3 |
3.1 |
The Department of General Affairs and Information (GI) is custodian of the Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy and the focal point for preparation of the Corporate Communication Plan. GI is responsible for developing quantitative indicators to evaluate progress made in implementing the Policy within an established time frame. It is also responsible for monitoring the implementation of, and revisions to, the Corporate Communication Plan and servicing the Corporate Communication Committee (CCC), which replaces the Committee for Publications. That Committee's role and terms of reference are broadened to include coordinating the production of all information products, overseeing the communication planning process and approving Departmental/Regional Communication and Publishing Plans and related budgets. The Assistant Director-General of GI advises the Director-General, Assistant Directors-General of other departments and regional, subregional and country FAO Representatives (FAORs) on all matters relating to GI's mandate and activities.
3.2 |
The division of responsibility for communication activities within the Organization derives essentially from the traditional distinction made between technical and public information. Broadly speaking, technical information represents a distillation of data and analysis that is generally of interest and value to a specialist audience, including specialist NGOs, whereas public information is aimed at non-technical audiences such as the media, non-specialist NGOs and the general public. On this basis, the Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy identifies the following key actors in the formulation and delivery of its content:
3.3 |
The Director-General, or an individual designated by the Director-General, is the official spokesperson of the Organization on all matters of policy. The Director-General holds primary responsibility for institutional communication with Member Governments and for statements of policy. Within the context of the participatory planning process, the Director-General sets priorities for corporate messages and activities.
3.4 |
The Department of General Affairs and Information is responsible for the Organization's public information, promotional and public relations activities as well as for the management of the World Agricultural Information Centre (WAICENT). The Department also provides a wide range of information support services as well as conference services.
3.5 |
The Information Division provides advice and, as resources permit, support for the communication activities of all other FAO units. It prepares and produces information materials designed for a general audience, including advocacy publications, videos, CD-ROMs, material for presentations, displays and exhibits. It also provides guidance and support in the preparation and production of information materials of a technical nature. The Information Division ensures that FAO publications and periodicals meet professional and commercial standards and reflect a consistent, identifiable corporate image. It also maintains a distribution list and is responsible for the promotion of sales and the Organization's effectiveness as a major academic/technical publisher.
3.6 |
The Library and Documentation Systems Division is responsible for the management and development of WAICENT at the corporate level in cooperation with the technical divisions that are responsible for the generation and validity of the data. As part of this managerial and operational role, it has overall responsibility for definitions, codes and classifications adopted in all working systems that generate information of corporate value. It is also responsible for ensuring quality and consistency in the presentation of information disseminated through electronic networks.
3.7 |
The Conference, Council and Protocol Affairs Division is responsible for the management of all meeting rooms and provides a complete conference service that covers protocol, documentation, translation and interpretation, messenger and related services and multimedia and related facilities. It advises and assists technical divisions as well as decentralized offices and units in the preparation and operation of conferences and meetings.
3.8 |
A multidisciplinary team of staff from GI provides expertise in planning communication campaigns encompassing all media and information channels, including printed and electronic publications, television and radio, the press, WAICENT and the Internet, presentations, displays and exhibits. The team helps evaluate communication needs and identify the most effective combination of activities and products to meet them. It can also assist in preparing a plan and budget for implementation and advise on internal or external specialists to perform the work.
3.9 |
The mandate of FAO's decentralized structures encompasses all communication activities within their geographical areas of responsibility. They maintain regular communication with national governments, local technical counterparts, NGOs and the media, and are responsible for presenting the key messages of FAO's corporate communication campaign as well as for distributing information materials supplied by headquarters to the intended audiences. They may also produce locally targeted information materials or repackage information provided by headquarters in order to address local needs and audiences. They maintain libraries that serve as sources of FAO information. FAORs' plans for communication activities, prepared in consultation with the Regional Information Officer (the Information Division's focal point in the region), serve as an important input to the regional and departmental communication plans. FAORs also provide input to regional and corporate distribution lists to assist in targeting information effectively.
3.10 |
Technical departments hold the primary responsibility for communication with their counterparts in government, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, technical and academic institutions, and commerce. This responsibility extends to the content of technical publications, contributions to journals (print or electronic), information distributed over the Internet and other computer networks, and participation in technical meetings. Guidelines exist for the presentation of such material and assistance is available from the Organization's editorial and design specialists.
3.11 |
In the area of development support communication, primary responsibility rests with the specialists in the Research, Extension and Training Division of the Sustainable Development Department.
3.12 |
When public information activities touch on topics within technical departments' field of technical competence, the departments are responsible for briefing communication professionals, providing the most authoritative FAO data and analysis available, along with information about relevant policies, programmes and projects. They also review public information products and clear their content for technical accuracy prior to publication and distribution.
3.13 |
The planning and review procedures that are built into the Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy are designed to focus communication activities and strengthen cooperation in their implementation. Key elements in these procedures include:
3.14 |
The Organization's main policy and programme priorities are defined in its Medium-term Plan, while implementation is detailed and costed in its Programme of Work and Budget. Corporate communication priorities and the outcome of planning exercises should be reflected in the process, as they are essential to the dialogue through which the governing bodies chart the course of FAO.
3.15 |
Major communication objectives of an enduring nature need to be presented in the Medium-term Plan. More specific communication campaigns and priorities are described and budgeted in the Programme of Work and Budget. The annual planning exercise, outlined in the following section, is designed to assist in the preparation of these elements by providing justifications and costings for the communication activities to be carried out by the departments and decentralized structures.
3.16 |
Budgeted communication plans are required at the corporate, departmental, divisional, regional and national levels. Their preparation, as foreseen in the Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy, offers an opportunity for units to put forward their needs in consultation with communication specialists as follows:
3.17 |
The departmental and regional plans provide the primary inputs for the overall Corporate Communication Plan, which will be prepared by communication specialists in the light of priorities established by senior management. The planning process provides an opportunity for the Organization to think ahead and take the initiative, rather than respond to events on an ad hoc basis, i.e. to be proactive rather than reactive. It also makes the consultation and support services of the communication professionals available to all units and decentralized structures on the basis of corporate and departmental priorities.
3.18 |
The planning process depends on, and contributes to, an improved exchange of information within the Organization. This improved internal communication and dialogue, in turn, provides staff in technical departments and decentralized structures with the shared knowledge that they need to make a meaningful contribution to the definition and implementation of corporate priorities.
3.19 |
An annual communication plan cannot anticipate all the events, opportunities and needs that may arise during the course of a year. Flexibility must be retained for the opportunistic "riding" of external events. The Corporate Communication Committee, which is serviced by GI, periodically reviews implementation of the Corporate Communication Plan and makes amendments or additions to it. At the request of technical departments or decentralized structures, a team of communication specialists can be convened to help plan and implement an effective and comprehensive communication response to unexpected events.
3.20 |
Periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of communication activities in projecting defined messages to target audiences is an essential input to the planning process, but quantifying the impact that specific information activities have on a broad audience can be difficult, expensive and ultimately unrewarding. However, the strategy of targeted communication activities envisioned in FAO's Corporate Communication Policy and Strategy, whereby key individuals or institutions may be identified by name, leads to useful evaluations of the impact achieved by an information campaign.
3.21 |
In some cases, the target audiences can be counted in the hundreds or thousands of individuals, and occasional qualitative surveys of such compact, well-defined groups are both affordable and highly desirable. Surveys should be aimed at key audiences such as government policy- and decision-makers, influential journalists and news media executives, and NGO representatives. They should focus on the "background" level of understanding and support for the Organization's priority activities and concerns as well as on the effectiveness of corporate communication campaigns in heightening awareness.
3.22 |
Less formal evaluation is also possible by FAO staff in the course of their day-to-day work. They can maintain regular contact with a representative sample of the Organization's key target audiences, providing feedback on the impact of particular communication activities. As part of the participatory planning process, FAO staff in technical departments, decentralized structures and communication units should gather responses to FAO's communication activities and information materials among those target audiences with whom they are in regular contact. Although far from statistically valid, a synthesis of these reactions can contribute to a qualitative evaluation that will prove useful in planning future activities directed towards specific audiences.
