comms strategy appendices

8/8/2019 Comms Strategy Appendices

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HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS COMMISSION

COMMUNICATION PLAN 2010 2012

APPENDIXES

1. Communication Strategy 2007/2009 Outcomes

2. Communication Strategy 20190/2012 Deliverables

3. Summaryofobservationsarisingfromconsultation with Members

4. ComparisonofParliamentaryCommunications Budget (incl.staffcosts)


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The Houses of the Oireachtas Communications Strategy 20072010 had anumber of key outcomes. They were as follows:

Education/Outreach-

The Education Outreach Programme will by the end of May 2010 have beendelivered to over 18,800 students in 564 classes in over 350 schools. Despite notstarting until early 2008 the programme is now on target to be delivered to30,000 students by the next election.

The feedback received regarding the programme has beenoverwhelmingly positive from teachers and students alike.

Evaluation sheets are given to teachers at the conclusion of eachworkshop and the general evaluation has been that the workshop and itsdelivery is very good, being the highest category.

The programme has also been delivered to a number of community andvoluntary groups including Rehab, Travellers groups and post graduate(Dip. In Education) students. Again the feedback from these groups hasbeen overwhelmingly positive.

Generally Members feedback indicates that the programme is worthwhileand successful. There have been ongoing suggestions from Memberswhich in all cases have been investigated and acted upon where possibleand in general proven beneficial.

Administration It is now the case that Members receive, by automated email, 4 weeks

notice of each workshop with a reminder issuing 7 days in advance.

Delivery We have also advised our Outreach Officers that the Members question

and answer session requires better structure and organisation and this willensure consistency of the delivery of the programme. In all cases thesematters have been addressed.


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Media RelationsMedia coverage of the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committees has beentransformed through a concerted strategy led by two Committee Press LiaisonOfficers that has led to increased media coverage of Oireachtas Committeeproceedings. The press officers continue to work closely with Committee

Chairpersons and Clerks to develop among the media and the public a clearerunderstanding of the work of the Committees and their members, and theyhighlight the main issues under active consideration in each Committee.

Media attendance at committee Report launches, off-site events andphoto-calls are promoted on an ongoing basis

14 local newspapers have published a total of 750 individual articleshighlighting the parliamentary work of Members.

Local radio stations are broadcasting regularly from Leinster House.

Leinster House Visitor programme:

The visitor programme has been enhanced by the addition of a new range ofmodern brochures and leaflets that are freely available to those visiting. In 2009,up to 100,000 people visited Leinster House and a large percentage of theseundertook tours. The vast majority of those partaking of tours are school childrenand particular emphasis has been put on linking their visit with the OutreachProgramme by providing educational material. Significant research has alsobeen undertaken during such visits.

Public Events:The Office has been involved in a number of public events in 2008 and 2009.These include:

Family Day:Initially anticipated as a 1 day event in 2008. The demand was such that a 2 ndday was required.

8,000 tickets for admission to Family Day issued in a 24 hour period inboth 2008 and 2009 not close to meeting demand

Unprecedented access to Leinster House and its grounds was provided incooperation with the Office of the Superintendent

Tours, entertainment, food stalls and information by way of historicalworkshops/lectures provided.

Top of the range facilities provided for the purpose of the visiting public

The comment, media coverage and post event written and oral feedback wasunanimously positive.The event was such a success that it was agreed that it should be run again in2009 which proved to be equally if not more successful.


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Produced a series of short films describing, explaining and informing thegeneral public of the role of the Houses of the Oireachtas and itsMembers. This has been designed with a view to reaching all age groupsand has been produced to take account of new social media.

Merchandise with Houses of the Oireachtas branding has been producedfor distribution through the Outreach Programme and for sale in AnSiopa.


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Website Development

A new look to the website oireachtas.ie has been developed. The benefits of thisare:

Easier access to all areas of website Ability to develop multi and social media applications

Improved streamlined management of material allowing access to thenon-expert user

Provision of vital resources to all users of the estimated 800,000 pages ofmaterial on the website (which makes it 1 on the biggest in Ireland)

The project was delivered on time and within budget


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1.Media This Week in the Oireachtas local newspaper service: 14 articles per

week over 30 weeks.Annual target: 420 articles per annum

This Week in the Oireachtas local radio service: 6 reports per week over

30 weeks.18

0loca

lradio r

eports p

er annum

Spokespersons Service: A weekly statement/interview/rebuttal should bethe minimum level of pro-activity achieved, with scope for higherengagement as demanded

Houses of the Oireachtas Service Press Releases (Dil, Seanad, JointCommittees): 550 per annum

Joint Committee Events ( Report launches, media briefings, photo calls):20 per annum

Member focussed promotional events ( non-core business e.g.charity/other public events): 6per annum

Completion of Leinster House Media Centre Feasibility Study: June 2011

Completion and implementation of Leinster House New Media Protocoland Policy: December 2010

2. Information Plain Language Audit and Guidelines: June 2011

Monthly on-line Publishing of Members Expenses: October 2010

Automatic on-line Publication of all FOI Releases: October 2010

3. Outreach, Access and Public Events

Outreach Service: 6,000 participants per annum

New Leinster House Visitor Programme Plan: December 2010

Completion of implementation of new Visitor Experience: June 2011

Public Events: 4 events engaging a minimum of10,000 per annum


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4. Using Technology forCommunications

Integrate Facebook, Twitter, Diggit, YouTube and Delicious and othersocial media sites into Oireachtas Media and information service toachieve a dedicated instantaneous on-line presence: June 2011

Audit of Parliamentary on-line presence and delivery of 3-Year WebStrategy: December 2010


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Appendix 1

Summary of observations arising from consultation with Members

Gene

ral:

y Improving public confidence in and understanding of the Oireachtas isdependent on Dil Reform

y Members need to be informed on an ongoing basis about the work of theCommunications Unit

y The communications plan needs to be efficient and value for money

Media Service:

y The Communications Unit needs to be increasingly proactive and robust inchallenging unfair and inaccurate media commentaryy We need a spokesperson to defend the Oireachtas against one-sided

media criticismy A spokesperson would be limited in what they can say if they are to avoid

appearing political or subjectivey Members are best suited to be the Oireachtas spokesperson, Members

need to establish a degree of solidarity so as to defend their professiony The Head of Communications should be the spokespersony We need more flexibility in the Leinster House media relationsy Efforts at improving public understanding of the Oireachtas will always be

subject to wider political eventsy The targeting of local media is welcomed and should be prioritisedy The improvements in coverage of committees is noticeable

Information:

y The Houses of the Oireachtas should publish details of Membersexpenses on a monthly basis supported by context that explains thepurpose of the expenses system

y FOI releases should be made available on the website so as to avoid

repetitive requests for virtually the same information that can represent awaste of resources from the office

y FOI releases should be available to the public to demonstrate greatertransparency


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Leinster House Visitor Experience:

y Visitors to Leinster House should be received in an appropriate visitorspace

y School groups visiting Leinster House should receive an educational talk

at the end of their tour rather than concluding their visit in the bary The outreach programme should be joined up and linked in with the visitor

experiencey A database/intranet should be established that shows Members the

groups visiting Leinster Housey Schools groups should be able to access the Dil and Seanad chambers

on non-sitting days as part of an educational tour

Public Events:

y The Family Day created a positive image of the Oireachtasy Only a small number of Members attended the Family Dayy The Culture Night event was a good public relations exercisey Events need to be centred on the Oireachtas and its Members

NewMedia and Using Technology:

y We must use the web to engage younger people about the Oireachtasy The revamp of the website is welcomedy All Oireachtas business needs to be webcasty Social media and an on-line presence must be prioritised

Evaluation and Reporting:

y The communications plan needs to be measured and monitoredy Members need to be communicated with about the communications

programme


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Appendix 2

Please see below a comparative table, outlining communications expenditure,with other parliaments and assemblies.

Comparison of Parliamentary Communications Budget (incl. staff costs) 2009Area of

ExpenditureUK Holland Scotland Ireland

PublicRelations

1.97m 450k 713k 300k

Outreach 1.68m 150k 763k 220kWebsite 2.8m 280k n/a 430k*

Events 530k 110k 731k 270kTotal 6.98m 990k 2.20m 1.22m

Staff 113 19 52 8.3**

*Website costs were higher as a major development was undertaken by theHouses of the Oireachtas Service to upgrade the look of oireachtas.ie

** 2010 budget reduced to 850k.

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