ABSTRACT
Unlike corporate communicators, whose work must increasingly support outcomes associated with the bottom line, many government communicators do not take the time to plan their work strategically. This chapter outlines a step-by-step process to help ensure that communication objectives are a priority in fulfilling agency/departmental missions more effectively and efficiently. It describes how government communicators at all levels can satisfy the three major government public relations purposes: the mandatory (media relations and public reporting), the pragmatic (customer and client responsiveness and outreach activities), and the political (building goodwill and increasing public support), as desired, via one master document. In doing so, it can help ensure consistent and productive communications to educate citizens about government offerings and underline the importance of communications in reaching agency goals.
