Event Summary: Strategic Communication in e-GovernmentHeld on 12th April 2006 at the World Bank, WashingtonD.C.
Introduction
The session explored the importance of applying strategic communication tools in the design and implementation of e-Government projects, and was attended by both onsite and online audiences.
Oleg Petrov[1]opened the session by outlining the agenda, and Kareem Aziz[2], the session moderator, explained that it was initiated while he was task-managinge-Government studies in PakistanandBangladesh, and the clients had asked for assistance in developing communication strategies. Therefore, this session would be useful for these or other projects, and is important because communication is often an underestimated aspect of e-Government implementation.
Bruno Lanvin[3], the Chair for the event, elaborated on the importance of communicating about e-Government. He commented that in the e-World, what often works is not “e” for electronic, but “e” for enthusiasm. Communication is also not as much about e-Government, but “around” e-Government and its importance for a country’s development and strategic goals. It is a difficult area because e-Government encompasses issues that are inter-disciplinary;hence the way it is initially pitched or communicated has a very fundamental influence on what one can do later.
Keynote[4]
José-Manuel Bassat[5], the keynote speaker, took the audience through his presentation slides. Firstly, he discussed Strategic Communication(SC) and its relevance to e-Government. He pointed out that the definition of SCprovided is one of many, but this was chosen becauseit emphasizes “voluntary behavior” for “specific audiences”, highlighting the fact that SC is “not about selling or pushing anything”, but sensitizing and engagingthe targeted audience to adopt new behaviors. He also stressed that the most important word in the definition of e-Governmentprovided is “transform” because e-Governmentfundamentallyrelates to social transformation, which the most important impact.
Joséfurther discussed the anticipated obstacles facing e-Government, and runs through the list of the key internal and external audiences. He employs both the stakeholder analysis and the five management decisions tools in this process, and emphasizes that there are issues which SC programs cannot change, especially those that are more structural in nature (for example, a culture of confidentiality or secrecy).
He moved on to examine the experiences of Chile, Brazil and Sri Lanka and qualified the section by noting that e-Government is a new concept and hence there is not much past work to leverage on. There is also limited information available becauseprojects eitherdo not have full-fledged communication strategies, or practitioners “might not even be aware that they are doing communication”. Finally, he listed recommended interventions for communicating about e-Government, both in the long and short term.
Comments / Q & A Session:
Q:The point that that e-Governmentcannot be driven by technology is restated, since it is fundamentally about a better government. However, technology is a critical part of such initiatives, so how should SC avoid alienatinggroups of technology-related personnel?
A:The technology personnelshould be one of the key segmented audiences in the communication strategy. They should know that they are crucial in the program’s success and expansion, and need to be precisely targeted, studied and engaged. Communication programs should then be devised so that they are not alienated.
One possible issue relates to communicating e-Government to high-level officials as bringing services tothe people, so these officialsmay gain political mileage (political message). Such messages might cause these officials to become overly keen to roll-out e-Services, and at that point they need to be reminded that the back-office is also important (technology message), so there is an issue of reconciling these differing messages. Therefore, the biggest difficultly is going between the two messages, and bringing them together in a coherent manner.
Q.How to do public opinion polling on e-Governmentwhenis not something that most respondents may know about, possibly due to the digital divide?
A:Polling and opinion research should be on the problem and not the solution. It will not be productive to poll on services that people are not familiar with or not internalized. A related question might arise - “e-Government is the answer but by the way, what was the question?”. Therefore, starting with the problem is certainly a very healthy attitude. For example, polling can be conducted on the respondents’ satisfaction with the current level of services since they will be more familiar with their own problems.
Q.Some government may not want to communicate due to a culture of secrecy or confidentiality, and they will need to be convinced first. How can this be done?
A:It relates to the “Ivory Tower Syndrome” covered in the slides. This will not be easy and may require a long-term effort. Some possibilities include finding entry points with officials or offices, specific people within ministries oragencies, or early adopters who are more willing to communicate. Subsequently, the SC program should aim to demonstrate the improved results due to communication, for example, success stories from provinces or regions where officials are more forthcoming or open.
Q.What is the typical cost of communication in relation to the total project cost?
A:The platitude, “not to communicate is more expensive due to project failure”, applies in general. An “off the top” estimate for a good communicationcomponent is about 10- 15% of the budget (for those without an infrastructure component).
Q.There is the riskthatassistance from the bank in communication may be instrumentalized for political purposes. For example, the Bank’s work in communication might be hijacked for political purposes / propaganda during election campaigns, and the Bank might then be seen as taking sides. Is there a lot of sensitivity on this issue?
A:There is a lot of sensitivity and it is an important topic that recurs often. Thechallenge is in ensuring that the communication program is not hijacked for political purposes whilst helping champions to communicate the program and providing them with the tools at the same time. The Bank had stopped assistance in some cases, and the personal opinion is to draw the line when it is clear thatthe Bank’s communication support has been used foster personal political interests. Therefore,although the benefits of communication are clear, there is an ethical limit for the Bank.
Q.It had been observed that both the incumbent and opposition parties may express support for e-Government programs during political campaigns, thus there appears to be an element of political sustainability. Is this an exception or something you find time-to-time?
A:Idea is “useful” because it involves turning a government policy into a state policy. Such public commitment helps but they do not translate into automatic success, since electoral promises may not be kept.
Q.There will be losers and opposition, and programs can suffer significantly if they are not well-managed. How do youmanage the losers- avoid, engage, or remunerate them?
A:Be open, transparent, and engage them, otherwise rumors maybe become the mean of communication, and they are usuallyworse than reality. Communication is also a two-way process, thus start by listening to their needs, concerns, fears. Consider losers right from the start and look at ways to minimize their losses, and engage them so that they do not lose as much (for example, compensation or retraining programs). In this process, there is a need to keep in mind the greater good and note that losers might have internalized their loss (they would probably have realized that some of their functions arealready obsolete).
Q.It can be “dangerous” to communicate e-Government theories, plans, or potential as it creates unrealistic expectations. How do we manage that?
A:Managing expectations is a crucial part of communication. Therefore, over-communication should be avoided by linking it to a realistic e-Government plan with tangible outcomes.
Q.It is important to understand the core problems of stakeholders, and SC has to take into account micro realities, otherwise the communication effort will not be useful. For example, a micro-credit scheme in Vietnam is struggling simply because it had not recognized that taking a loan is a loss of face for the targeted beneficiaries.
A:This relates to segmenting groups and understanding their challenges and fears, and customizing each message for each of the segmented audiences.
Q:Is there any field experience of mitigatingresistance to e-Government?
A:In the Chilean example, there was resistance from accountants to an online tax returns system. The government mitigated resistance by providinga new softwarethathelps the accountants to serve businesses in a more efficient and different way.
Q: Is there field experience of reviving failed projects from a communication perspective?
A:It is tricky and very difficult because there is nothing worse than starting from“below zero”. Focus on the real facts (for example, by showing that a program already exists) instead of intentions, ideas or visions.
Q:Usually the client countries are convinced about e-Government, but not the donors. What communication strategies should be adopted to win their support?
A: Make continuous effort to mainstream it within the field andamongst management so that it can be put into the agenda. In addition, focus on the value by starting with aspects of e-Government this is important and needed by donors,andthose they have already accepted. For example, eCustoms can be proposed to a donor focused on corruption and participation in trade. There are also many success stories / anecdotesthat can be used, but the challenge is to put them together so that they give a macroeconomic picture that means sense for donors.
Q:Doyou think that e-Procurement is an aspect of e-Governmentthat is very difficult to promote and implement due to resistance to the transparencyit brings about?
A:e-Procurement is at the core of what e-Government is about - it can save a lot of moneyquickly and spectacularly, but there is also alot of money going around, so there is temptation and corruption coupled with established and vested interest. Experience shows that e-Procurement projects need strong leaders, champions and political will from the very top. It should also be a cross ministerial exercise because this enables each ministry to cross compete /showcase that they are not corrupt, and enablesinformation sharing across many channels, making it more transparentand efficient. However, there is a risk that e-Procurement can go too far. In Turkey for example, civil servants simply go for the cheapest bidders(objective valuation) to protect themselves, rather than choosing on quality (subjective valuation).
Conclusion
In his concluding comments, Bruno outlineda few fundamental communication messages from the session. Three relating to communicationin general were:
i.know your audience
ii.customized the message, putting forward the realistic value to increase buy-in, and customizing for all parties, including losers
iii.communication should be rooted in local culture, e.g. the value of information and secrecy in a society. Thus managing change is of utmost importance
The fivefundamental messages applying in particular to e-Governmentwere:
i.if we do not present e-Government as technology driven, we will increase the chances of success and buy-in
ii.if we are able to identify the benefits to all stakeholders, we also make it society-wide effortrather than a purely government-led effort
iii.e-Government communication is country / context specific and e-Government isa fast moving area. Therefore, different approaches for each context, promoting best practices, and encouraging curiosity about what works in other countries / regions etc., is important. Thus the Bankis uniquely positioned to identify these best communication practices
iv.the formulation of the message should differ by audience (including donors)
iv.the core message for the session is thate-Government will not succeed without champions. The champion is not necessarily the person whobestunderstands the technicalities of implementation, but the one who can communicate about it.Therefore, the Bank should help build eLeadership and eChampionship capacity
Joséadds that for e-Government to be successful, it should not be seen as a government initiative, but as an e-Society effort. Therefore, it is necessary to bring aboard all sectors of society and establish public-private partnerships etc. In this way it can result in an engaged society that demands services, at the same time as it provides feedback on e-Government.
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[1] Oleg Petrov is the Facilitator for the e-Development Thematic Group
[2] Kareem Aziz is an ICT Policy Specialist with the GICT within the World Bank Group
[3] Bruno Lanvin is the Co-Chair for e-Development Thematic Group
[4] Refer to downloadable slides at
[5] José-Manuel Bassat is a Senior Communication Officer at the Development Communication Division of the World Bank's External Affairs Office (EXTCD)