Plan the recovery arc after a reputational event involving public policy communication.
Building Communication Strategies Around Complex Public Policy
A working programme in public policy communication for managers who have to deliver with existing resources.
📍 Tripoli🗓️ 5 training days📚 4 modules🎓 Accredited certificate
5intensive training days
4scientific modules
8training sessions
32detailed points
Course Overview
Silence during a crisis involving public policy communication is itself a statement. The first version of a story about this aspect of communications and media practice tends to become the reference version. It is pitched for practitioners with responsibility for this strand of communications and media practice, not for observers of it. What blocks progress on public policy communication is usually unclear ownership rather than unclear intent. The most reliable predictor of sound the communications and media practice capability is whether anyone reviews it when nothing has gone wrong. The programme takes participants through the wider communications and media practice agenda end to end, from framing the problem to closing it out. The programme builds the judgement to know which parts of public policy communication to standardise and which to leave flexible. Participants test their assumptions about the communications and media practice capability against scenarios designed to break weak ones. It ends with a prioritised list of changes to this part of communications and media practice that the participant is prepared to defend internally.
Expected Learning Outcomes
Assign clear ownership for each element of public policy communication across the functions involved.
Monitor sentiment and coverage relating to public policy communication in useful time.
Prepare the apology or acknowledgement for public policy communication that is credible.
Build a register of the risks attaching to public policy communication and keep it current.
Prepare spokespeople to handle hostile questioning on public policy communication.
Build a concise communications plan for public policy communication that colleagues can follow without further explanation.
Who Should Attend
Agency and consultancy advisers supporting clients on public policy communication.
Experienced practitioners formalising an approach to public policy communication that has grown up informally.
Department heads accountable for the results of public policy communication.
Content producers creating material about public policy communication.
Government relations and public affairs officers covering public policy communication.
Investor relations officers communicating public policy communication to markets.
Course Modules
Public policy communication: crisis preparation, roles and authority
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1The cost of public policy communication and how to present it
- Build the internal briefing that explains public policy communication to those affected.
- Write the three key messages on public policy communication and test them against hard questions.
- Draft the minimum viable communications plan for public policy communication.
- Agree the indicators that will show whether public policy communication is improving.
Session 2Correcting a false story about public policy communication without amplifying it
- Plan the sequence in which improvements to public policy communication will be introduced.
- Define the trigger that would require public policy communication to be redesigned.
- Agree who signs off statements on public policy communication outside working hours.
- Check that records of public policy communication answer the questions likely to be asked.
Public policy communication: message architecture and discipline
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Building media relationships on public policy communication before you need them
- Prepare the response for the most likely failure in public policy communication.
- Name the crisis roles for public policy communication and confirm authority to speak.
- Confirm that those complying with public policy communication understand why it exists.
- Prepare the acknowledgement for public policy communication that does not evade responsibility.
Session 2Escalation and decision rights in public policy communication
- Build a stakeholder map for public policy communication and the message each needs.
- Set out how exceptions to public policy communication are requested and approved.
- Define acceptance criteria for public policy communication in advance.
- Draft materials on public policy communication that need no rewriting to be published.
Public policy communication: media relations and the working journalist
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Making public policy communication work when resources are constrained
- Collect evidence on the present handling of public policy communication before proposing changes.
- Review whether public policy communication is aligned with the objectives of the communications function.
- Agree what will be standardised in public policy communication and what will not.
- Rehearse the hostile interview on public policy communication with a real challenger.
Session 2Apologising for public policy communication credibly
- Reduce the variation in how public policy communication is carried out between teams.
- Establish the boundary of public policy communication and record what sits outside it.
- Archive every statement issued on public policy communication with date and approver.
- Sequence internal notification about public policy communication ahead of external release.
Public policy communication: misinformation, correction and restraint
2 sessions · 8 pointsSession 1Monitoring public policy communication in time to act
- Debrief after each significant episode involving public policy communication.
- Prepare the holding statement for public policy communication in advance.
- Identify the journalists who actually cover public policy communication and what they need.
- Set the response time target for enquiries about public policy communication.
Session 2Rebuilding trust after public policy communication
- Plan the recovery sequence after a reputational event involving public policy communication.
- Review whether coverage of public policy communication changed anything that matters.
- Rank the weaknesses in public policy communication by consequence rather than by ease of fixing.
- Decide in advance when to correct misinformation about public policy communication and when not to.
Choose the package that suits you
Silver Package
At least 3 people
USD1,250
- Workshop or Program Participation
- Airport Transfers
- Customized Badge
- Expert Mentorship (Private Sessions)
- Supervision & Secretarial Services
- Accredited Certificate of Participation
- Complete Training Kit
- Coffee Break
- Closing Ceremony
Gold Package
At least 3 people
USD1,850
- 5-night stay in a 5-star hotel
- Workshop or Program Participation
- Airport Transfers
- Customized Badge
- Expert Mentorship (Private Sessions)
- Supervision & Secretarial Services
- Accredited Certificate of Participation
- Complete Training Kit
- Coffee Break
- Closing Ceremony
Complete your registration
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