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GCD Communications Toolkit Presentation
This document provides an overview of a new strategic communications framework created by the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD) to help Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs) effectively communicate with stakeholders. The framework includes sections on identifying target audiences, developing key messages, selecting appropriate communication channels, conducting outreach, handling crisis communications, and more. It is intended to help GCDs with limited resources tell their story to stakeholders, build trust, increase groundwater awareness, and cultivate good reputations. The full framework is available in a printed binder for $50 or as downloadable PDF sections.
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GCD Communications Toolkit Presentation
- 1. AN OVERVIEW BYJULIA STANFORD TAGD BUSINESS MEETING – MARCH 9, 2023
- 2. WHY? HOW? • TAGDstaff and Executive Committee identified a need • Most GCDs do not have the resources to develop and carry out strategies • Tell your story, or someone else will • Collaborated with Information & Education Committee • Approved by Executive Committee in January 2023
- 3. 4 POSITIVE OUTCOMES •Use staff time more wisely – common phone calls, frequently asked questions, misconceptions • Build trust among your stakeholders • Increase awareness of groundwater and your GCD’s role in managing it • Build relationships to cultivate a good reputation
- 4. WHO CAN USEIT?
- 5. FRAMEWORK • Introduction • Audiences •Strategies & Messaging • Communication Channels • Outreach & Building Community Connections • Crisis Communications • Appendices
- 6.
- 7. STRATEGIES & MESSAGING •Strategic Communications Planning • Topic • Objective • Why? • Performance Standard • How? • Developing Key Messages • 10 Key Messages for GCDs (laminated)
- 8. KEY MESSAGES GCDs aredesigned to balance protection of groundwater resources with a landowner’s right to produce groundwater.
- 9.
- 10. OUTREACH & COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS •Listening to Your Audiences • Advocacy Checklist • Media Relations • Best Practices for Media Interviews • Outreach Exhibit Tips
- 11. CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Crisis Examples• Communication Templates • Board Considerations Crisis Management Worksheet
- 12.
- 13. HOW TO GETONE • 140-page binder available today • $50 recoups our printing costs • Divider tabs, hole-punched • 4 laminated pages • Pockets for any supporting info you might want • Come see me during the break • Find it on the TAGD website under Member Resources • Split into folders • Full PDF available for printing • Live links to online resources
Editor's Notes
- #3 The story of the GCD Communications Toolkit begins after I was hired. graduate certificate on strategic communications for public entities, fired up about improving my efforts at North Plains GCD where I had worked at the time when I started at TAGD, Leah and I realized we had the unique opportunity to help every GCD throughout the state communicate better The Executive Committee knew there was a need for this content and recognized • that most GCDs do not have the resources to develop and carry out these effective communications strategies. Small staff • “Tell your story, or someone else will.” Y’all certainly know that applies to GCDs – districts should be the source of information, not someone in the local paper who’s mad about a permit decision, or a confused neighbor who doesn’t understand technical jargon but DOES know how to spout off on Facebook and maybe to their legislators. I took the lead on this effort and had amazing help from the Information & Education Committee – thanks to those of you who reviewed many iterations of this toolkit and contributed your district’s good work to serve as examples. The toolkit was approved by the Executive Committee in January.
- #4 To convince you to listen to me for the next 8 minutes and maybe pick up a toolkit binder, here are 4 positive outcomes you can expect if you use this toolkit to improve your district’s communications.
- #5 So, who is this toolkit for? The answer is your district’s communicators… which is everyone! Don’t tune out because you don’t have a “communications person.” Those folks will find good info in this toolkit that could help them in what they’re already doing, but it’s really for everyone else. It’s for a board member who might have the chance to talk to a legislator at the local Lions Club. a field tech who keeps getting the same questions to clarify your spacing rules every time they talk to a landowner. Maybe it’s for you, trying to figure out what Tweeter is and post when you’re going to be closed so you don’t get angry people in your office the next day.
- #6 Next, I’ll briefly go over what you can find in each section of the toolkit. The introduction is a nice little letter from us, and a few pages on what I’ve just said about why and how you should use the toolkit. After that, we have sections on Audiences, Strategies & Messaging, Communication Channels, outreach & Building Community Connections, Crisis Communications, and a robust set of Appendices. We recommend reviewing the toolkit’s contents in this order if possible. For example, the crisis management section relies on skills described in the media relations guide and assumes you can write a press release using the tips provided in the newspaper guide. Other pieces can serve as standalone resources, like the communications channel guides and some reference guides in the appendix.
- #7 The audiences section will help you think about who you’re communicating to so that you may concentrate your efforts where they matter. It has information on different groups of people you might want to communicate with, like irrigators, homeowners, legislators, people with unregistered wells, and so on. Then there’s an exercise to really put yourself in their shoes, and an audience analysis worksheet where you can list out your target audiences, what you know about them, and how you can get your message out to them.
- #8 In the Strategies & Messaging section, we teach you one way to do some strategic communications planning by strategic I mean truly intentional, each piece working towards an end goal. We provide a familiar structure that’s similar to what GCDs use for management plans, with objectives and performance standards, also digging into the why and how of your goals to help you along. There are two entire pages of examples to help inspire you, as well as an empty worksheet to fill in with content specific to your district. Then you’ll learn about key messages and our 10 Key Messages for GCDs, which was workshopped many times with the Information & Education Committee to distill down to words that may help every district. If you buy one of the binders we have here with us, your Key Messages sheet is nicely laminated for easy reference.
- #9 Key messages are brief, informative bite-sized pieces of messaging that help you get important information across– like your district’s “elevator speech.” This content was workshopped many times by the Information & Education Committee to distill down to words that may help every district. Here’s an example, featuring Zach, whose board members will now have this and many other key messages at their fingertips for easy reference. If you buy one of the binders we have here with us, your Key Messages sheet is nicely laminated, along with a few other frequent reference materials.
- #12 The Crisis Communications section helps you think through what you’ll do when a crisis occurs and how to communicate: internally and externally proactively and reactively to mitigate any damage to your district or its reputation. We share crisis examples, communication templates, board considerations (AKA don’t start a group text to discuss your district’s response to a severe weather event and end up breaking open meetings laws). Last is a crisis management worksheet that, in a perfect world, you have one of these filled out for every possible crisis scenario so you aren’t running around with your hair on fire when the inevitable happens, and you’ll be able to focus on your actual response to the crisis without agonizing over who you need to tell what and how.
- #13 The Appendix is full of supporting resources and even more examples that will help you on your strategic communications journey. I almost had an entire alphabet’s worth of appendices, but we only made it to O. We’ve got newspaper ads, links to promotional items and audience research websites, newsletters, the open meetings cheat sheet, radio ads, letters to the editor, and even an entire comprehensive communications plan for a GCD that they were willing to share with us. If there’s a reference to it in the toolkit, you can find it here, plus some other stuff that we thought would be useful.
- #14 Insert photo of binder, emphasize $50 just helps us recoup cost of printing