Government

BASCS Communications Plan Template

It's a good idea to consult your internal or external communications specialists to help build your communications plan in support of your BASCS implementation. There are a number of things to consider when you are writing your communications plan, including:

Title Page

Make a title page for your document that includes the name of your project (eg Communications Plan to support an implementation of the Business Activity Structure Classification System (BASCS); your department's name, the date and version number, and indicate that it has been prepared by.

Introduction

Provide a brief overview of the BASCS project background leading up to the need for your communications plan, including basic timelines.

The Planning Environment

Provide a brief overview of the Information Management agenda and backdrop that supports the BASCS project. Show the set of communications priorities related to Information Management in general, and your BASCS project specifically. Make sure to provide links back to Treasury Board's MGI policy background leading up to the need for your communications plan.

Communications Objectives

State the objectives of the communications initiative in a few simple bullets. These could include:

• increase awareness of the benefits of good Information Management among employees
• create awareness of an upcoming BASCS initiative
• increase willingness to participate in a successful BASCS implementation
• provide updates on progress of BASCS initiatives
• support more efficient Information Management for the organization
• tie BASCS activities to MGI, Modern Comptrollership or government accountability frameworks

Audience

Clearly define the audience for your communications initiative. Make sure to consider management, IM specialists, key influencers, and functional users inside and/or outside of your institution.

Messages

Clearly and simply state the messages that will be conveyed through your communications initiative. These could include:

• Improving the management of information will help improve service delivery to clients
• BASCS will enable better, more informed decisions every day, at every desk, by providing improved Information Management systems
• BASCS will make it faster and easier to retrieve and share information
• BASCS will provide better access to tools, templates and best practices from other specialists within each functional community
• BASCS helps each employee provide the documentary train of evidence required of each Government of Canada employee under Treasury Board's MGI Policy

Communications Activities

Show what activities need to be undertaken as part of your communications plan. These could include:

• Presentations to groups
• E-mail announcements
• Letters to employees
• Leaflets or brochures for distribution during presentations
• Intranet site
• Posters

Communications Calendar

Show when your proposed activities will take place in a calendar view for easy reference.

Communications Tools

List the communications tools that will be needed to undertake and complete your communications activities, including formation of approved messaging that will be incorporated into your activities.

Measurement and Monitoring

Describe how you will measure the success of your communications activities, including any specific targets for implementation. Examples could be:

• All managers aware of BASCS by (date)
• All employees aware of BASCS by (date)
• Survey to see if employees can articulate benefits of BASCS by (date)

Resources

List the resources that you will need to support your proposed communications plan, including human resource or budgetary requirements.

Roles and Responsibilities

Describe the roles and responsibilities of the people who will undertake the communications activities. Remember to include the role of senior managers, IM specialists and communications team members.

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