The Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean region links together government institutions, schools of public administration, academic institutions, as well as regional organizations from the countries of North Africa, Middle East and Western Balkans. INNOVMED, which is an inter-regional programme which encompasses sixteen countries, focuses on cross-cutting themes, including public service delivery, transparency and accountability, human resources management, e-government and participatory governance. The uniqueness of the InnovMed programme is that it strives to bridge the theory and practice of innovations in governance in the Mediterranean region through its many meetings, publications and a network of innovators constituted by practitioners and experts in the field of governance in the Mediterranean region. 1

2 INNOVMED promotes South-South as well as North-South co-operation. Most importantly it is serves as catalyst to facilitate more contact among government representatives in charge of public service and between them and experts working in the same field. In other words, it constitutes a bridge between academia and practice. The implementation of the Network s mission is based on three fundamental functions along the lines of the InnovMed Programme objectives: - Advocacy and Networking; Capacity-Building and Training; and Studies, Research and Development. Current / previous research: The implementation of the Network on Innovators programme by the UNDESA staff, has led to the development of a unique knowledge base on governance in the Mediterranean region and on the concept and practice of innovation in public administration through over 60 analytical and policy papers prepared by national experts posted on the InnovMed portal; 3 major publications; and practical case studies for replication of innovative ideas, as well as an on-line web-site on innovations in governance with a particular focus on the Mediterranean Region. The three main InnovMed publications produced to date are: Innovations in Governance and Public Administration: Replicating What Works. The Book focuses on how to adapt innovations in governance from one country to another one Innovations in Governance in the Middle East, North Africa and Western Balkans: Making Governments Work Better in the Mediterranean Region. The book leads through the journey of innovation by analyzing the challenges and opportunities that countries in the Mediterranean region have confronted to improve their governance systems Governance in the Middle East, North Africa and Western Balkans: Challenges and Priorities in Reforming Public Administration. The book examines the challenges and priorities the countries of the region are facing in reforming their public administration systems at the regional and sub-regional levels, with a particular focus on institutional reforms, decentralization, human resources management in the public sector, e-government, and public service delivery. 2

3 Besides, a UNDESA/DPADM Newsletter on The Quest for Improved Public Sector Performance: Innovations for Better Governance and Public Administration, Issue I, N. 112, November 2006 has been devoted to InnovMed s activities. Present communication activities: Networking and sharing of knowledge on innovations in governance among the members of the Network takes place through the InnovMed web-site; regional and national meetings; workshops and global events, such as the 7 th Global Forum organized in Vienna by the UN in June The InnovMed web site ( provides an important tool for networking. The web-page promotes the exchange of useful experiences among the innovators in the region; provides detailed information on the programme, as well as a directory of experts in the region and a forum that will be soon activated. The web-page also includes quarterly newsletters sent to all members and partner institutions as well as to all Permanent Missions to the United Nations based in New York. Objectives of Innovmed Mission of Innovmed: INNOVMED is a tool at the service of governments in the region looking for new and more effective solutions to their governance challenges. Its mission is to create public value by disseminating, sharing and adapting knowledge on innovations in governance, i.e. concrete solutions to real governance problems. It also intends to serve as a platform for the promotion of a culture of innovation in Governance in the Mediterranean Region. INNOVMED has the following objectives: To facilitate knowledge-sharing about innovations in public administration; To support capacity development activities at the national level; 3

4 To promote dialogue among government officials, civil servants, public sector managers, experts, academia, and trainers on challenges and solutions to governance problems; as well as To provide support in the identification of innovations and adaptation of successful experiences in other countries of the MED region through pilot initiatives; To foster research on innovations in governance and produce knowledge on innovations in PA with potential of transferability in the Med. Region ; To produce knowledge on methodologies for the transfer of innovations in governance; To promote information on knowledge management and innovative practices; and To strengthen mutual cooperation to enhance public sector capacity building with a view to fostering economic and social development; Need for Outreach / Communication campaign Promoting a culture of innovation, disseminating, sharing and adapting knowledge on innovations in governance, are the core elements of the mission statement of INNOVMED. Therefore, in its first meeting held in Morocco in March 2007, the Steering Committee of INNOVMED decided to develop a communication strategy to build on the existing dissemination policy concerning the activities of INNOVMED. The outreach and communication program should aim at launching INNOVMED, diffusing awareness of its mission and activities and most important of all, soliciting feedback and suggestions from the various parties and stake holders of governance in the region. The communication program should be designed to guarantee a participatory communication approach to allow INNOVMED to respond to actual needs and priorities. Communication objectives The outreach and communication program aims at informing its target audience about the mission and objectives of Innovmed, educating (promoting a culture of innovation), integrating the research tools of InnovMed and reinforcing the participatory communication style of the network. Therefore, the communication program has three 4

5 main objectives in its initial phase during the period of The communication objectives are to: 1. Launch InnovMed, i.e. diffuse awareness of its mission and activities 2. Solicit feedback and suggestions from the various parties and stake holders of governance in the region 3. Identify demand; that is, encouraging government officials to approach Innovmed with their national governments needs and priorities in the field of public administration and governance. Target audiences Relevant actors are governments at a first stage but also a larger audience composed by associations, private sector, citizens and practitioners. The outreach program targets: Primary Target audience: State institutions in the region (not only top officials but also the various stakeholders of each institution including the civil servants and). Middle line officials are a natural target for the communication strategy as they are at the fore front of administrative innovation. To be more specific: o government officials o civil servants o public sector managers Academia, research centers, trainers, experts/consultants Secondary target audience: Non state actors o civil societies that could be integrated in service delivery at various points o media o citizens represented by consumer associations and/or similar associations o private sector (business associations and others) 5

6 Target audience is composed not only by institutions and experts from the region (MENA and the Balkans), but also from other areas (i.e. Western Europe) interested in administrative developments in the Mediterranean. The most significant work at the phase of identifying direct contacts of target audience (primary and secondary) is to build up a database for Innovmed with the various stakeholders of governance in the region. Identification of Primary target audience could be done capitalizing on the lists compiled by research projects like polibius and others, where the research team compiled contact information for academia in the field of governance. key messages Obviously the format (in terms of style and level of complexity) and language (English, French or Arabic) of the message are to be tailored according to the specific target audience and means of communication (electronic, print or others), however, the main contents of the communication should be consistent and clear. The content of the key messages should take into consideration the main objectives of the communication program, that is, to launch Innovmed, solicit feedback and identify demand. However, at the initial phase the most important objective is to launch Innovmed and communicate the following concepts: InnovMed is a tool at the service of governments InnovMed provides concrete solutions to real governance problems InnovMed serves as a platform for the promotion of a culture of innovation in Governance in the Mediterranean Region In order to be effective, messages need to be clear and single minded (i.e. communicate one main concept or idea to its target audience, highlighting the benefits for audience and specifying a clear call for action) in order not to lose impact, especially that such audiences tend to receive several unsolicited communication materials and junk mail that they tend to discard as redundant or irrelevant to them. 6

7 All messages have to be clear, consistent, contain the logo of Innovmed and provide clear contact information for InnovMed to solicit feedback ( address and web page). communication mix The communication mix, or the mix of the various means of communication to be utilized in this communication program will depend on the target audience, the type of message and of course the availability of budget. However, it is important to diversify the communication mix as much as possible in order to launch Innovmed among the various primary and secondary target audience in the Mediterranean region. Direct mail and interpersonal communication: In will be very useful to use interpersonal and direct communication channels relying on the already existing networks associated with Innovmed. means (in terms of selected reach and costs) are: In our case the most effective On-line and electronic communications Web site Electronic and print news letter Data-base local and international journals on Public Administration and governance Key events (such as the Global Forum, the annual conferences, and others) Press releases re the Public Service Award, pilot projects or other news of potential public interest. Mass Media: Even though, the outreach program should not be based on the use of mass media, which editorial lines may not find a direct interest in our message or even distort it, it could be very useful to establish contacts with national and regional media and invite key media representatives to our activities (annual conferences and workshops), as well as the eventual ceremony of the Public Service Award to be associated with Innovmed. Therefore, it is important to develop a media kit for the use of regional and local media 7

8 and nominate some members of the steering committee of InnovMed to be the contact/focal points for the mass media. This could be done on the sub-regional levels, i.e for the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. The national focal points could nominate key media representatives on the national and regional levels. Networking: The key messages could be also diffused in cooperation with the regional and local UN offices in the region and through the activities of the complementary networks existing in the region (Réseau de simplificateurs, Network of trainers in human resources management. Besides, we could capitalize on the active links with the already existing partnerships of Innovmed (such as the ones with Formez, the World Bank, Harvard, Granada University, Arado, Cafrad, UN-habitat and others) developed by UNDESA staff and gain some visibility through their various activities. Consequently, we need to provide brochures-flyers and perhaps some audiovisual materials (presenting some documentaries on pilot projects and innovations) to be utilized for the presentation of InnovMed in the various activities of such partners. These presentation materials could be used by the members of Innovmed, who are also members of these institutions. Communication Products: The communication products (print and audiovisuals) to be used for this communication program need to be of high production quality and carry the logo of Innovmed. The products are: Print communication products: Brochures/Flyer Newsletters Media kit Audiovisuals: 8

9 Brief documentaries (10-15 minutes) to be used in conferences, meetings, mass media and others, to present Innovmed and eventually promote pilot projects, innovations, and winners of the public service awards) Electronic presentations: These should be short, clear and with a pleasant visual impact. It can be developed in power point or other electronic means, that give a brief presentation of Innovmed (mission, activities and most important achievements and solicit feedback). research and evaluation It is imperative to be able to evaluate the impact and effectiveness as well as efficiency of the communication program in some intermediary phase and at the end of the specific timeline suggested by the communication program, i.e. at the end of 20. since the main objectives of the outreach program is to launch InnovMed (diffuse awareness of its mission and activities) and solicit feedback and suggestions from the various parties and stake holders of governance in the region. We can measure the effectiveness of the outreach program through the following indicators: 1. level of response to the electronic and online direct communication soliciting participation in various activities. 2. number of visitors of the web-site and online feedback. 3. number of communications received from the primary and secondary target audience requesting information, assistance or simply providing their ideas or input. 4. number of innovations identified through active and participatory communication through the various means of communication utilized by the communication program. 5. Number of requests for membership or association with Innovmed. This careful assessment could be conducted in an intermediary phase in order to reevaluate and eventually revise the communication program. A suitable timing for the 9

10 intermediary assessment could be after 6 months of launching the communication campaign. A good indicator about the efficiency and effectiveness of the communication program will be also the level of the contribution of such program to the needs assessment and identification of demand for innovations in specific fields of public administration and governance in the region. project management and budget: The project management and budget are the most delicate issues of this communication strategy. Undeniably, the careful implementation of the communication program depends on the diligence and commitment of the communication officers identified by the steering committee of Innovmed to carry out and execute the communication program. Besides, there is an obvious need for some external professionals to manage technical and artistic issues. For instance, we will need to have a technical expertise (webmaster) to design and manage the electronic means of communication, database, blogs, and others. In addition, we will need creative professionals for the design of the logo, print materials, audiovisuals (documentary and presentations) and media kit. The budget for such activities needs to be based on the actual costs in terms of the time involvement of the communication officers that will develop the content of the communication messages, manage and follow up on the electronic and online communications, follow up on the implementation and evaluation of the communication program and so on. Besides, we should also consider in the budget the retributions of the professional creative and technical expertise as well as the cost of the production of the material itself. A careful contemplation should be made on the actual costs of professional and technical contribution, time, expertise, and production of material. This is to be done before considering the implementation of this communication program. timeline This communication program will need to be executed throughout the period of 18 months from July 2007 until December

11 Time line of the activities of the communication program ( ) month Activity 1. Identifying contacts of target audience and developing mailing lists 2. Developing a database with contacts 3. Designing a web page 4. Develop the communication messages (contents and formats) Jul 07 Aug 07 Sep 07 Oct 07 Nov 07 Dec 07 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 5. Designing a logo for Innovmed 6. Production of materials 7. Diffusing messages through electronic means 8. Identifying contacts with mass media 9. Distributing media kits and inviting 11

12 media reps to Innovmed activities 10. Capitalizing on existing contacts with other networks and UN local offices and distributing brochures and flyers to them 11. Communicating through periodical events (conference & workshops) 12. Conducting the intermediary evaluation and reporting 13. Eventual revision of communication program in terms of contents and approaches 14. Final evaluation of communication program First Draft of the Communication Strategy of INNOVMED