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

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Attachment B Prepared 050814 SUMMARY REPORT OF INTERVIEWS ORANGE COUNTY STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN PURPOSE: There was no single specific purpose for a communications plan that was identified by multiple respondents. However, a wide range of thoughts were advanced that, taken broadly, reflect the view that the County and the Board should be proactively framing the message for the public. It is inappropriate and ineffective to be in a reactive mode of trying to fix incomplete or incorrect information that may be disseminated initially by media or by people who may not have the full picture. 1. "to make sure there is very good communication between the Board and citizens, so they know what we offer, what our priorities are, how to communicate with us, and so they have an understanding of the process by which we make our decisions, how they can best fit in, and how we can include them" 2. absolutely involves two way communication 3. for outreach efforts, there ought to be some clearinghouse and coordination and common elements 4. importance of "transparency ", so community knows when and why we're meeting, what's on agenda 5. need to develop a plan for coordinating information during a crisis 6. to enhance communication between Board members and the rest of Orange County government, including employees 7. provide more direct means for the Board to shape the County's message 8. all the objectives from the draft 1999 plan; the 4 principles in the January 31, 2014 draft outline; and the Town of Chapel Hill's Communications Strategy goal statement about "increased public awareness and participation" - taken together, these describe what a Plan should be doing 9. engage the public with how our government is here for the public good 10. "humanize the County" 11. results of staff "word association" exercise on purposes of a Plan: consistency; quality; vision; flexibility; public relations; priorities; some structure; communication about the County; transparency; apolitical; unified message (after the vote is taken) 12. having a Plan will force us to be proactive rather than reactive — how do we lead on an issue instead of getting bombarded by the same questions? SCOPE: There is consensus among Board and staff that the Plan should be county -wide in focus. A number of respondents noted that within that broad focus there should be room to specifically address communications to and from the Board of Commissioners and the public. There was also general consensus that County departments headed by elected or appointed officials should be invited to participate in the process of developing a County -wide plan, with modest variations in outlook about exactly where in the process those officials and departments should provide input. 1. primary focus should be on the broader Plan; but it would be nice to know what's on citizens' minds, and in that sense, the Plan should be between Commissioners, the Clerk, and the public 2. should invite elected /appointed department heads to participate if they want to 3. better to get broad Board agreement on some goals and come up with a "top order" Plan; we would then go through the broad outline systematically and then flesh it out 4. there should be a broad countywide plan that includes communication to and from the BOCC 5. "don't let perfect be the enemy of good "; "if it's important to do, it's important to do it well, but it doesn't have to be perfect"