Our communications support offer

Work can be conducted virtually or in person.


One-day communications healthcheck 

A small review team will spend a day meeting individuals and teams within your council. The healthcheck will include:

  • Overall review of your current communications function
  • Review of your communications strategy
  • Assessment of current communications activity, capability and capacity
  • Quick wins to help you tackle key issues and a summary report

Three-day communications review 

For councils looking for a more in-depth and strategic view of their wider communications activity, we offer a three-day communications review. This includes:

  • In-depth review of your current communications function
  • In-depth review of your strategy and advice on developing an authentic corporate narrative and place brand
  • Detailed assessment of current communications activity
  • Feedback session - a set of quick wins to help you tackle key issues and a detailed report with longer term recommendations

Led by an experienced senior communications manager, the review team will be assembled depending on the areas of specialism you would like reviewed.

Both our one-day health checks and three-day reviews can be tailored to cover your communications around specific issues or service areas.

Contact us to book your communications review.


Strategic support

Communications without strategy does not work. A communications strategy, an authentic corporate narrative, clear priorities and a compelling place brand are core components of effective, strategic communications.

We offer workshops and support to help councils develop strategies.


Workshops 

Examples of workshops delivered by the LGA include:

  • A workshop with cabinets and executives covering the importance of good communications, the role of members in engaging with their communities and developing an administration’s priorities into a compelling narrative. Led by a member peer and a communications professional
  • A workshop focussed on crisis communications and/or reputation, including the strategic planning and practical response to major incidents and unexpected events. Led by an experienced communications professional

Contact us to discuss your workshop requirements.


Strategy development

We offer support with the development and writing of a communications strategy and/or corporate plan. Working with your communications team, we will spend time onsite helping to shape the core elements of your strategy and provide advice on what good looks like.

 

Contact us to book your strategic support.


Organisational and place narrative 

Support to develop an organisational and/or place narrative can be tailored to a council’s needs. Examples include: 

  • A roundtable session with senior management teams to help deliver corporate narrative and organisational priorities and campaigns, led by an experienced communications professional
  • Support from communications professionals to develop place narrative through facilitated workshops, focus groups and communications activity  

Contact us to discuss support to develop narrative.


Communicating in a political environment 

In this session, an experienced communications professional will guide participants through:

  • The Code of Practice on Local Authority Publicity 
  • Communicating during the pre-election period 
  • Principles of effective working between communications professionals/ teams and elected members 
  • Examples of good practice

Lasting around three hours, typically, this session can be tailored to council officers and/ or members’ needs.

Contact us to book this session or to find out more.


#FutureComms skills audit 

Using the themes of our #FutureComms resource, we offer an audit of your authority’s capacity and capability to deliver the core components. A written report will provide recommendations, including advice around training and development and recruitment.

Contact us to book your skills audit.


Social media training 

We offer social media training for councillors and officers. Bespoke courses can be arranged to suit the size of the group as well as the experience and needs of the participants.

Depending on your needs, we can cover topics such as:

  • Understanding social media best practice (what, when and where)
  • Engaging with your audience
  • Content planning 
  • Content creation
  • Evaluation
  • Dealing with challenging situations online
  • Finding an effective and appropriate ‘digital voice’

Contact us to find out more and book your social media support.


Media training 

We can help commission media training for individuals (e.g. Leaders and chief executives) as well as for small groups, such as cabinets.

Contact us to discuss media training.