Strategic Communications in Government - Putting principles into practice
Strategic Communications in Government - Putting principles into practice

Author(s): Thomas Colley
Contributor(s): Ben Heap (Editor)
Subject(s): Politics, Media studies, Governance, Communication studies, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
Keywords: Strategic Communications; Government Communication; Public Policy; Audience Engagement; Information Environment; Strategic Governance;
Summary/Abstract: This report explores national governments’ attempts to apply principles from the field of strategic communications to day-today decision-making and policy implementation. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, various governments have embraced strategic communications to help improve their ability to influence audiences in pursuit of strategic objectives. A concept imported from the commercial sector in the 1990s, the original idea was that strategic communications could make government messaging more coherent, coordinated and credible. Democratic governments hoped this would help them adapt to how the Internet was transforming communication, and counter attempts by insurgents and hostile states to undermine their societies. Since then, there have been two decades of disagreement about what strategic communications is, how it should be done and who should be responsible for it. But as more governments and militaries have embraced the concept, understandings of it have evolved. Many now see it not just as a way to coordinate an organisation’s messaging, but a more holistic approach to communication which considers the effects of everything an organisation says and does on audiences. The concept may be better understood, but ‘How can our government be better at strategic communications?’ remains one of the most common questions asked of the NATO StratCom Centre of Excellence. Strategic communications is defined here as ‘a holistic approach to communication, based on values and interests, that encompasses everything a government organisation does to achieve objectives in a contested environment’. Communication, from this perspective, is not just about deliberate messaging, but is integral to all aspects of domestic governance and foreign and security policy. This is because everything a government says, and every action it takes, communicates. Strategic communications in this report is based on several key principles: • that ‘everything communicates’; • that because ‘everything communicates’, governments need a strong, ongoing understanding of audiences; • that communication activities must be integrated within all government departments and agencies and coordinated vertically and horizontally • that whatever governments communicate reflects their national strategic objectives; • that it is important to adopt a long-term, proactive approach rather than a shortterm, reactive one; • that government communication should adhere to the liberal democratic values of openness, transparency and accountability.2 First the study outlines the challenges governments face trying to implement these principles, using three lenses through which strategic communications can be viewed: mindset (how an organisation should think about communication) process (how to organise and direct communication) and capability (the techniques, skills and resources employed to communicate). Strategic communications practitioners still report that they struggle to get politicians, senior government officials and managers to buy into strategic communications as an idea; to create structures and processes to coordinate communication within and across government; and that even if government officials buy into the concept, they often lack the capabilities and resources to obtain the outcomes they want.

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