Assessment of Government and ministry communications activities completed

In March 2016, the Prime Minister’s Office appointed a working group to assess the communications of the Government and individual ministries. Its mandate was to determine the current state of the communications activities and identify areas where improvements could be made. Additionally, the working group was to submit proposals for how Government communications should be developed by 2020 and how the communications activities could be modernised to make them more efficient and better coordinated.

The working group’s report is now completed. Based on its findings, the working group calls for greater coordination between the Government and the ministries in how communications activities are carried out. The working group feels that the first priority is to address issues concerning the responsibilities and mandates that are essential to the further development of communications from the point of view of the Government as a whole. Secondly, the working group lists the key decisions, practical measures and recommendations that would be possible by resolving the responsibility and mandate issues.

The working group recommends that the responsibility and mandate issues that are essential for coordinating communications be included in the Government Programme and that these should be defined and updated in greater detail in the Government action plan. The working group stresses that it is necessary to agree on the primary responsibility for communications at the government-programme level to be able to develop Government communications cost-effectively and without too much delay. If the recommendation is followed, all the Government communications will be integrated with the primary responsibility assumed by the Prime Minister’s Office. However, mutual trust should be built in a way that ensures seamless cooperation and smooth basic communications work by those with the best expertise in the issue at hand.

As far as the problem of drawing a line between political and public servant communications is concerned, the working group proposes active efforts by adopting a model in which both political and public servant communications would be coordinated by communications directors at the individual ministries insofar as the communications relate to the implementation of the Government Programme.

The working group commends the communications departments on paying sufficient attention to crisis communications. Even so, challenges are increasing and becoming more complex. Aside from crisis communications, more consideration should be given to the growing role of international communications and the need to prepare for such.

In the working group’s view, it is unrealistic to expect the resources available for communications purposes to increase. Consequently, it is imperative to streamline activities and eliminate duplication. It would also be advisable to make more efficient use of the shared web-publishing platform, and its further development should be managed more effectively.

Report on the Communications Activities of the Government and Ministries (in Finnish)

Twitter: #vnvie2020

For more details on the assessment (see the press release of the Prime Minister’s Office dated 8 March 2016, in Finnish)

Inquiries: Jari Tourunen, Chair of the Working Group, tel. +358 (0)400 560 836, and Timo Lankinen, State Under-Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 (0)295 160 300