Agenda - 05-15-2014 - 5 - Laserfiche WebLink

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K MEMORANDUM TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners Michael Talbert, Interim County Manager FROM: Rod Visser, Consultant SUBJECT: Report on Board and Staff Interviews about a Strategic Communications Plan DATE: May 8, 2014 Following discussion during the April 8, 2014 Board of Commissioners work session topic regarding a Strategic Communications Plan, the Board directed the Manager to ascertain the degree to which consensus may (or may not) exist regarding elements, purpose, responsibilities, communication tools, and target audiences that should be considered for incorporation at a future date in a possible Plan. The Manager asked me to gather this information through a series of interviews with Commissioners and staff. I conducted individual interviews with five County Commissioners, with the Director of Public Affairs, and with the Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners. I also conducted a group interview involving staff members of various County departments that are currently involved in departmental public outreach efforts. The County Manager participated in that group discussion. Generally, I conducted the interviews around a series of baseline questions arranged under eight topic headings. That set of topics and questions is included for reference at Attachment A. In short, my findings are that there is a substantial degree of consensus among Commissioners and staff that there is value in developing and implementing an Orange County Strategic Communications Plan. I heard little or no indication that there are diametrically opposed or mutually exclusive points of view about any element of a Plan that would prove to be an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining an approved Plan. To be sure, there were differing viewpoints on a wide range of potential Plan elements — for example, regarding the precise composition and role of a strategic communications team. However, I would characterize those differences as the types that are likely to be satisfactorily worked through by focusing on underlying interests. I was struck by the degree of Commissioner and staff open- mindedness to consider alternatives, even when they have fairly strong opinions about a particular aspect of a Plan. With approximately 10 hours of interview time, I have purposefully not attempted to report everything I heard. Rather, my summary report (Attachment B) is organized around the eight topics that grouped the baseline interview questions. Under each topic, I offer my observations about specific points of consensus and major recurring themes that arose about that topic. I have also included in each section a set of bullet points that record or paraphrase individual respondent comments. Many of these were not necessarily recurring, and in some cases at odds with each other. However, each seemed important enough to me to make sure that the thought does not get lost with the passage of time. I hope that these individual comments might be helpful to Board members in formulating your decisions at this work session about how to proceed with a Strategic Communication Plan. I also created a list titled "Issues for Future Consideration" (Attachment C) with the intent that various "kernels of wisdom" raised by Commissioners and staff during interviews be preserved for review, discussion, and perhaps action by a communications team, should the Board decide to pursue that approach. Attachment A - Baseline Interview Questions Attachment B — Strategic Communications Plan Summary Report Attachment C - Issues for Future Consideration