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The OECD Experts Group on Public Communication

 

How can institutions better leverage public communication to promote open government, greater trust, and better policy-making?

The Experts Group on Public Communication (EGPC) is a network that's part of the OECD Working Party on Open Government. It was formed as a platform to steer international dialogue and promote more effective use of the communication function as an instrument of policymaking and open government. It includes public officials from OECD member and partner countries, as well as Club of Venice members (i.e. officials from European countries affiliated with the Club and in charge of government communication). The Group also includes a variety of stakeholders who share similar objectives and values, such as academic institutions, civil society organizations, and representatives of the private sector.

The First Meeting of the OECD Experts Group on Public Communication

On 30 September 2020, the first high-level event, hosted by the UK Government Communication Service, featured a presentation of the preliminary findings of the OECD’s recent public communication surveys that targeted centres of government and ministries of health. The surveys will serve as a baseline for the upcoming first OECD international report on public communication.

The event included a session on the role of public communication and its strengths and weaknesses in terms of outreach and effectiveness in countering disinformation during the Covid-19 crisis.

Participants discussed how to chart a forward-looking agenda on the development of international principles on public communication, drawing inspiration from existing models and previous experiences of cooperation among governmental and institutional practitioners, including for how communication can contribute to the open government principles of transparency, integrity, accountability, and stakeholder participation.

The OECD Open Government Unit organized this event, in collaboration with the Club of Venice (CV) and the UK Government Communication Service International (GCSI). It aimed at gathering the members of the new OECD’s experts group on public communication for the first time.

For enquiries about the experts group, please contact: coms4og@oecd.org

Read the summary of the discussions held at the first meeting of the OECD Experts Group on Public Communication

 

Regional validation workshops

  • MENA Regional Validation Workshop: On 17 November 2020, this meeting provided an opportunity to validate the preliminary findings from the survey responses to the OECD public communication surveys answered by centres of government (CoG) and ministries of health (MH) in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia and to discuss current experiences and lessons learned in the response to the COVID-19 crisis.

  • 2nd Meeting of the OECD Network of Public Communications in Latin America and the Caribbean: On 17 November 2020, a regional validation workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean took place to validate preliminary findings for the region and discuss current experiences. EGPC members were invited to join the panel “The role of public communication during COVID19 in Latin America and the Caribbean - observations and lessons learned for the recovery ahead”. From the use of artificial intelligence to campaigns conducted with social media influencers, this session explored success stories and lessons learned on the use of novel and citizen-centric public communication initiatives in the fight against COVID-19. It also reflected on the challenges to sustain these measures beyond the response of the crisis, and the opportunities to engage with citizens through public communication initiatives for the recovery.

  • Upcoming - Effective Public Communication for an Inclusive Response and Recovery from COVID-19 (9 December, 8.00-11.00 CET / 16.00-19.00 KST): EGPC members have been invited to join the international conference organized in collaboration with the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST), and the Korean Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy Management. The event will bring together leaders from government and civil society to share their experiences and lessons for strengthening and innovating public communication to better serve as an instrument for policy and a more open government.

 

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