Communication and making the NPM known.

A new institution has the opportunity to build their identity and their reputation. A new institution should discuss how it wants to be seen by those outside of the new institution.

Its preventive mandate gives NPMs a unique role, including through focusing on risk factors and root causes and engaging in dialogue with the authorities to resolve them. Communicating this mandate and how it is different from that of other institutions is important for new institutions.

The specific nature of the institution’s mandate and the values that underpin its work should be reflected in its initial interactions with civil society, the authorities, and the media.

For this reason it is important that new institutions take decisions about who can speak to the media and other partners and what key messages they should transmit. The results of this process can later be codified in a more formal communications strategy.