Project Proposal – www.publicaffairsonline.com (not currently active)
Product Description: www.publicaffairsonline.com, or PA Online, would be a free, online home for content producers and public affairs officers across the nation to share ideas, content and lessons designed specifically for government workers.
Background: Government public relation offices (called Public Affairs Offices or PAO) have recently experienced a shift toward embracing digital communication technologies. However, most of the government work force is older and was trained in traditional PR techniques and are quickly finding themselves unable to use the latest communication tools.
Due to the non-competitive nature of government employment (at least in a profits driven business sense) PAOs are more likely to work together and share ideas across agencies and offices. However, the lack of time and experience, combined with an embedded culture of isolation makes this sharing of ideas and products almost non-existent.
Design Strategy Components:
Business Goals
- Reduce training costs
- Increase productivity by reducing production errors
Target Users
- Government Public Affairs Officers, content producers and webmasters
General Tasks
- Forums with email digests of conversations
- Upload and downloading of templates and lessons
- Stock image repository
- Video Tutorials
- Repository of policies and procedures
Technological Constraints
- Hosting costs
- Government IT blocks on certain websites
Marketing/Branding Goals
- Engaging content
- Create sense of community across wide geographic region
- Where “Smart PAOs go for info”
- Cutting edge tips and tricks
Critical Success Factors
- Membership from all 15 cabinet level agencies
- Upward trend in participation metrics (forum posts and template uploads)
- Increase quality of government websites
