Information provision
Providing information in a timely and targeted manner can be a huge benefit to communities if the information reaches the right people in a way they can understand and respond to.
In the first quadrant of the engagement spectrum, decisions are made by the government agency or Ministers, and citizens and communities are advised. External input does not occur or is very selective. This may be because:
- Ministers are elected on the understanding that certain actions will be taken
- in-depth information may already be available from previous public debate
- rapid action is required.
Careful consideration should be given to whether diverse perspectives have been weighed up before any decisions are made. Open communication will be needed on the implications of the decision. Consider which people will need to know first and how the information will be conveyed. Resources may be required for responding to public reactions if citizens feel their views have not been taken into account.
Providing information is also important in other quadrants of the engagement spectrum. For instance:
- early in a consultation, information assists people in understanding issues, alternatives, opportunities and solutions
- at the end of a consultation, people will want to know how their input affected the end result, and how things will move forward
- in a partnership, sharing information builds trust and mutual understanding
- community-led decisions can be empowered by sharing your knowledge.
Informing communities is an important task
At a simple level, you need to be communicating the who, what, when, where and how of an issue.
This requires effective communication planning, where you identify who your audiences are, and target your approach to those audiences. This may impact on the language you choose, the means of communication (written, visual, face-to-face, electronic, etc), your choice of messenger and timing.
In most instances, you will have communications expertise available to assist you through this process - either in-house or from outside advisors - so this website does not go into detail on this topic, but it does offer some pointers for communicating with the community and voluntary sector.
Getting your messages out
Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are particularly active in the community sector, so place your messages in key locations where others can copy and refer them to others.
- Publish your media releases on the New Zealand government website.
- Publish your announcements on CommunityNet Aotearoa.
- Promote your news or events on the Public Sector Intranet if you think other government agencies may have effective networks with community groups or be interested in your issue.
- Send your announcements and news to the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector to promote though its networks and electronic newsletter.
- Contribute content for publication by others in their regular communications and newsletters to the community and voluntary sector.
