The communication plan is launched after planning and preparing staff. The purposes of the communication plan are to:
- keep all stakeholders apprised of the new initiative (why and what),
- garner acceptability and buy-in,
- share progress.
The communication plan was designed during the exploration stage and should include these components:
variety of formats,
periodic messaging schedule,
two-way communication mechanism for stakeholders to ask questions, make comments and support the initiative, and
a designated person sending messages and receiving feedback.
Meeting Minutes Planning an Initiative
The District Implementation Team considers:
What date will messaging be distributed?
How, and by whom, will messaging be delivered?
Who will receive and collate feedback?
When will the next messaging be distributed to maintain momentum?
Citation: National Implementation Research Network (2020). Implementation Stages Planning Tool Chapel Hill, NC: National Implementation Research Network, FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Research tells us the purpose of a Communication Plan in system change efforts is to identify and authentically engage with an organization’s diverse stakeholders. A carefully designed plan allows for sharing of information with staff, families, students, and relevant community entities. It becomes a vehicle to celebrate successes, inform, prevent misunderstandings to reduce barriers, and build the collective commitment of the organization’s diverse stakeholders. It facilitates gathering of valuable input and expertise for continuous quality improvement. A carefully developed and used Communication Plan validates how stakeholders are included in the development of the organization’s implementation capacity for systemic change “so everyone can see they have a role to play.”
The Literacy Team should present the Communication Plan directly to stakeholders, emphasizing the Scheduling Tasks and Documenting Progress aspects of the work. On a site-by-site basis, decisions should be clearly communicated about how practitioners will document their participation in the Communication Plan components, ideally through collaborative selection/assignment processes.
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