The State Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), with the support of the Australian Government through the Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI), organised a two-day workshop on “Building Effective Communications” for 25 staff from across several directorates. The workshop, held in Jakarta on 26–27 March 2014, focussed on policy engagement and how to develop communications strategies that can be applied in internal and external settings.
“Without communications, there will be no coordination. To improve the quality of evidence-based policies, we need to improve our coordination, hence the way we communicate,” said Ir. Slamet Soedarsono, MPP, QIA, Chief Inspector of Bappenas, during the opening of the workshop.
Strengthening communications is one of the areas identified by Bappenas for improving the quality of policy. The needs for support range from developing short yet substantial and accessible research reports on key policy issues to identifying different communications channels and tools to communicate key messages with different stakeholders.
“We often focus on communications as a publication or a newsletter, but it is so critical to the whole knowledge-to-policy process, from start to finish. A workshop is just the beginning to what will be a long-term drive to improve internal and external communications within Bappenas,” said Caroline Cassidy, lead facilitator from KSI.
Following the workshop, KSI will continue to provide support and assistance to Bappenas, including its Policy Analysis Team, and further plans are being developed.