Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs

Members received a report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs regarding an update on the Department’s work.

In the discussion, the following points were made:

·       A Member stated that the strategic management of consultation coordination would enable the best stakeholder engagement and return on engagement. An Officer stated that the timeline for the Stakeholder Review was outlined in the Business Plan.

·       Due to the timing and scale of the City Plan consultation, specific consideration would be given to methods of stakeholder engagement.

·       It could be beneficial to register engagement at ward-based and topic-based events. An Officer stated that where Officers were informed of events, they could then provide support and that once customer relationship management (CRM) software was in place, this would help ascertain which residents were and were not engaging.

·       A joined-up approach to economic security should be progressed. An Officer stated that Communications and Corporate Affairs, Remembrancers and Innovation and Growth worked closely together. The police had recently been assisted with their community events. A Member stated it was vital to continue to work in close collaboration with the external bodies and agencies.

·       Members welcomed the new media and social media monitoring and evaluation system which would go live in March 2024. A Member suggested that key performance indicators on the new system be included in future reports to help track performance.

·       Currently there was not capacity within the film team to promote the City as a film location but expanding the team would provide income generation and mean more promotion could take place. It was suggested that once the team was expanded, consideration could be given to using an agency to help identify opportunities.

·       A Member suggested that short informative films could be produced and sent to businesses to encourage them to register voters and encourage voters to vote.

·       The Chairman thanked the team for their work, especially on strategic initiatives. He stated that they would transform the way the Corporation planned and managed engagement and communications.

RESOLVED, that the report be noted.