Suchergebnisse

In an international theoretical framework relating to the challenges of digitalization on public sector communication, the article focuses on the open government process to present a historical review of the public sector communication as it has developed in Italy in the past thirty years. Definitions, reforms and the regulatory framework, structures and competences, different communication approaches and goals are collected here thanks to those "scholars' voices" which have fuelled the scientific debate on communication in public administrations since the 1990s. A diachronic approach is necessary in order to investigate the dynamic nature of the relationship between citizens and public sector organizations in a wider changing context and to further grasp the influence of digital technologies, with their impact on communication strategies and paradigms. The focus of the contribution is on the challenges that communication is facing in the new digital environment and in the contemporary scenario of open government. As the authors underline, the use of digital media is often seen as functional both to promoting a culture of transparency, openness and accessibility and to overcoming the traditional limits of the bureaucratic organizations, but there are some opportunities and risks to consider. So, the final part of the article offers a reflection on the consequences of digitalization. It introduces some key aspects of the contemporary debate on public sector communication in general and specifically in Italy, offering a critical discussion on those topics – new skills and professional profiles, training programmes, internal management, multichannel strategies, etc. - that are revealing their complexity in the new relational and organizational context.

Over the last twenty years, profound transformations have affected public sector communication, changing and redefining its practices and tools, while influencing its research boundaries and trajectories. Communication function has shown innovative traits linked to the impact of Internet and social media, but it has also revealed its fragility when facing growing political interferences and resistances from organizational bureaucracies. The Covid-19 pandemic has represented a turning point for public sector communication. The latter has acquired new visibility in this emergency situation, and it has been forced to redefine consolidated communication models. In this scenario characterized by a general distrust toward institutions, public sector communication must recover credibility, guarantee transparency, correctness and timeliness in the dissemination of information. Starting from these considerations, this study on government communication in the context of Covid-19 investigates two aspects: the possibility that the emergency situation represents an opportunity to relaunch public sector communication as a service function, with particular regard to its digital dimensions; the reconstruction of the narration of the pandemic through government communication campaigns in the context of traditional and social media, highlighting contents styles and languages. Results underline the informative and service function of institutional communication, revealing in some phases innovations in languages and strategies. The alignment and synchronicity between different institutional voices and platforms, and the presence of an effective coordination, emerge during the lockdown while they become weaker in the following phase. This article suggests investing in permanent research on public communication to foster a more sophisticated use of campaigns and social media so as to nurture a constructive dialogue with citizens.

Over the last twenty years, profound transformations have affected public sector communication, changing and redefining its practices and tools, while influencing its research boundaries and trajectories. Communication function has shown innovative traits linked to the impact of Internet and social media, but it has also revealed its fragility when facing growing political interferences and resistances from organizational bureaucracies. The Covid-19 pandemic has represented a turning point for public sector communication. The latter has acquired new visibility in this emergency situation, and it has been forced to redefine consolidated communication models. In this scenario characterized by a general distrust toward institutions, public sector communication must recover credibility, guarantee transparency, correctness and timeliness in the dissemination of information. Starting from these considerations, this study on government communication in the context of Covid-19 investigates two aspects: the possibility that the emergency situation represents an opportunity to relaunch public sector communication as a service function, with particular regard to its digital dimensions; the reconstruction of the narration of the pandemic through government communication campaigns in the context of traditional and social media, highlighting contents styles and languages. Results underline the informative and service function of institutional communication, revealing in some phases innovations in languages and strategies. The alignment and synchronicity between different institutional voices and platforms, and the presence of an effective coordination, emerge during the lockdown while they become weaker in the following phase. This article suggests investing in permanent research on public communication to foster a more sophisticated use of campaigns and social media so as to nurture a constructive dialogue with citizens.