Strategic and Generic ManagementPKM414
Strategic Communication Management Workshop
Communication Strategy focuses on enhancing internal and external communication of an organisation to create a better understanding, support and the work among its staff and organisation's stake holders. It also ensures that there is adequate information being shared within the Organisation Frame Work as well as among all partners so that they better understand and support the Delivering of desired agreed set and expected processes as collective.
Overview
The communications strategy is managed by the Communications Group and is based on the principles of a shared vision, common objective, coordinated efforts and an empowered team. The areas of focus are internal communication, external communication (with government, development partners, implementing partners, development stakeholders and the media) and advocacy for development. The communication team works in close collaboration with the Business Development, Programme and Operations teams, staff of other staff in the organisation, Head Offices, International Offices and Regional Offices, staff (Communications Office) and Government officials, international and local media, subject matter experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful Organisational communication strategy implementation.
Communication Staff are the first contact, image of the organisation within and externally. Any slight mistake / misunderstanding on their part could ruin everything the organisation / managers stands for. Whether on the local,
provincial, state, national or international level, proper effective communication is vital in assuring that relations between the organizations and its stakeholders are conducted with minimum friction and maximum efficiency. This calls for high communications and administrative skills & tact on the part of communication staff to keep up with the pressure and challenges the organisation may face.
Hence this 5 day informative training has been designed to equip the communication professionals with excellent skills so that they will be able handle and execute organisational communication goals and any challenge thrown at them effectively.
Programme objectives
By the end of the programme, participants should be able to:
- 01Understand the concept, principles, and evolution of strategic communication
- 02Develop, implement and monitor the Office communications strategy
- 03Coordinate the organisation communication group
- 04Manage organisational group publications
- 05Manage advocacy and global campaigns
- 06Manage outreach and public information
- 07Manage communication and supervise media engagements
- 08Develop and implement organisational media relations
- 09Manage reputational risk management
Who should attend
- Communication Executives and Senior Leaders
- Communication Strategy and Planning Professionals
- Consultants and Strategy Analysts
- Communications Specialists
- Communications Managers
- Communications Analysts
- Communications Advocates
- Communications Supervisors
- Global Communications Staff
Programme outline
8 modules · 134 topics
01Foundations of Strategic Communication in the Public Sector
To establish a common understanding of strategic communication and its contribution to governance, public trust and service delivery.
- Meaning and scope of strategic communication
- Difference between: Strategic communication; Public relations; Public information; Marketing; Stakeholder engagement; Political communication
- Communication as a strategic management function
- The relationship between; Institutional strategy; Policy implementation; Service delivery; Communication
- Characteristics of public-sector communication
- Citizens as stakeholders, service users and accountability partners
- Principles of effective government communication; Accuracy; Timeliness; Transparency; Accessibility; Consistency; Responsiveness; Inclusivity
- Communication rights and citizens’ access to public information
- The role of leadership in strategic communication
- Common public-sector communication failures; Reactive communication; Fragmented messages; Excessive technical language; Delayed responses; Politicisation of institutional communication; Failure to listen to citizens
Case scenario
Case study - South Africa: Government Communication and Information System Participants examine how a central government communication structure can coordinate information across ministries and agencies. The South African GCIS is responsible for strategic leadership and coordination so that citizens have access to information about government programmes and policies
02Communication Environment, Research and Stakeholder Analysis
To enable participants to understand the environment in which their institution communicates and identify stakeholders’ expectations, influence and information needs.
- Conducting a communication situation analysis
- Internal and external communication environments
- Using PESTLE analysis for public-sector communication: Political; Economic; Social; Technological; Legal; Environmental
- Communication SWOT analysis
- Institutional reputation and public sentiment
- Stakeholder identification and classification
- Stakeholder power-interest matrix
- Stakeholder influence and impact analysis
- Audience segmentation; Citizens; Taxpayers; Employees; Businesses; Civil society; Development partners; Media; Political leaders; Vulnerable and marginalised groups
- Understanding stakeholder information needs
- Communication barriers; Language; Literacy; Disability; Geography; Digital exclusion; Institutional distrust
- Research methods; Surveys; Interviews; Focus groups; Social listening; Media analysis; Complaints analysis; Service-centre data
- Developing stakeholder personas
- Establishing feedback and listening mechanisms
Case scenario
Case study: Liberia Revenue Authority: Stakeholder engagement for domestic revenue mobilisation Participants examine how a revenue authority can consult taxpayers, businesses, county stakeholders and civil-society organisations when introducing reforms. LRA’s strategic planning has highlighted focused stakeholder engagement and timely responsiveness to customers.
03Developing a Strategic Communication Plan
To equip participants with a structured process for translating institutional priorities into a measurable communication strategy.
- Linking communication to the institutional strategic plan
- Defining the communication problem
- Establishing the desired behavioural or institutional outcome
- Setting SMART communication objectives
- Distinguishing between: Communication outputs; Audience outcomes; Institutional impact
- Identifying priority audiences
- Developing strategic communication pillars
- Formulating key messages
- Selecting communication approaches and activities
- Allocating responsibilities
- Communication budgeting and resource planning
- Developing an implementation calendar
- Integrating communication into programmes and projects
- Communication governance and approval processes
- Managing communication partners and service providers
- Risk identification and mitigation
- Connecting the communication strategy to monitoring and evaluation
Case scenario
Case study: Introducing a new Value Added Tax system Participants consider a fictional Ministry of Finance and Revenue Authority preparing to implement VAT. Public concerns include price increases, misinformation, limited understanding among small businesses and uncertainty about registration. The case requires communication with: • Businesses • Consumers • Parliament • Media • Professional associations • Civil society • Revenue officials • Development partners Practical exercise Participants develop a mini communication strategy for the VAT introduction.
04Message Development, Storytelling and Citizen-Centred Communication
To strengthen participants’ ability to translate complex policies and technical information into clear, credible and relevant public messages.
- Characteristics of an effective public-sector message
- Developing a message house: Core message; Supporting messages; Evidence; Call to action
- Tailoring messages for different audiences
- Converting policy language into plain language
- Explaining technical, financial and regulatory information
- Communicating benefits, responsibilities and consequences
- Using evidence, statistics and human-interest stories
- Ethical storytelling in public institutions
- Communicating with empathy and cultural sensitivity
- Multilingual communication
- Communication for people with disabilities
- Visual communication and infographics
- Writing for different formats; Press releases; Speeches; Briefing notes; Frequently asked questions; Social-media posts; Public notices; Websites; Radio announcements
- Message testing before public release
- Managing message consistency across departments
Case scenario
Case study: Rwanda: Communicating digital public services through Irembo Participants examine how government agencies can explain online services by providing step-by-step, citizen-friendly information. Irembo supports public access to services such as identity documents, certificates, permits and land- related applications.
05Media Relations, Digital Communication and Public Engagement
To strengthen institutional capability to engage traditional media, digital audiences and communities professionally and consistently.
- Understanding the modern public-sector media environment
- Building constructive relationships with journalists
- Developing a media database
- Preparing media statements and press releases
- Conducting press briefings and media conferences
- Preparing senior officials for interviews
- Bridging from difficult questions to key messages
- Roles of spokespersons and subject-matter experts
- On-record and background communication
- Managing hostile or misleading questions
- Digital communication strategy
- Platform selection based on audience and purpose
- Social-media governance
- Content planning and editorial calendars
- Community radio and local communication channels
- Social listening and sentiment analysis
- Managing online comments and complaints
- Misinformation and disinformation
- Protecting confidential and personal information
- Responsible use of artificial intelligence in communication
- Digital inclusion and reaching citizens who are not online
Case scenario
Case study: Revenue authority taxpayer-education campaign Participants design a multichannel campaign encouraging informal and small businesses to register, file returns and access taxpayer support. The case draws on lessons from communication and taxpayer-service collaboration between Liberia and Kenya revenue authorities. LRA’s study mission highlighted KRA approaches to communication, stakeholder engagement, complaints management and contact-centre organisation.
06Internal Communication and Communication for Organisational Change
To help public institutions communicate effectively with employees during reforms, restructuring and digital transformation.
- Strategic importance of internal communication
- Employees as institutional ambassadors
- Relationship between leadership communication and employee trust
- Internal stakeholder analysis
- Communicating institutional vision and strategy
- Communication during: Restructuring; Policy changes; New technology implementation; Leadership transitions; Performance-management reforms; Culture-change programmes
- Understanding employee resistance
- Two-way communication and employee voice
- Role of line managers and supervisors
- Change champions and communication networks
- Town halls, team briefings and digital collaboration platforms
- Addressing rumours and uncertainty
- Communicating difficult decisions respectfully
- Aligning internal and external messages
- Measuring employee understanding and engagement
- Integration with change-management frameworks such as ADKAR
Case scenario
Case study: Digital transformation in a revenue authority A revenue authority introduces an integrated tax-administration system. Employees fear job losses, taxpayers are uncertain about the new platform and regional offices receive inconsistent information.
Participants assess
- What went wrong
- Who should communicate
- What employees need to know
- How resistance should be addressed
- How internal communication can support public adoption
Case scenario
Practical exercise Groups develop an internal communication and engagement plan for the new system.
07Crisis Communication, Risk and Reputation Management
To prepare public institutions to communicate rapidly, accurately and responsibly during crises and reputational threats.
- Difference between an issue, risk, incident and crisis
- Public-sector reputational risks
- Crisis lifecycle: Prevention; Preparation; Response; Recovery; Learning
- Crisis communication governance
- Crisis communication team roles
- Establishing verified facts
- Holding statements and initial responses
- Selecting and preparing a spokesperson
- Communicating uncertainty without speculation
- Coordinating messages across institutions
- Media and social-media monitoring
- Managing rumours, misinformation and disinformation
- Communicating service interruptions
- Communicating during; System failures; Data breaches; Public-health emergencies; Industrial action; Allegations of corruption; Revenue or procurement controversies; Natural disasters
- Maintaining empathy and accountability
- Post-crisis reputation recovery
- Conducting an after-action review
- Updating policies after a crisis case study
National e-services platform outage
Case scenario
A government digital platform becomes unavailable during a major filing or registration deadline. Citizens complain online, media outlets report possible data loss and different officials provide contradictory explanations.
Crisis simulation
Case scenario
Participants operate as a crisis communication team and must: • Verify available information • Identify affected stakeholders • Draft a holding statement • Prepare spokesperson talking points • Develop frequently asked questions • Respond to simulated media questions • Recommend service-recovery communication
08Monitoring, Evaluation, Governance and Institutional Action Planning
To ensure that strategic communication is measurable, accountable, ethical and continuously improved.
- Why communication must be measured
- Developing a communication results chain: Inputs; Activities; Outputs; Outcomes; Impact
- Selecting meaningful indicators
- Measuring communication outputs; Media coverage; Content produced; Events held; Audience reach
- Measuring outcomes; Awareness; Understanding; Trust; Attitude; Engagement; Behaviour; Service uptake
- Quantitative and qualitative evaluation
- Digital analytics and social-media metrics
- Media monitoring and sentiment analysis
- Citizen feedback, complaints and satisfaction data
- Evaluating internal communication
- Communication dashboards and management reporting
- Communicating evaluation findings to leadership
- Roles and responsibilities; Executive leadership; Communication unit; Programme managers; ICT; Human resources; Legal services; Risk management; Internal audit
- Ethics, transparency and political neutrality
- Communication policies and standard operating procedures
- Communication risk controls
- Role of internal audit in reviewing communication systems
- Continuous learning and improvement
Case scenario
Case study: Evaluating a taxpayer-awareness campaign A revenue authority conducted radio programmes, social-media campaigns, community meetings and taxpayer workshops. Management reports high activity levels, but registration and filing rates remain unchanged.
Upcoming dates
In-house training
Run this programme for your team
We can deliver PKM414 at your premises, anywhere in Africa, with content aligned to your organisation's internal policies.
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Questions about our courses
All frequently asked questionsHow do I register for a course?
Choose a programme and date, then send an enquiry from the course page — the course and dates are filled in for you. Our team replies with the programme information and registration forms. You can also contact us on WhatsApp at +27 73 708 3507.
Do you offer in-house training at our premises?
Yes. Our group booking option allows us to bring our expert facilitators to your location anywhere in Africa. We can also customise the course content to align with your organisation’s internal policies.
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Pricing depends on your organisation's requirements, so we don't publish it. Please contact us with your programme, group size and preferred dates, and we'll get back to you with the details.
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We accept electronic funds transfers (EFT), direct bank deposits, and corporate or government purchase orders.
Do online delegates receive certificates?
Yes. Upon successful completion of a virtual course or programme, delegates receive a digital certificate of completion equivalent to our classroom-based training.
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