Government failing to communicate The Big Society effectively says CIPR CEO
Jane Wilson, CEO of the CIPR has said that the Government is failing to communicate the idea surrounding its initiative ‘The Big Society’ to the people of the UK.
Writing in a blog for the CIPR website, Wilson says that she believes that the initiative is ‘struggling to break through in the consciousness of the people who will deliver it’ and there remains a lack of awareness and understanding from the public still as to what the initiative is.
“The big society is a message that, if it is to work, must resonate outside Whitehall and in the communities that will be at the cutting edge. The results of the government's efforts at communicating it so far do not seem to reflect this,” commented Wilson.
She added that, should the initiative take off, it would still face ‘a number of challenges’ as well as opportunities for communicators, including allowing local councils more freedom to find solutions, and make local government a more attractive for ‘community minded’ people to operate within.
“In general, all organisations involved in the local public services are going to have to get their message across on a more local level,” warned Wilson. “Communicators could be in the best position to help organisations structure themselves internally in a way that will best enable them to meet the challenges of the big society, not just in terms of their own department but in terms of the wider organisation as well. Corporate Social Responsibility could come into its own as well.”
Wilson will discuss The Big Society alongside Claire Carter from Bell Pottinger on CIPR TV tomorrow at 5pm.