Dubai: The voice of the citizen is not taken into account in decision-making at the government level, said 75 per cent of respondents in a survey published in the WPP’s ‘Leaders’ Report: The Future of Government Communication’, launched on Thursday.
In the age of instability and insecurity, government communication sectors worldwide are dealing with five key challenges, showed the report, launched in the Middle East by WPP (a leading global marketing and communication company) in partnership with the Government of Dubai Media Office.
The report, which is an all-encompassing review of 40 countries — including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon — explores the status of government communications departments, and the challenges and concerns of leaders and practitioners in the field.
“The report will contribute to the international dialogue at the Public Diplomacy and Government Communication Forum (taking place on March 12) and guide government communication professionals and decision makers in finding new opportunities for optimising their strategic approach. It will also guide them to understand the challenges that need to be overcome in a rapidly changing environment,” said Mona Al Merri, Director-General of the Government of Dubai Media Office.
Statistics showed that the main challenge facing the government communication sector is the declining levels of trust in government, which has undermined the connection between those who are governed and those who govern them.
It further noted that audiences have been fractured and increasingly polarised, which undermined the broadcast model of communication that many governments rely on.
“Authorities now struggle to deliver personalised, integrated communications to citizens who increasingly filter out information from the government entirely, as a majority of them (75 per cent) don’t believe senior leadership understands social and digital media,” showed the report.
Another key challenge lies in the nature of the conversation between the government and people. Sixty per cent of the respondents said today’s government communication is struggling to move beyond primarily one-way conversations.
In interviews with government communication leaders around the world, the report showed: “Only 31 per cent see citizen engagement as a priority for government, and only 14 per cent have had any training on public engagement.” The report also touched on the capability of government communication teams, highlighting that 50 per cent of the respondents say they lack the right skills for their job, and cite bureaucracy as the number one challenge to overcoming this deficit.
Meanwhile, the report finds that government communication still lacks the influence it is meant to have. “It is under-invested in as a function of government and insufficiently utilised as an essential part of policy development and delivery,” stated the report. In total, 85 per cent of respondents don’t believe that communication is involved at all in the policy delivery process.
“The report offers eye-opening insights into the government communications sector, allowing decision makers to restore it to its original role as a tool for engagement and re-connection,” said Sunil John, founder and CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller.
He pointed out the survey examined a global sample while the Middle East was only represented by a few countries. “The results, therefore, reflect a broader global trend rather than a local one. If we zero in on the UAE, for instance, we can see that the situation is different and government communications at both the federal and emirate level are more integrated, highly relevant, and effective,” added John.
The Leaders’ Report: The Future of Government Communication includes a comprehensive audit of existing practice and data in the government communications field, a global conversation with eight advisory board members, and in-depth qualitative interviews across 20 countries and five multilateral organisations. It also included an online quantitative survey across 30 countries.
Box: Survey findings
85% of respondents said communication is not involved at all in the policy delivery process.
75% of respondents said citizens are not taken into account in decision making.
60% of respondents said communication skews towards purely one-way (organisation to public) flow of information.
54% of respondents said bureaucracy is the number one challenge.
