Transforming Services in Northumberland
The Berwick Project
Communications Strategy
November 2009
1. Background
The ‘new’ County Council wants to transform the way it delivers services within the
different communities of Northumberland. Using Berwick as a pilot community, new
ways of locally commissioning and delivering services are to be explored and
implemented. The desire is to achieve better outcomes for residents by focusing on a
fully 'joined up' service offer that is preventative in focus, in tune with the specific needs
of the community served and fully compliant with statutory requirements and best
practice guidance. These developments are central to the Northumberland's Children's
Trust commissioning developments, is a priority within the Children and Young People’s
Plan.and is a key element of the ‘new’ County Council’s broader transformational
agenda.
2. Aims of the communications plan
The Communications Plan detailed below will describe how stakeholders and partners
will be provided with key information so that informed decisions and actions to be taken
that will enable the ambitions of the Berwick Project.
Specifically the communications plan aims to:
 Provide a coordinated approach to all communications related to Berwick Project
 Raise awareness of the Berwick Project among all stakeholders within the local
authority and the wider region
 promote the benefits for residents and taxpayers when the ambitions of the
Berwick Project are realised.
 inform all stakeholders of the timescales and progress of the initiatives within the
Berwick Project
 maintain good relationships with all stakeholders
 develop effective communications between the Council, clients, partners,
decision makers and other stakeholders
 ensure that two-way communications are established between the Council,
clients, partners, residents and all other stakeholders
 engage all stakeholders with the initiative and ensure that their views are listened
to
 allow all stakeholders the opportunity to contribute to the communications
programme
 engage local and regional media and encourage positive media interest
 manage potential crisis
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
use existing communications channels and develop new ones to achieve
communications goals
Make key messages more easily understood by using jargon-free language
The communications plan will support this aim through:
 Providing accurate, relevant, timely and clear information for all stakeholders
 Developing an understanding between the Council and its public of the scale of
the project and its aims and objectives Advising stakeholders about benefits to them of the Berwick Project
 Using effective media to reach the target audience
 Launching a publicity campaign
 Managing media enquiries and the flow of information corporately
 Managing potential crisis
 Making the best use of available resources
 Taking advantage of any opportunity that arise to promote Berwick Project
 Informing all NCC employees on a continuous basis to ensure employee
awareness and understanding
 Regular review and overhaul in light of changing needs and priorities.
3. Target audience
While focussed initially in Berwick the target audience extends across the County
beyond. It will potentially include all of the County’s residents, all employees of the ‘new’
County Council, members of partner and stakeholder organisations and regional and
national bodies such as Government Office North East (GONE) and the Department for
Children, School and Families (DCSF)..
The audience forms three groups:
1. Those people who are actively involved with the Berwick Project:
 Local Residents,
 Parents and Carers
 Children and Young People
 Extended Family Members
 NCC employees (the centre’s project team - the X-Team)
 NCC Members
 Members of the Berwick Headteacher’s Partnership and School Staff
 Members of Berwick’s Integrated Team, Extended Services
 Members of centrally delivered services who work into Berwick
2. Those people who are not actively involved with the project but who need to be
engaged with:
 All NCC employees
 Local residents
 The local/regional news media
3. Those people who do not have to be engaged specifically, but it would benefit
the reputation of the Council and the project to keep them well informed
 MP and MEP
 Local Government and professional media


Central Government Bodies such as DCSF
Regional Bodies such as GONE
3.
Information/communication needs of target audience
Each group will be provided with information about and/or the need to be engaged with
the Berwick Project. Given the complexity and scope of the project’s remit the need to
shape information in such a way that is in tune with the specific requirements of each
group is essential
The goals of this communication plan are to ensure that members of the three groups
listed above have access to information that, for the Berwick Project promotes:
Awareness: communication activity necessary to impart a general overview of the
Berwick Project its aims and objectives and timescales. This will allow the target
audience to be introduced to the ‘Berwick Project’.
Engagement – communication activity that enables the target audience to be able to
find out more about the Berwick Project and to share their views
Involvement and Participation: communication activity that enables the target
audience to be able to be involved directly and/or participate in shaping solutions and
ways forward
Feedback: communication and marketing activity to demonstrate the effectiveness of
engagement and participation this will be realised when there is ‘buy-in’ to the Project.
Buy-in will be realised when those who are aware of or are involved directly can define
the merits of the scheme and why they choose to remain involved.
4. Timing of communication
Communications relating to the launch of the project
Communication activity has already commenced. Those directly involved in the project
in Berwick meet regularly and receive regular briefings and updates regarding progress
of the projects activities and desired outcomes.
This activity has been augmented by briefings and updates provided to parent carer
and professional forums, service managers groups and members of partner
organisations such as Community Health.
Until this point in time this level of communication has been considered to be adequate.
However with the acceptance of the Berwick Project into the County’s Forward Plan
there is now a need to formalise the arrangements and initiate the Communication Plan.
A launch event is envisaged. However the launch will only take place once the Project
is embedded in the strategic planning processes and those who are currently becoming
directly involved are fully aware of the scope and ambition of the enterprise. A launch is
tentatively planned for March 2010.
However there is a clear need to begin formal exchanges of information, awareness
raising and engagement with several key audiences immediately.
General communications activity
Commencing December 2009 employees of the ‘new’ County Council will be introduced
to the Berwick Project. This will be achieved through the regular ‘Update’ briefings
available to all employed by the ‘new’ County Council.
This information will be included in or through
 The County’s FACTSHEET – available to all family focussed services and teams
within the ‘new’ County Council and Partner Agencies
 Parent and Carer Newsletters
 ‘e-courier’ letters to Headteachers
 School Governor Briefing Packs
 the County Website
 Regional Hub and RIEP Briefings
 Bids for innovations grant forwarded to DCLG
 DCSF briefing events and background information sent prior to inspection visits
As the emphasis moves towards Engagement, Involvement/Participation and Feedback
the following approaches and techniques will be employed

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X-Team Meetings
Employee and Stakeholder Seminars
Stakeholder Events
Conferences
Further an outcome of the Berwick Project will be the development of a
Community Participation Strategy – a key element of which will be a local
Communications Plan
5. Key Messages
At this point in time the key messages to be communicated regarding the Berwick
Project are focussed on the Purpose, Aims, Means and Actions. The current focus is on
Awareness raising however as the Project develops the emphasis will move more
towards Engagement, Participation and Feedback.
Current Key Messages
Purpose
• The purpose of the Berwick Project is to
–
explore and then define how services can be transformed so that….
–
residents have rapid access to and confidence in community based and
locally commissioned services that are…
–
preventative in focus, coordinated, consistent, holistic, client focused and
have the…
–
required capacities and capabilities to deliver effectively and efficiently.
Aims
• Deliver transformed services that enable better outcomes for all Children and
Young People, Families and Households
– while…
•
Using tax payers money more effectively and efficiently
– while…
•
Delivering within a wide range of (apparently discrete) government driven
initiatives
•
–
e.g. ‘Aiming Higher’, ‘DCATCH’, ‘Think Family’, ‘Raising the Bar Narrowing the Gap’, ‘Overcoming Childhood Poverty’, ‘Care Matters’,
TaMHS.
–
e.g. ‘Improving Mental Health and Psychological Well-being’, ‘Reducing
Reliance on Alcohol’, ‘Community Cohesion’, ‘Community Participation’,
‘Equalities and Diversity Agenda’, ‘Reducing Teenage Pregnancies’,
‘Reducing number of ‘Out-County’ Placements’.
–
e.g. ‘Improving Neighbourhood Services’, ‘Community Transport’,
‘Reducing our Carbon Footprint’ etc etc
i.e. Ensuring all our local services join up
Means and Actions
• The Project’s Aims will be achieved through the initiation of an increasing
number of sets of coordinated inter-service and departmental actions
•
Evaluation will take place to
– ensure improving satisfaction with services, outcomes are improving, the
offer is integrated and coordinated and tax payers money is being used
more effectively and efficiently
These messages will need to be updated as the Berwick Project progresses. The
Communication Plan will be updated accordingly.
6. Key Milestones

Key milestones are currently been confirmed as part of the Project Initiation
Document (PID) Development. These particularly relate to the delivery of key
outputs.

As these outputs are delivered it is planned to disseminate and celebrate
delivery.

Dates of key milestones will be confirmed when the PID has been ratified.
7. Communications needs – delivery

Responsibility
o The Project Manager (John Kirton) will be responsible for the effective
delivery of the communications strategy – specifically that the target
audience are
 Aware of…
 Engaged with…
 Participate in…
 and provide Feedback to…The Berwick Project.
o The Project’s Executive Team will oversee and support the delivery of the
Communication Strategy on a countywide, regional and national basis
o The Berwick Core Group will oversee and support the delivery of the
Communication Strategy within the Berwick Community

Key Milestones
o The Executive and Core Groups will confirm the need for Key Milestone
events and the media through which key messages will disseminate and
the methodology to be used.
 Contact details of the Project Manager, Executive Group and Core
group are shown in Appendix 1
o Regular updates on progress will be provided at monthly meetings of the
Executive and Core Groups when decisions will be taken about the next
steps to be taken to continue on-going and effective communication with
the target audience
 Designated spokes people for the media and their contact details
are listed in Appendix 2

Feedback and Evaluation
o Feedback and evaluation mechanisms to monitor perceptions of partners
and residents are being developed as an integral part of the Project Plan.
8. Communications Tools
In addition to the internal mechanisms and vehicles that enable effective
communication (see above - 4 General Communication Activity) external mechanisms
and media outlets will be approached and used as needs demand. Of particular
importance and relevance will be:
Press
 Berwick Advertiser
 Other Northumberland Newspapers
 Scottish Borders Newspapers
 Journal and Evening Chronicle
Broadcast Media
 BBC Radio Newcastle;
 Border/Tyne Tees Television;
 BBC Local Television
Direct Communication
 NCC’s residents’ magazine Northumberland News
Electronic Communications
 NCC website; Websites of all partnership organisations.
 NCC intranet and partnership intranets; email
Face-to-face
 Consultation events; road shows; meetings with stakeholders; news briefings
Displays & Printed Literature
 Opportunities range from the publication of newsletters to specific groups to
exhibitions in public buildings or at sites within the town centre.
9. Branding
 Berwick Project is an NCC initiative therefore the NCC brand will be applied to all
Berwick Project communications.
 The importance of residents, stakeholders and partners being aware that the
Berwick Project is being championed and enabled by NCC is recognised.
 It is also recognised that as the Project develops it may be necessary to consider
how to brand solutions where greater autonomy may be given to the Berwick
Community itself to commission its own solutions
10 Spokespeople
List those people who will be the official spokespeople for this initiative are listed in
Appendix 3
11. Communication Methods
 This communications plan is aimed at a diverse audience and at three specific
audience groups. (See Target Audience). It is understood that people receive
and take in information in different ways and as such a ‘one size fits all’ approach
to ‘communication’ will not be adopted.
 A variety of targeted communications methods needs to be considered to raise
awareness, disseminate information and engage residents, partners and
stakeholders.
The following list is not exhaustive
Target
audience
Project steering
group
NCC
Communication/information
need
Awareness
Engagement/Involvement
Feedback
Awareness
Frequency Communications channels
As
required
Meetings/email
As
Meetings/email/website
Members
Engagement/Involvement
Feedback
Headteachers
Awareness
Engagement/Involvement
Feedback
Schools
Awareness
Engagement/Involvement
Feedback
Parents
Awareness
Engagement/Involvement
Feedback
NCC
Awareness
employees
Engagement/
Feedback
Northumberland Awareness
residents
Engagement/
Feedback
News media
Awareness
Engagement/Feedback
MP/MEP
Awareness/Feedback
Local govt. and
professional
media
Awareness
required
As
required
Meetings/email/intranet/website
As
required
Meetings/email/Town
Crier/media/events
As
required
Meetings/website/SMS
texting/events
As
required
Meetings/email/intranet/website
On going
Northumberland
News/media/website/meetings
As
required
As
required
As
required
Briefings/news
releases/email/telephone/website
Meetings/media/email/website
News releases/NCC website
12. Considerations
Budget and Resources/People
 As part of the PID confirmation the budget resources/people available for the
delivery of the key elements of the Communication Strategy will be defined. The
budget will be required to enable
o Newsletters
o Conferences
o Seminars
o Briefings
o Launch Events
Timescales
 Effective communications will be a critical element to the success of the project.
Sufficient time for planning and implementing specific elements of this
communication plan will be provided. Communication will be a standing item on
the agendas of the Executive and Core Groups
Partners
 This Communication Plan and Strategy will be ratified by the Executive and Core
groups
13. Evaluation -success measures/targets
Press
 Press support
Feedback
 Public response to events and comments afterwards
 General support from residents
 Surveys - residents/partners/schools
 Positive comments from NCC employees
14. Recommendations
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
A member of the Communications Team is part of the County’s X-Team
Communications Strategy appears as a standing item on the agendas of
the Berwick and the County’s X-Team discussions