Conducting a Public Outreach Campaign

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Conducting a Public Outreach Campaign
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Reaching Out to the Public

• 1) Clarify purpose and set goals
• 2) Identify target audiences
• 3) Develop partnerships with sources connected to
  target audiences
• 4) Create effective message

5) Identify, evaluate and select outreach
methods 6) Identify resource needs and
opportunities 7) Develop work plan, implement
strategies and evaluate outreach efforts
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Reaching Out to the Public (continued)
What do successful public outreach efforts
require?

• What is public outreach?
• Getting the word out and getting the word back
• Raising awareness by informing and educating
  community members
• Soliciting the ideas, concerns and opinions of
  citizens

• Clear, consistent and accurate information
• Easily accessible opportunities for community
  members to participate
• Partnerships with numerous sources connected to
  target audiences
• Variety of outreach methods over a period of time

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Why is public outreach important?

• Democratic societies are founded upon the
  participation of their members.
• Informed citizens can take actions to modify
  their behaviour to improve the community.

• Citizens are a diverse and knowledgeable source
  of information.
• Informed and involved citizens are much more
  likely to support specific projects and
  investments.

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1. Clarify Purpose and Set Goals
What is the main aim of your campaign?

• Goals
• Identify secondary aims of the campaign should
  be consistent with purpose
• Help ensure that campaign is developed in
  consistent and coherent manner

• Purpose
• A succinct statement that summarises overall aim
  of campaign
• A clear and unifying statement

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• Sample purpose
• To educate citizens and actively solicit their
  views on environmental issues facing the community

• Sample goals
• To increase public awareness and understanding
  about environmental issues and about actions to
  improve the community and local environment
• To inform the public about the activities of and
  information generated by the stakeholder group
• To build support for specific environmental
  programmes and policies

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2. Identify Target Audience

• Questions to help define who target audiences
  are

Examples of target audiences

• People living near pollution sites
• Parents
• Developers
• School children
• People with respiratory diseases
• Those who live off natural resources

• Who is affected by environmental problems?
• Who is affected by requirements to reduce
  pollution?
• How do community members group themselves and
  what are their interests?

Target audience flows directly from purpose and
goals. Each sector of the public will require a
different outreach strategy.
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3. Develop Partnerships with Sources Connected
to Target Audiences
Who does your target audience look to for
reliable information?

• What is a source?
• Sources are those institutions,
• associations, government entities, organisations
  and businesses that can influence your target
  audiences. Partnerships with sources are an
  effective and decentralised approach to deliver
  your message.

Sources can play a critical role in

• Helping to define your message
• Identifying outreach methods that are most
  appropriate for reaching their target audience
• Implementing specific outreach methods

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Examples of Target Audiences and Sources
Target audience
Source
Parents and school children People with
respiratory diseases People living near pollution
sites

• School
• Doctors
• Neighbourhood group

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4. Create Effective Message

• An effective message is

• Clear, user-friendly and consistent
• Derived from the purpose (secondary messages come
  from goals)
• Based upon careful research
• Developed in collaboration with information
  sources

• Shows people how the issue is relevant to their
  lives
• Explains why the problem poses a concern and what
  people can do to reduce environmental and public
  health risks
• Written in non-technical jargon and easy for
  average citizen to understand

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Getting Feedback on Your Message

• Effective public outreach can help ensure that
  your priorities and actions reflect those of
  community members.

• Getting your message across and getting feedback
  to your message can occur at the same time, e.g.
  jointly distributing an information brochure and
  community survey.

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Sample Message for LEAP

• We are a group of citizens working with our local
  government to solve the most serious
  environmental issues facing our community. We
  want to know which environmental issues you are
  most concerned about.

We welcome your suggestions and help over the
next two years to create a community that is more
environmentally and economically sustainable.
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Case Study Public Outreach Efforts in
Satoraljaujhely, Hungary

• In one of the first local environmental action
  programmes in Central and Eastern Europe, the
  citizens committee implemented these public
  outreach activities  

• Public forum A follow-up to the ranking to
  review results with public
• Media coverage Participated in three call-in
  shows on local-access television and got TV
  coverage for major project events
• Youth programmes Several schools joined clean-up
  campaigns and poster contests organised by
  project participants. A summer camp on river
  monitoring was held in July 1993
• City council awareness Regular progress reports
  were made to the mayor's office and city council

• Adult education series An 11-part series on
  environmental issues
• Public surveys Surveyed more than 2,000
  residents and used information to define the list
  of problems to be studied

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5. Identify, Evaluate and Select Outreach Methods
What is the best way to reach people?

• What is an outreach method?
• A mechanism for delivering a message
• A way of delivering a message from the source to
  the audience
• A tool based on how a particular information
  source communicates with its customers/clients
  (i.e. target audience)

Effective campaigns use several outreach methods,
such as

• Media (radio, TV, newspapers)
• School curricula and presentations
• Public meetings and focus groups
• Surveys
• Promotional posters and brochures
• Contests and special events
• Community initiatives

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Choosing among Outreach Methods

• Evaluation criteria can help you choose the most
  appropriate outreach methods. Criteria include

• Number of people who can be reached
• Personnel requirements
• Time required to implement
• Sustainability of the method
• Flexibility
• Adaptability of method to other sectors
• Lifetime of usefulness (how long before it
  becomes dated)

• Cost
• Ease of implementation
• Potential to utilise existing resources

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6. Identify Resource Needs and Opportunities
What do you need to get the job done?

• What funds, in-kind assistance and people are
  available?

• Source partners can provide low-cost
  opportunities for reaching target audiences
• Source partners should be asked what resources
  they can provide

• Resource needs are derived from the choice of
  outreach methods
• Questions of outreach campaigns cost and what
  technical assistance will be needed must be
  addressed

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7. Develop Work Plan, Implement Strategies and
Evaluate Outreach Efforts
Have you answered the what, when, who, and
how much questions? How will you know whether
your campaign is successful?

• Work plans Identify specific steps, when those
  steps will be taken, who will be responsible for
  implementing each step and costs associated with
  each step/outreach method

Indicators Tell you whether you have achieved
desired behavioral change of target audience
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Sample Goal and Indicator
Goal
Indicator
Increase public awareness

• Increase in public knowledge about environmental
  and sustainable development issues

Evaluations Help to ensure campaign results are
consistent with expectations and provide a
framework for making refinements and revisions