HEV course 202 case study
Communication Plan for Sunnyplace
The city of Sunnyplace, North Carolina is undertaking a large project along their busiest
stretch of road in the city. Intersections along 51st street see upwards of 50,000 cars every day;
there is a need to widen the road to four lanes, two in each direction, along with a turning lane
down the middle. Sunnyplace has a population of 81,560 as of the 2010 census and is growing
rapidly with numerous roads throughout the city becoming congested. City leaders have adopted
a plan to improve their street system, one large project at a time. 51st street is the biggest problem
area and poses a lot of dangers to drivers and pedestrians. The street runs east-west and stretches
4 miles with businesses running on both sides.
Sunnyplace is a very tight knit community on the cuff of development explosion, and
while the development is good news for the local economy, the city also realizes it has some
major problems that need fixing before the growth of development and population can happen.
Sunnyplace would also like to include citizen opinions and participation throughout the design
process and implementation. In the past, many projects were designed, approved, and
implemented without little or any community knowledge. This time the citizens have come
forward stating their need to be involved in future developments and designs of their city.
The city of Sunnyplace does not employ a public affairs coordinator (PAC) and that has
caused some problems when trying to communicate between the public and city officials.
Citizens have started to feel that their views and opinions are not important to city staff and
therefore have started to retaliate and shut down. The city employees are not used to dealing with
public involvement and that is causing problems with communication between the public and
city. There has been talk of developing a communication plan, but without a PAC employed, that
means a city official will have to develop the plan.
Sunnyplace has hired you as the head official that is responsible for designing and
implementing a well written communication plan that can be used for this project and for future
projects as well.
Discussion Questions:
What are your goals and objectives? Who is your audience and what messages would you
like to communicate to them? Establish your strategies and tactics, what are they? What does the
budget look like, and what is your timeline for the project? How will you implement and
evaluate the project and communication plan?
HEV course 202 case study
Worksheet #1
Goals and Objectives:
Audience and Messages:
Strategies and Tactics:
Budget and Timeline:
Implementation and Evaluation: