The Public Relations / Communication Plan

Communications / Public Relations Plan

Scenario 2:

The Princess Alexia Foundation or Children is a non-profit organization which works for children with disabilities. It has been in existence for 30 years, and has a reputation for professionalism and compassion for the kids it serves.

Under a new amalgamation proposal, the provincial government would like to close the Foundation, and move the services it provides to a local hospital here in Victoria. Your professional staff and board are very concerned. They believe very strongly that the work the Foundation does will be subsumed by the hospital, and that kids will become” patients”, with a declining emphasis on rehabilitation and social skills. They also point out that the hospital administration won’t be so tolerant of their therapies, which have produced wonderful results in many kids, but have taken years to achieve. “Hospitals” the board chair states “are interested in getting patients in and out, and simply won’t give it the time it takes to get these kids better”.

This amalgamation is being proposed as a way to save money. The Foundation’s average cost per year per child is $15,000, and the government believes that could be reduced to $5,000 with shared operating, human resource and building costs.

Your board wants a communication plan to ensure that the proposed amalgamation doesn’t happen. Funds are limited but this is a priority and you have $50,000. You are to present to the board in two weeks time.

Action Items:

A table or point form of the key things that will happen, and when they will be implemented.

Include communication tools, and factor in production timelines.

You may also need to include a budget.

Providing information chronologically – in terms of when they are needed for your plan – is also advisable. The Rolling Action Plan or a GANTT works well here.

Indicate who is responsible for implementing each step.

(Note: don’t go into lots of detail here such as every step of your special event or every production step of your brochure. Keep it high level)

Deliverables:

A simple listing of all the items you will be producing. These are tangible things.

Resources:

At a high level, outline a budget for consideration by your client.

Five to ten items is enough at this stage along with costing.