Seven steps for planning
When you start planning, you should first answer three questions. Use your mission statement or project directive as support. If these are well articulated, the answers should be easy to find.
- Which political initiative forms the basis for the assignment/project? (background and purpose)
- Who will benefit from the outcomes? (target groups)
- What should they know or do when they find out about the assignment/project? (communication objectives)
Once you have answered these three questions, it’s time for four new ones. This is where you will probably need help from a communications adviser with knowledge of communication strategies, communication channels, and evaluations, as well as the costs. You can answer the following four questions together:
- What should we say to the target groups so that they understand the political initiative? (message)
- What sort of budget is required to be able to implement the proposed activities and evaluation with regard to the target groups and objectives? (resources)
- When and by way of which channels/locations should we communicate to inform our target groups of what we’re doing? (activity plan)
- When and how should we evaluate whether we have achieved our communication objectives? (evaluation and follow-up)
Planning is complete after you have followed these seven steps. The communication work can then begin.
