Communication Management in Public Sectors

Training objectives of the course

After attending this course, the students should:
a) understand the communication relationship between the public sector and its main stakeholders: citizens, businesses, media and new media, NGOs, other Institutions
b) identify the communication strategies and tools mainly used in the public sector and the differences in comparison to the private sector
c) apply the knowledge described above to identifying the evolution of public sector communication and its differentiation into institutional, political, and social purpose communication, particularly in this period of high human, social, economic, and political distress
d) assess public sector communication strategies and policies in and for Europe, with a particular focus on North-South, East-West, in the light of the present critical and crisis communication issue
f) get the correct skills with which communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, mainly through the study and critical analysis of real cases in group-work
g) get the learning skills necessary to continue to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy

Course programme

In line with the learning outcomes, the main content of the course will be related to the analysis of public sector communication activities, mainly on an international scenario.

Content will be structured as follows:
- definition of Public sector and its communication eco-system: institutions, citizens, private businesses, Non -Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Public sector employees, Media & New media, public opinion
- the role of dialogue in public sector communication: closing gaps between citizens and public organisations
- public sector communication and intangible assets (i.e. reputation, trust, satisfaction, engagement, etc.)
- public sector communication and media
- public sector communication and social media (the so-called ‘new-media ecology’)
- public sector communication and nonprofit organisations
- public sector communication and public diplomacy
- public branding (the role of tourism, culture, brands, people, and public policies to enhance the image of nations and cities)
- Crisis management and crisis communication in Public Sector
- public Sector communication vs. propaganda
- public sector communication as related to e-democracy and e-government

Vertical issues for analysis (to be addressed in the group’s project works):
o Europe
o migration, cooperation and trade
o energy policies and climate change
o the impact of the recent crisis on public sector communication
o smart and creative cities: communication issues and challenges

Didactic Methods

The course is divided into two parts with different teaching methods, which are strongly interrelated even during the same lesson.
The first part is devoted to the concept and methods and will be based on a combination of lectures and case discussions.
The second part is devoted to developing a group project with the assistance of the instructors. Students will present and discuss their analyses in class.

The course will use an online community to share information and materials.

Learning assessment procedures

The learning level of students will be assessed through the following format and methods.
For attending students:
- group project (based on an assigned case-study) evaluation (up to 10 pts)
- an individual written test, consisting of 3 (three) open questions, scoring up to 7 points each (total obtainable points: 31).

Grades are expressed in x/30.