What is strategic communication for NPMs?

Strategic communication is about connecting with the people who can help make change happen. To be effective, communication must have a clear purpose, which helps the NPM meet its broader objectives. 

The first question to guide any communication activity is: why are we communicating? The answer may be: to inform, to persuade, to start a conversation, or to build trust and credibility, among others. The purpose should always be linked to a key operational or strategic objective of the NPM.

The next step is to develop the right messages and then share them in the right way, with the right audience. For the purposes of this toolkit, we mean external communication with a wider audience, distinct from the NPM’s more formal and confidential dialogue with the authorities around the implementation of recommendations.

The messages NPMs may wish to communicate will evolve over time, depending on the stage of their development. Newly-established NPMs, for example, may need to focus on raising awareness of their mandate and role. More established NPMs might focus on public advocacy around particular thematic priorities or other areas of their work. 

The way NPMs communicate will vary depending on their objective and the audience they wish to engage. They might communicate directly with the media, through press releases, interviews and public statements; they might publish reports, findings and recommendations via the NPM website or on social media; or they may host community dialogues or roundtables. 

The audience that NPMs target will vary depending on the objective they seek to achieve. Strategic communication might engage, for example: the media, civil society organisations (e.g.with a health, justice, human rights or related focus) and international or regional partners. These are different audiences from what we might call the NPM’s “core” stakeholders, which include the authorities, other oversight bodies with related mandates, and members of civil society advisory groups, among others. 

To be effective, communication initiatives should be developed in conjunction with the NPM's broader strategy development and operational planning.