Cabinet Office Digital Comms Capability Review

8/14/2019 Cabinet Office Digital Comms Capability Review

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Date 12thNovember 2013

Prepared by Policy & Capability team, Prime

Ministers Oice & Cabinet Oice

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Contents

1. Mana!ement s"mmary

The purpose of the review is to assess how the digital aspects of Government communication and

engagement are planned and executed, and how can the !e improved.

The review was underta"en ! three independent reviewers. The !rought complementar s"ills and

experience to the review, and a deep "nowledge of digital communication.

1.1 #indings

The reviewers saw some inspiring examples of digital content, tools, assets and engagement. The met

with some senior leaders who were passionate a!out helping the civil service "eep up with the wa

technolog is used outside of government. $oc"ets of good practice notwithstanding, the headline

finding is that digital communication in government is developing well in specialist teams !ut less so in

the mainstream. The conse%uence is that it is !eing outpaced ! the !est of the commercial and &G'

worlds. Too much is (!roadcast) * i.e. one+wa * and does not see" to engage. nd, cruciall, it is still

treated ! man in departmental leadership positions as an area where the ris"s outweigh the !enefits.

-n some departments the case for getting more from digital communication and engagement has not!een made sufficientl well.

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2. #bo"t the revie$

2.1 '!ectives and terms of reference

The purpose of the review is to assess the digital communication capa!ilities across government and

ma"e recommendations for improvement. Ver little communication does not have a digital aspect. This

review came a!out !ecause digital communication is a fast developing area and one which has

repeatedl presented as an area of concern and development focus in the departmental communication

capa!ilit reviews52611+137. Given the potential scale and !readth of the tas", the review team needed

to ensure that the scope and o!ectives were managea!le. The focus on improvement means that the

review is more concerned with finding practical and effective levers for change than with

comprehensivel auditing capa!ilit.

The reviewers loo"ed a wide range of communication, from8 internal communication9 to news, media

relations and announcements9 to corporate communications9 communication focussing on service

provision9 information provision9 and campaign communication aiming for attitudinal shift and !ehaviour

change.

2.2 :vidence !ase

i. apa!ilit reviews 51; completed7

ii. $roect initiation interviews with 0igital ul 26137

iii. 0igital communications surve 5>ul 26137, completed ! each department

iv. :vidence from cross government communications teams at a!inet 'ffice and &o.16.

v. eview wor"shops 5two issues wor"shops, one evaluation wor"shop and a recommendations+shaping

wor"shop7

vi. eview interviews 5almost 36 completed7

vii. eviewers) own experience and "nowledge

2.3 eviewers

ichard ?agnall* one of the founders and the @anaging 0irector of @etrica and su!se%uentl

Gor"ana GroupAs @anaging 0irector of Glo!al -nsights and nalsis post integration of the

!usinesses. =e chairs The -nternational ssociation for the @easurement and :valuation of

ommunications) 5@:7 ocial @edia @easurement Group, is a mem!er of the -$ ocial @edia

$anel, of the ocial @edia onclave wor"ing to esta!lish standards in social media measurement,

and is a co+author of Bile ?usiness $u!lishing)s (hare This) C (hare This Too), having written the

chapters in !oth !oo"s on measuring communications in a digital world. ichard left Gor"ana in

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2613 and now runs omms larit onsulting where he advises organisations of all siDes the !est

was to plan and measure their mainstream media and digital communication.

hris ?ir"ett*has more26 ears of leadership experience in national television, radio and digitalnews ournalism. =e is currentl onsultant :ditor at the Telegraph @edia Group, where he is

wor"ing on the digital transformation of the editorial operation. $reviousl hris was at ", where

as 0eput =ead and :xecutive :ditor of " &ews from 266E until 2613 he was responsi!le for all

the organisationAs ournalism on television and radio. #rom 266F+2611, hris also ran the multi+

platform digital production department at " &ews which launched its award+winning i$ad and

$hone apps. -n his earlier ?? career, hris had senior roles in the launch of ?? ; udges

ward from the oal Television ociet for his role in negotiating the deal which !rought a!out the

historic TV ohn* @anaging 0irector at social !usiness consultanc &ixon@c-nnes, where his clients

have included the #oreign and ommonwealth 'ffice, ?- and BB#+, on proects that range

from digital transformation programmes to leadership coaching.

2.4eview '8 nthon imon, =ead of 0igital at a!inet 'ffice C &o.16.

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3. Conte%t and bac!ro"nd

3.1 The proliferation and transformative effect of digital technolog is well documented elsewhere. -ts impact

has !een extensive, from the opportunities afforded ! (!ig data) to the role that social media plas, as

societ shifts (from the age of deference to the age of reference). @an organisations offer proprietar

we!sites, digital tools and applications for mo!ile devices in order to inform and engage customer groups.

@an also use third part social media for reputation management, customer intelligence, customer service,

and to manage demand. These tools are also !ecoming more common in internal communication practice.

3.2 The civil service has am!itions which are in step with this societal change. ivil ervice eformsets out to

ma"e the Civil Service more skilled, digital and unified. The government has a digital strategto ensurethat its vision for digitall ena!led services and information are delivered. ctions 4 and 14 of this strateg

are concerned with digital capa!ilit and with using digital channels to engage with and consult the pu!lic.

3.3 The government communication capa!ilit reviews were initiated in utumn 2611 ! the ommunications

0eliver ?oard 5more detailshere 7. t the time of writing 5eptem!er+&ovem!er 26137 all !ut two

departmental capa!ilit reviews have !een completed. There are a num!er of common themes emerging

across these, including the varia!ilit of digital communications and how much is still treated as the preserve

of specialists.

3.4 The reviews and the surves have revealed that digital communications teams wor" in different structures in

different departments. 0epartments such as =@ and 0B$ have significant deliver responsi!ilities.

'thers, such as =@T and 0efra have a predominantl polic focus. 0epartments such as #', 0: and 0f-0

have information provision at the core of their purpose. Thus the role for digital communication varies

accordingl.

3.; 0epartments have varing technical and practitioner s"ills levels in their digital teams and in their wider

communication teams. s departments have migrated to the G'V. platform, man digital teams have seen

an alteration of their roles.

3.E The senior owner of the 0igital communications capa!ilit review is the :xecutive 0irector of Government

ommunications 5:0G7 and his nominated deput directors 's, the head of polic C capa!ilit and the

head of digital at &o.16 and the a!inet 'ffice. -n addition the directors of communication 50os7 are the

leadership cadre which will !e ta"ing forward the review findings and recommendations supported ! 0igital


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specialist !ut mainstream, the ultimate focus for the review is not 0igital


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o urrentl the digital communications influencer networ" is ad hoc and in some cases

seems wea" at more senior levels. The !iggest changes seem to happen through

leadership changes.

o 0epartmental structures do not fit with networ"ed nature of social media. -nternal

information cascades feel ver one+wa, not discursive and interactive.

-T

o ommunicators have patch 5though improving7 access to social media. -n man cases

this is due to permissions, not technolog per se. These restrictions also appl to hand+

held devices such as ?lac"?errs.

o -n man departments, especiall larger ones, large -T contracts and securit

re%uirements impair access to social media and in man cases prohi!it the use of

current we! !rowsers. 'lder !rowsers are no longer supported and therefore presentsecurit ris"s. ?ut overall in man cases the data securit ris"s seem over+exaggerated

and !loc"s are in place due to permissions not sstem constraints. ?ut in man

departments the picture is o!scure !ecause the -T securit rationale is not made simple,

clear and accessi!le.

o -t is paradoxical and frustrating for communications people to !e una!le to access the

milieu in which the are expected to gather information from and engage in.

4.3 "ills and capa!ilities

There is some !ut not nearl enough sharing of ideas and approaches. The heads of digital comms group, the

Tea+camps and presentations 5such as those hosted ! G& or 0efra7 are examples of good colla!oration. ?ut

overall there are poor levels of sharing good practice and learnings, especiall at more routine levels. -n an

interview one summarised it as8

Were all finding our own way. Separately.5=ead of news interviewee.7

@ost communications professionals use social media outside of wor". "ills deficiencies are mainl to do

with confidence and udgement in using technolog in a professional context. The include8

o practice and familiarit with protocols9

o creativit9

o mar"eting content so it reaches the right target groups9 and

o design and !uild. This is seen as more specialist and more usuall something to !e

procured or outsourced than trained.

There are some technical experts unevenl distri!uted across some departments. There is general

uncertaint whether the should !e located in communications teams at all. G0 has people who can !uildoff the G'V. platform, though there not enough to meet the level and pace of demand across

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government, leading to frustration and dela. This could !e due to the lac" of clarities on roles and

responsi!ilities 5e.g. what does/doesn)t G0 do and what could or should departments do7.

-nternal communications is seen ! man as a development opportunit which offers a safer testing C

development ground, in particular for departmental leaders. The provision of internal social networ"s and

communications tools is patch and in man places, seems inade%uate.

Guidelines are long and man respondents said the found them off+putting. -nteractive training can !e more

effective in improving practices. The opportunit and encouragement to put new s"ills into action are where

much professional development and organisational change occurs.

4.4 ontent development and mar"eting

Though there are some good examples of video, animation, still and digital tools, there is a lac" of diversit in

tpes of content and an over+riding focus on Twitter.

The reviewers detected that there was still an ethos of (?uild it C the will come) and (sending out stuff) *

thought more in departmental leadership than in communications teams. These mind+sets often result in

ver low content views and poor levels of engagement and response.

The reviewers saw some, !ut not enough, use of digital to engage sta"eholder in de!ate, or social media to

ma"e internal communications more interactive.

The government)s we!site is G'V.. This has a user+needs !ased approach to ma"ing information simple,

clearer and faster to access. -t replaced cum!ersome and non+citiDen+orientated departmental we!sites. TheG'V. design is tas" focussed and is eas to use if ou are searching ! issue. ?ut it8

o doesn)t lend itself readil to !ehaviour+change communications9

o doesn)t encourage sharing or engagement through social channels !ecause it does not include eas sharing

!uttons 5though there are discussions a!out addressing this via the G'V. steering group and G0 reports

that Twitter sharing !uttons will !e trialled ! the end of 261379 and

o is perceived ! departments of having a rigid format which ensures consistenc !ut

constrains innovation around campaigning.

4.; tructures * across government, within departments and within digital teams

$an+government

o There is no clear leadership in developing digital communication and engagement. The

digital leaders) cadre seems more focussed on other areas such as digitising

transactional services. The result is that, for example, different tools are !eing trialled

and !ought in different departments, with limited formalised coordination and sharing.

5s noted in 4.3 this happens informall.7 This could !e improved in part ! 0os and0igital


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o The Government 0igital ervice 5G07 is seen ! much of the government communications communit as

operating at a remove from government departments, !oth phsicall and in terms of close colla!oration.

This could !e in part due to a lac" of colla!oration !etween 0os and G0, which is !eing addressed.

Bithin departments

o There is no natural home for digital comms expertise in departments, mainl !ecause

departments are so different.

o The reviewers were impressed with, among others8

- The 0epartment of =ealth, whose 0igital


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great deal of discussion initiated ! interviewees was a!out the G'V. platform 5see 4.4

a!ove7. The reviewers concluded that 0os and G0 did not have sufficientl close levels of

close wor"ing, and that this is onl now !eginning to improve.

@uch of internal communication seems one+wa and not discursive. The opportunities for using

social media for internal communications are under+exploited. -n larger departments this is seen

as hard to manage. -n man cases it needs little direct management, !ut guidelines in place to

"eep dialogue constructive and productive. The potential !enefits are for internal digital

communications to !uild digital s"ills and confidence in a safe setting, to improve colla!oration,

"nowledge sharing and innovation, which will ultimatel improve efficienc and effectiveness of

teams and departments.

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5. Principles or !overnment di!ital comm"nications

The reviewers wor"ed with interviewees and wor"shop participants to develop principles to help guide

development of the review)s recommendations.

)e need to eep "p $ith mainstream comm"nication techni*"es

;.1Without clear planning and o!"ective#setting what we do is unlikely to !e effective5and how would

we "now if it is anwa7J Brite down our communication o!ectives, including the audience

that ou are targeting, so the are unam!iguous and can !e agreed ! leaders and polic clients.

-t is critical that the o!ectives for the use of digital are clearl aligned to departmental, polic or

service o!ectives, in order to !e efficient, effective and get support from senior teams.

;.2$ntelligent evaluation is essential. nowing ou will do it provides discipline in activit planning.

$roviding num!ers out of context is not evaluation. @easurement criteria must !e clearl

aligned to the o!ective and intended outcomes. (@ar"eting) our communications results

internall, while understanda!le, is not the same as providing dispassionate evaluation. $eer

evaluation sign off helps to provide credi!ilit. nd if our communications initiative 5or

elements of it7 does not achieve o!ectives, share our learnings so ou and others can !enefit

from them.

;.3Content is crucial. %hankfully &overnment is not short of engaging material. ?e creative in developing

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disappear into press offices, which would ma"e them too tactical in focus. 0igital has a "e role

and !rings leading+edge thin"ing, driving innovation and testing new ideas in internal

communications, in sta"eholder communications and corporate communication.

;.ECommunications leaders should have a stronger voice in &().*+. The site is an enormous

achievement and is still evolving. The reviewers recommend that the =omelands C em!assies

approach !e adopted, which would position G'V. as the natural homeland for

communication assets. The reviewers concluded that communications leaders should have more

influence in G'V. governance and direction. This means plaing an active role in the G'V.

steering group for example.

#ttit"des to ris need to be balanced, lo!ical and inormed by b"siness need+

;.Hhange needs strong leadership, and an intelligent, realistic approach to concerns a!out risk. -t

re%uires political sensitivit on the part of civil servants, matched with a wider departmental

acceptance of how the world is changing.

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6. # maniesto or chan!e or di!ital comm"nication leaders

E.1 To deliver change in line with principles in section 3 and at a pace demanded ! re%uires co+ordinated

leadership, firm commitment and a pac"age of support.

E.2 -t is framed as (we) * i.e. a set of commitments made ! (we) the leaders of communications in government

to ou, communications professionals.

Comm"nications leaders maniesto or chan!e

0igital communication and engagement is an essential part of the modern communicator)s repertoire in

order to deliver our !usiness o!ectives. 0igital communication and engagement is not ust for

communications professionals !ut applies to all civil servants in the wa their interactions with colleagues

and external sta"eholders. Government communication must change to em!race digital more widel to

meet rising expectations and to deliver greater efficiencies.

Be have set out three guiding principles to anchor change8

To "eep up with the wa information is accessed, di!ital comm"nication in !overnment sho"ld be a core

sill or all, not a specialist area, ! end of 2614. 0igital communication s"ills must include a firm grasp of

planning, o!ective setting and measurement / insights.

Comm"nications leaders, Di!ital eaders and -D. m"st $or more closely to!ether* a more

colla!orative approach is needed to get the most out of G'V.. and other G0 services.

Be mustn)t let a ris"+averse culture !loc" innovative and impactful digital comms * attit"des to ris need

to be balanced, pra!matic and inormed by b"siness need.

/ey commitments to enable this are

o #ccess and technolo!y. Be will give ou access to the sites where our audiences are. Be will trust

ou not to misuse this. Be will improve the -T availa!le to ou.

o -overnance and leadership* senior colleagues will support ou in ma"ing digital mainstream9 to

set out its !enefits9 and ma"e sure it is integrated into communications as a whole and made

mainstream. Be will provide clarit over roles and decision+ma"ing 5including that of G0 with

respect to communications7.

o mprove sills trainin! and development* to em!ed digital s"ills man need practice and not ust

training, to !e given the chance to tr out what the have learned. This is not a one+off. ou will

!e supported in emerging channels, tools and techni%ues 5and given a (no %uestion too stupid)

amnest7.

o "d!ement and ris mana!ement. ou will get !asic social media training if ou need it. -nternal

communication is a relativel safe area for learning and practicing those s"ills. taff should feel

supported if the ma"e a mista"e, so the 5and colleagues7 can learn from and share from an

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errors. ?ut all should !e a!le to appl the civil service code to their wor".

-n return we want a commitment from communicators to put digital s"ills high on our development

priorities, em!ed digital in what ou do and push our colleagues and managers to do the same.

7. ecommendations 4 areas or development $or

To support the manifesto and to achieve change, the reviewers identified six main areas for

improvement.

H.1 ulture, leadership, understanding of ris"s

0epartmental executive teams should set out the am!ition, manage ris" and champion a

digitall ena!led civil service 5as set out in 7.

o This includes moving awa from digital communications as a stand+alone concept and towards positioning

digital communications as an ena!ler of !usiness transformation and !etter was of wor"ing.

o ?enefits case * 0os to develop, with finance officers, a case which sets out the opportunities for savings in

using more digital communications than current model.

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:valuation * G& to wor" with@:to develop an evaluation framewor" that is flexi!le enough to appl

across a range of communication o!ectives and activities, et provide consistenc across government

reporting.

G& to clarif the difference !etween monitoring and evaluation tools and services. G& to provide a

recommended resource selection of !oth free and paid for monitoring tools, clearl indicating which each

are !est suited for. &? credi!le and meaningful evaluation can rarel !e done purel (with a tool)9 it re%uires

time and udgement, context and relevance as well as shaping and tailoring to differing departmental and

specific campaign o!ectives. 'nl this wa can the evaluation focus on measuring what matters, as opposed

to ust counting !asic outputs.

G& to develop case studies * halls of fame and shame * to show what good and not so good loo"s li"e.

H.3 "ills and capa!ilities

0evelop evaluation !est practice and a standard framewor". 5This is now forming a specificwor"+stream.7 et out simple common standards and pu!licise which department uses what

tool. :.g. =ootsuite is used ! eight departments.

eview and integrate !asic digital s"ills into communication competencies. 5Treated in the same

wa as !asic grammar.7 To include content distri!ution.

@ove from linear and length $0# guidelines. The must !e succinct and use plain :nglish.

tor+telling is a good wa to help e%uip less experienced professionals with more sophisticated

udgement. (Twitter in ten) and video content are also ideas reviewers li"ed.

-n addition, G& to8

o Test and recommend particular digital comms training courses and how to sessions 5and insist that all who

attend courses review and rate them7.

o hare names of individuals who can advise on !est+practice 5for example how to engage specific audience

groups7.

o Target external recruitment and interchange.

o 0evelop a sand!ox for social media so participants can pla on interactive online training in !asics of social.

o $romote peer to peer learning and sharing in a similar wa to Teacamps

o 0evelop a centralised digital asset+management resource for all departments.

H.4 ontent development and deliver

0os 50irectors of ommunications7 should develop and lead a centre of excellence for case studies,

including stor+telling and !ehaviour change examples.

0os to wor" with G0 to discuss how a =omelands C em!assiesapproach might !e developed, and how it

could support !ehavioural o!ectives 5this will !e part of the proposition review7.

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champion for content excellence is needed, to encourage creativit and !oost standards. #or example the

champion would encourage the use of imager and interactive tools to !rea" down otherwise length

narratives. =e/she would lead the drive to ma"e sure information is intuitive and accessi!le rather than static

(!rochure+ware).

"ills development is also re%uired to help ensure effective audience reach.

H.; tructure

G& and G0 to clarif their respective roles, responsi!ilities and how the engage.

0os and 0igital


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8. ."mmary

The reviewers would li"e to than" all participants * including those who engaged online, in meetings,

wor"shops or interviews * for their positive contri!ution to the report. lthough the reviewers found an

enormous level of variation in standards and practice in digital communications across government, the

positive attitudes, the openness a!out wea"nesses, and the desire to improve were consistent. This was

enormousl appreciated and made the tenor of the review extremel positive.

This appetite for improvement is exactl what is needed to tac"le the challenges that face government

communicators. lthough the are considera!le, the are shared with other organisations, pu!lic and

private sector ali"e. The include8

ultural challenges to do with attitudes to ris" and confidence in empowering staff to interact ina pu!lic medium9

The need to !uild !asic s"ills and proficienc to give staff the confidence in their a!ilit to

anticipate, identif and mitigate against ris"s9

The need to measure what matters across the communications channel mix, and not ust

counting !asic outputs9 and

The need for much closer levels of colla!oration. This applies8 at senior levels in departments9

!etween communications leaders and G09 !etween practitioners * for example in sharing good

practice in evaluation and wor"ing with agencies9 and also with external partners, for example in

developing alliances.

s a closing point, although digital communications can dramaticall increase the permea!ilit of

!oundaries !etween government and the citiDens it serves, and in so doing ena!le instant and large+scale

conversations9 man of the core communications principles remain the same. These include a rigorous

focus on o!ectives, a deep understanding of the end audience that communicators wish to reach, and

creative thin"ing a!out how to ma"e the message relevant and memora!le to that audience. This applies

to all communications whatever the channel mix.

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9. evie$er recommended action !rid

I.1 To deliver change the reviewers have some specific suggestions and indicators for implementation in six and

12 months. These are !ased on the manifesto and the six areas for development and improvement.

tem #ction in si% months #ction in 12 months

0aunch -anifesto ll 'oCs to develop

departmental response to

manifesto

ssess change )s manifesto commitments

@anifesto includes the following elements

1. ulture, leadership C

ris"s, including

reputation and

securit ris"s

Bor"ing group to develop !enefits

cases using examples from

transactional services and from polic+

orientated departments. To involve

a!inet 'ffice hief 0igital 'fficer and

hief 'perating 'fficer

Bor"ing group to report to !oard

and G !oard with findings and

recommendations

5ctions dependent on decisions of !oards7

2. "ills G& and departments to develop

mandator digital s"ills professional

development

ll communicators to pass competenc level

5! end 26147

3. '!ectives, strateg

and evaluation

:valuation framewor" developed !

wor"ing group with @: for adoption

and integration across government

5including G07

ll departments to showcase use of

evaluation framewor"

$rocurement framewor" for approved

evaluation tools.

4. ontent

development and

deliver

ontent champions group to showcase

government content on G& we!site.

To include third part developedcontent using Govt data

ssessment of evaluation results from

all 1H departments showing content

reaching and impacting "e audiences

Teams to enter awards to compare

government digital content with the

!est of the private sector.

;. tructures 0os to decide what information the

re%uire on different structural options.

:vidence structural changes to ensure

digital is more mainstream and less silo+ed.

E. dditional

recommendations

0os active engagement, wor"ing with

their digital leader on the G'V.teering Group

G0 colla!orating closel with =o0 and

0os

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10. #nne% 4 5eedbac

ummar of feed!ac" on digital capa!ilit review

16.1 !out

This nnex summarises the feed!ac" on a draft review report which was posted on the G& we!site,

comments were received until the 11th 'cto!er. -t also ta"es into account some written feed!ac"

supplied directl to the team. ome of this has alread !een incorporated into the revised draft. There

were man comments posted across the different recommendations, culture and leadership and content

development and deliver had particularl high levels of interest and de!ate.

Bhat follows !elow is a succinct high+level summar. Be have grouped all the feed!ac" under the

recommendation headings.

16.2 #eed!ac"

16.2.1 ulture, leadership, ris"sL.and -T

M ulture and leadership

o There was general consensus that strong leadership is re%uired to drive the digital agenda,

and this includes forcing s"ills improvement, more oined up wor"ing and colla!oration and

attention to ris" management.

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o ()is" avoidance is one of the most profound o!stacles to digital upta"eL.criticism/negativit

from the pu!lic in commenting functions and on social mediaLitAs part and parcel of

engagementL))

M -T

o Volume of feed!ac" and significant frustration with government -T. ecognition that some of

this is due to cost constraints !ut much is due to8 NpermissionsO

o @uch of this is driven ! attitudes towards corporate reputation ris" and trust !arriers need

to !e addressed.

o ('ften securit restrictions seem wholl disproportionate and itAs unclear wh theAre

imposed)

o ccess to software and technolog is a pro!lem for a num!er of organisations.

16.2.2 etting o!ectives

M '!ectives and strateg

o trateg development and o!ective setting for digital must ta"e place within the context of

overarching o!ectives and in colla!oration with other teams responsi!le for deliver

M :valuation

o :valuation is seen as a crucial part of digital development

o $roper evaluation will allow successes to !e shared across government for future planning,

as long as the evaluation methodolog is action+focused

o There is recognition that evaluation should include developing the most appropriate metrics,

!enchmar"ing, and !uilding dash!oards that give a view of performance across digital

channels.

16.2.3 "ills and capa!ilities

o There was agreement that whilst there will alwas !e a need for digital specialists within

Government, these specialists need competences in other areas such as press, mar"eting

and internal communications to ensure that there is a two+wa exchange of "nowledge

across these areas

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o The em!edding of individuals with specialist s"ills needs to !e !alanced against a need to up

s"ill more staff outside of communications such as polic professionals. Through ensuring

that there is an accepta!le level of "nowledge across a !road !ase, digital s"ills and

"nowledge will !ecome mainstream.

o (ll our staff should !e digitall competent, understand the digital environment and feel

confident wor"ing in it)

16.2.4 ontent development and deliver

o Bidel recognised that content creation within digital channels re%uires specific s"ills and

resource, !ut that training can help to !uild these s"ills across a wider !od of people

o The potential for sharing tools, software and e%uipment, and for sharing and repurposing

content across Government is re%uested.

o ome respondents called for a central ontent hampion to help drive this, !ut opinion was

divided a!out whether this individual would !e responsi!le for content development at a

strategic level, or would !e in essence a content producer, responsi!le for the generation of

content for dissemination.

o This viewpoint was extended ! some respondents to include a central content development

team, or a social media centre to provide assets across government

o @an respondents focused on the need for content development and deliver to !e driven! audience insight and understanding.

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16.2.; tructure

M ross Government colla!oration

o everal comments were made a!out the possi!ilit and !enefits of oint procurement and

colla!oration e.g. cloud !ased shared tools.

o ((=uge opportunit for 0igital leads to share and colla!orate across depts and teams. Land

feed into Amainstream digital ! end 2614A.))

o ()The integration of the -T and front end deliver is what digital is. $u!lishing content

through digital channels is communication + the are different things.))

M G0

o num!er of people fed !ac" on the G'V.. we!site, it was felt that departments should

have a stronger voice in G'V. governance and the time was right to loo" more closel at

how the site could meet (the spectrum of user needs) 5including government needs7

o There was also de!ate on how the site could !ecome part of the mix of channels for teams

to communicate with and engage their audiences, e.g. !ehaviour change campaigns, and

how it could !ecome more relational and less transactional to help teams achieve their

communications o!ectives.

M Bithin 0epartments

o There was agreement that digital should not !e owned centrall, !ut it can !e facilitated and

co+ordinated centrall for it to !e successful, common standards, tool"its and competencies

are also important to achieve this

o (0igital isnAt ust a!out central teams, or even ust a!out communications teams)

o -t was felt that channels and silos shouldn)t !e mixed up, communicators need to !e good at

tal"ing to people, regardless of the channel9

o nd that the communications profession !enefits from specialists, the can share expertise,

advise, champion !est practice and ensure consistenc in the wider digital arena

16.2.E dditional recommendations

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o Be should articulate a ()vision for what AgoodA digital communication loo"s li"e)) and good

practice should !e cele!rated and shared.

o To achieve the manifesto there should !e ((a single department, or individual, with whom

government department heads can consult to ensure training and mitigate ris"s.))

o single area on G'V. for national or high impact emergenc e.g. Pswine fluP or a terrorist

attac" would !e helpful.

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11. -lossary

@: + ssociation for the @easurement and :valuation of ommunications

0' + hief 0igital 'fficer

'' + hief 'perating 'fficer

+ ivil ervice eform

T's + hief Technolog 'fficers

0: + 0epartment of :nerg and limate hange

0efra + 0epartment for :nvironment, #ood and ural ffairs

0f-0 + 0epartment for -nternational 0evelopment

0


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Cabinet Office Digital Comms Capability Review

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Transcript of Cabinet Office Digital Comms Capability Review