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COMMUNICATIONS chapter eight A high-performance partnership does not operate in a vacuum. It must establish two-way communications channels with constituencies to provide information and receive input. In addition to feedback loops, the partnership must have effective mechanisms for disseminating results information to all stakeholders, including the media and community at large. It is only through a comprehensive, capable communications network that a partnership can extol its accomplishments and build broad support for its work. Internal communications strategies are needed to ensure that member organizations thoroughly understand how a partnership’s activities individually relate to them.No single medium is sufficient, and the message cannot be delivered only once. HOW TO MEET CHALLENGES TO COMMUNICATIONS ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY The Challenge Information must flow through every level of the partnership so each participant can be on the same page and strive for a common objective. Sporadic or ineffective communications can lead to waning enthusiasm and participation. Building relationships across sectors and diverse organizational cultures poses even greater challenges. Public, nonprofit, and civic sector languages are different. Finding a common message that appeals to all three is a monumental task. In fact, no single medium can achieve effective internal communications. Individual partners may use different media with different levels of technological sophistication. For example, the Internet may be a good technique for communicating information, but only if the participants can access and use it. Most cross-sector partnership issues are complex, even to the partners themselves. An effective internal communications strategy must overcome the challenges of finding the appropriate media and refining and simplifying the message. The Strategies 1. Invest the time to develop a formal communications plan to reach all internal audiences. Communications strategies should be comprehensive and well documented. An established planning process will cause the partnership to think through issues and generate a more comprehensive approach to internal communications. It also will help the partnership develop a simple, focused message tailored to each of the partners. A formal communications plan will help the partnership identify both the message and the media. 2. Take the time and spend the money to communicate well. Beyond strategies and tactics, a successful partnership must focus on logistics and communications. Even the best strategy will fail if it is not effectively explained to those who must undertake it. Internal and external communications must be a primary component of any strategic plan, and a partnership should spend the money and resources to implement it. Professional assistance—such as facilitators, writers, and communications staff—can be as important as service delivery expenditures. The partnership may be able to minimize these costs by using loaned professionals, students, or volunteers. Such avenues should be explored as these individuals often come from the community being served. Lacking free or low-cost alternatives, the partnership should 102 Powering the Future: High-Performance Partnerships
dedicate resources to effective ongoing internal communications media. This investment may include getting assistance in understanding each partner’s needs and interests to address items that the individual partners feel are important. The messages should be relevant and understandable to the partners. 3. Use multiple media to reach internal audiences. Various media are needed to reach a partnership’s key internal audiences. Web sites, e-mail, and other devices can be very important tools in disseminating a large amount of information quickly. However, these tools are not universally used. Employee newsletters, posters, and oneon-one conversations cannot be supplanted, nor can they alone suffice. Some media work well for short, quick messages that have a short shelf life. Others do not. Communications media also must have immediate and longer-term components. Table 8-1 provides a summary of the typical communications channels for each internal audience. CREATING A FULL-CIRCLE EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM The Challenge Effective two-way external communications are critical, as well. The partnership must provide information to all of its stakeholders, including customers, funders, and the community at large. Each requires different media and messages because everyone is not interested in the same information. Also, some stakeholders and potential clients may be difficult to reach through normal channels. This is particularly true if the target audience is disenfranchised by economic status, language, or other barriers. The feedback loop is the second element of the full-circle communications challenge. Every high-performance partnership strives to incorporate customer input. Without it, the partnership may deliver an irrelevant service. It is essential to design effective mechanisms for attaining objective feedback and working it into service delivery strategies. TABLE 8-1 INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS INTERNAL AUDIENCES Governing Board TOOLS •Board Meetings •Briefing Papers •Performance Reports Partnership Members Staff •Performance Reports •Partnership Meetings •E-mail •Web Site •Staff Meetings •Employee Newsletters •Intranet •E-mail 103 Powering the Future: High-Performance Partnerships
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Powering the FUTURE: High-Performan
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A Report by a Panel of the NATIONAL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD.........
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CHAPTER 12: MANAGEMENT APPROACHES A
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Public Business High Performance Pa
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Medicare and Medicaid health progra
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FIGURE 1-1 CONTINUUM OF ORGANIZATIO
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Coexistence: Cooperative: Contractu
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Business FIGURE 1-3 HIGH-PERFORMANC
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“Creating a partnership takes tim
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FIGURE 2-2 NONPROFIT SECTOR REVENUE
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TABLE 2-1 SECTOR DIFFERENCES Public
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eform to establish some form of res
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FIGURE 3-1 DESIGN LAB PARTNERSHIPS:
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TABLE 3-2 DESIGN LAB — PARTNERSHI
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dren. Nine MCCP case managers made
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FIGURE 3-5 MEDICAL CARE FOR CHILDRE
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“The Healthy Families Partnership
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HFP is an excellent model of growin
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identifying specific goals and outc
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5 A DAY FOR BETTER HEALTH PROGRAM N
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FIGURE 3-8 PUBLIC AWARENESS Percent
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esponsible for developing specific
Page 53 and 54: FAMILY STRENGTHENING COALITION INDI
Page 55 and 56: Challenges Despite its solid track
Page 57 and 58: Challenges NBSD encountered some ba
Page 59 and 60: early intervention; and an early ch
Page 61 and 62: CAREGIVER/EMPLOYER PROJECT CENTERS
Page 63 and 64: Medicare insurer, CMS was the ultim
Page 65 and 66: A 1996 survey of La Alma/Lincoln Pa
Page 67 and 68: Public Business High Performance Pa
Page 69 and 70: and establishing performance manage
Page 71 and 72: PROGRAM AREA TABLE 4-2 SAMPLE PERFO
Page 73 and 74: The Lapham Park Venture originally
Page 75 and 76: THE DATA TRAP No partnership can cl
Page 79 and 80: FIGURE 5-1 THE 5 C’S OF EFFECTIVE
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Page 89 and 90: FIGURE 6-6 STRATEGIC PLANNING CYCLE
Page 91 and 92: BALANCING FOCUS AND FLEXIBILITY The
Page 95 and 96: Asset mapping is key to determining
Page 97 and 98: 8. Use third-party payment opportun
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Page 101 and 102: Individual governmental units, foun
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Page 109 and 110: TABLE 8-3 FAMILY STRENGTHENING COAL
Page 113 and 114: Organizations may feel that a partn
Page 115 and 116: The PODER Project was a six-year in
Page 117 and 118: Neighborhoods in Bloom operates in
Page 121 and 122: Results Characteristics • Derive
Page 123 and 124: FIGURE 10-2 PHASES OF LEADERSHIP Ma
Page 127 and 128: The CMS Employer/Caregiver Workgrou
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Page 131 and 132: Management Approaches and Attribute
Page 133 and 134: Public managers tend to be risk ave
Page 135 and 136: Putting It All Together Chapter13 H
Page 137 and 138: FIGURE 13-2 ROWING TOGETHER FOR A H
Page 139 and 140: Appendix A Panel Member Biographies
Page 141 and 142: Appendix B Selected Bibliography
Page 143 and 144: National League of Cities. “City
Page 145 and 146: Appendix C Performance Management G
Page 147 and 148: Outcomes: The quantified result, or
Page 149 and 150: Appendix D Design Lab Participants
Page 151 and 152: Heidi Veltman Reston Kaiser Permane
Page 153 and 154: America’s Promise Gregg Petersmey
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Appendix E Excerpt from Lapham Park
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LAPHAM PARK VENTURE STRATEGIC PLAN,
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2. Venture Operations Committee PUR
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Appendix F Memorandum of Understand
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ARTICLE I - HIGHLAND PARK SOUTHERN
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NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINIST
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