By Vicky Croughan, Senior Communications Officer, South Hams District and West Devon Borough Councils
Tuesday 21 January was an important day for public sector communications’ professionals in Devon and Cornwall.
It was the very first LGcomms SW Network collaboration day hosted at South Hams District Council. Around 80 communicators from 31 organisations attended the day, which was kindly supported by LGComms key partners, CAN, e-Shot and Orlo.
South Hams District Council’s Assistant Director for Strategy and Organisational Development, Neil Hawke welcomed everyone along with fellow South Hams’ colleague and LGComms Executive Member Senior Communications Officer, Vicky Croughan.
LGcomms Chair, Andy Allsopp also welcomed attendees on behalf of LGComms and re-iterated the executive’s continuing commitment to supporting public sector communications professionals in the region and fostering collaboration between their organisations.
Kicking off the speakers was our very own Executive Committee member and Comms and Stakeholder Engagement Consultant, Georgia Turner, presenting an excellent quickfire reminder about the various comms planning frameworks available. Looking at the benefits of OASIS, Com-B and EAST’s different approaches, tools and how to use them.
Georgia also gave us a sneak peek at v0.1 of a framework she’s developing to help comms professionals steer strategic conversations with organisational leaders and help keep comms – and our internal clients – focused on outcomes and contributing at the top table. I’m looking forward to seeing how that develops in future.
James Morton, from Turn the Page, followed soon after and offered up an engaging talk about Storytelling, skills and recruitment. Only James can weave Traitors and Taylor Swift into a session on how to tell a corporate Comms’ story with finesse and energy, leaving us brimming with ideas to revitalise our messaging.
The morning was punctuated with group breakout sessions in the rather beautiful period rooms from the historic part of the Council offices which date back to the Regency period. Working in mixed organisational groups, we discussed challenging communication scenarios to discuss three separate themes of recruitment, skills, and inclusive opportunities.
After a hearty lunch with delicious savoury options, cakes and lots of fruit, some chose to stay and network, while others opted for a walk around Follaton Arboretum (a meandering woodland walk, with some muddy bits to make it more ‘fun’…).
Sarah Archer from Surrey County Council, shared their pioneering approach to educating residents about various forms of domestic abuse and how to spot behaviours and support victims.
Another breakout session on the themes of domestic abuse, water safety and home safety followed with some excellent feedback when the delegates returned back to the main hall.
Lindsay Coulson shared the work she had headed up with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough combined authority around transport consultation. There was a raft of follow-up questions from the engaged audience.
A final table-top exercise session based around travel and transport discussed scenarios linked to consultation, promotion and active travel before winding up a varied and interesting day.
With representation from health, fire, police, universities and the two upper tier councils it was a feat to cover all needs but there were definitely common threads which could be discussed and those discussions were very rich and all-encompassing.
After leaving Follaton House, everyone was invited to join drinks which were held at a local pub for final networking for those who didn’t have to rush home across a dark Dartmoor, Exmoor or fight through end of day traffic over the Tamar bridge to Cornwall.
It was a very enjoyable day where local networking bonds were strengthened and new ones formed. The feedback has been positive with ideas on how to make the next one even better. We’ll keep you posted on when that will be if you work in Devon and Cornwall and would like to be involved.
This is only the start…