daniela.vingiani@uniroma1.it
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND INFORMATION
OFFICE
Rome, April 12th 2011
PUBLIC RELATIONS: FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
PR is in general a profession with varying definitions because of its many functions and perceptions.
Main functions can usually include:
• COMMUNICATION
• COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• CRISIS MANAGEMENT
• CUSTOMER AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
• MEDIA RELATIONS
• MEDIATION
• PUBLICITY
• SPEECH WRITING
• VISITOR RELATIONS
Very often these activities are not carried out by a single office, but by a series
of different offices strongly linked to each other (we use to call them transversal activities).
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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POSSIBLE DEFINITIONS
“A FUNCTION THAT SERVES BOTH THE ORGANIZATION AND
PUBLIC INTERESTS”
“THE PRACTICE OF MANAGING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
AN ORGANIZATION AND ITS PUBLICS”
The peculiar aspect of PR function is that the services provided are
not tangible and that is what sets it apart from advertising. The aim
is to serve and support the organization’s publics (or stakeholders)
and to build stable and fruitful relations with specific audiences or
general public.
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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PR OFFICERS: SKILLS AND ABILITIES
PR Officers must know how to:
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speak clearly
write clearly
listen actively
think critically
These skills are necessary because in the field of public relations
there is a constant communication undergoing between
professionals and their publics. And PR officers are very often
required to come up with solutions to problems their audience may
face.
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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ORGANIZATION CHART
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND INFORMATION OFFICE COLLOCATION IN SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY
Rector’s Activities
Support Division
(Manager: Franco Baraldi)
Public Relations and
Information Office
(Head: Daniela Vingiani)
Daniela Vingiani
Press and
Communication Office
(Head: Alessandra
Barberis)
April 12 2011
….
….
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Pagina 5
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND INFORMATION OFFICE:
“EVERY – DAY” ACTIVITIES
The Public Relations and Information Office is a qualified centre of
assistance and guidance, specialized in finding out the appropriate
solutions for every single case and to manage the reports concerning
difficulties and problems.
In particular, the Office provides information regarding the University
organization, the reference regulation, the persons in charge and the
status of the administrative proceedings.
The services offered are addressed to all kind of University users, both
internal (personnel, students, etc.), and external (other administrative
bodies, firms, etc).
The Public Relations and Information Office favours the development
and integration of internal communication among administrative
offices and proposes periodical verification of the quality of the services
offered.
The Office is also deeply committed in reinforcing the information
dissemination through modern communication channels preferring
e-mail and on line services.
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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USERS PERCENTAGE
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April 12 2011
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CHANNELS
Information is provided through different channels:
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Face - to - face interaction
Telephone
E-mail
Website
The creation of a “chat space “ is in progress and should be
implemented in a near future. The chat should make the
interaction easier and friendlier, in a more informal
environment.
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Both front office and back office activities are carried out in a
collaborative environment with the application of common
knowledge management tools.
In particular:
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Shared data bases and folders
Web mail
Electronic Document Management System
Wikis
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April 12 2011
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INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
For more than ten years our office has been working very hard
on developing and maintaining a network of relations that
can allow effective communication to take place within the
organization.
The network consists of formal and informal channels,
which are both equally important.
• Formal channels allow to obtain certified information
(necessary to guarantee consistency between internal and
external communication)
• Informal channels allow to maintain stable relationships with
referents of different offices and departments (managers,
technical and administrative staff, professors, etc.)
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY: VALUES AND POLICY
Sapienza University is strongly committed to transparency and
accountability towards its many stakeholders.
For this reason our aim is to try and reach all our audiences and to
establish constructive relations with them, through a series of
particular activities and special projects.
Those activities and projects are also intended as a way of
constructing a real communication community, to spread the seed
of communication as an asset, an added value. To stimulate a real
changing process of attitudes and habits.
Keywords of this process are essentially:
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INVOLVEMENT
SHARING
COLLABORATION
AWARENESS
TRAINING
FEEDBACK
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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PARTICULAR ACTIVITIES
• EXHIBITIONS
The Public Relations and Information Office organizes and manages
the participation of the University in the main Italian exhibitions (in
particular the Public Administration Forum – FORUM PA and the
Communication of Public Administration Exhibition – COM.PA) in
cooperation with other offices (mainly the Press Office)
• WEBSITE EDITORIAL BOARD
The Public Relations and Information Office is represented in the
Website Editorial Board, which is devoted to the improvement of the
institutional website (both Italian and English versions)
• INTERNAL TRAINING
The PRI Office also cooperates with the Staff Training Office in the
implementation of training programs in particular subjects, such as
public and institutional communication; interpersonal communication;
communication planning and so on.
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April 12 2011
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SPECIAL PROJECTS
The following is a list of special projects handled by our
Public Relations and Information Office:
• “URPINSIEME” – Integrated communication project among PR
offices of different universities and other public bodies
• “LINEA AMICA” – The new Governmental project which includes a
unified call center of the Public Administration with the aim to provide
information and assistance and to conduct customer satisfaction
surveys
• The Communication Plan – A strategic document that defines the
annual communication goals and the means to achieve them
• Reengineering of the Institutional web site
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April 12 2011
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URPINSIEME PROJECT
Within this project we carried out a series of activities and
studies. In particular:
• The establishment of a stable network of relations among PR
Officers of different Universities and other Public Bodies
• The creation of a co-managed website www.urpinsieme.it in
which we share useful integrated information addressed to all
kinds of audience, specifically involving procedures and
services offered by each organization
• The implementation of a “Focus” dedicated to researches
and courses carried out in the interesting and popular field of
“environment”
• The organization of meetings and workshops related to
different aspects of Communication
• The production of articles and information materials about
the project.
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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CONCLUSIONS
PR and COMMUNICATION functions are a real challenge in a
wide and complex organization.
The larger is the context the more complex is the task.
Sapienza University is the largest university in Europe, with
145.000 students, over 4.500 professors and almost 5.000
administrative and technical staff.
So you can easily imagine that our job is not easy. But it is
surely very interesting and exiting.
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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CONTACT DETAILS
For any questions, input and suggestions
DANIELA VINGIANI
Head of Public Relations and Information Office
Sapienza University of Rome
daniela.vingiani@uniroma1.it
Daniela Vingiani
April 12 2011
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