Outreach and Communications Strategy 2007
1. To effectively strengthen existing partnership base whilst focusing on under-represented groups.
2. To ensure that work supports WNC's core remit, by actively promoting the work of the WNC and its activities to raise its profile and to communicate its views to others.
3. To develop and actively engage wide-ranging, diverse, and representative stakeholders.
A world where all women can express their needs and priorities and where Government listens and acts so that the needs of all women are at the heart of Government policy.
A world in which every human being is respected and is able to achieve their potential, living free from harm and discrimination.
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Support, advise and encourage the women's sector to enable all women's voices to be heard effectively;
Act as a conduit for all those voices, in order to both advise and to hold Government to account;
Promote women's equality;
Ensure the views and experiences of as many women as possible are represented to Government to promote women's equality and change;
Ensure that where possible, women's opinions are communicated to Government so that they can be taken into account when laws are made and policies decided;
As far as possible, seek the views of and empower, socially excluded and marginalised women; and
Disseminate messages from Government across the women's equality sector.
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The WNC is the only independent advisory body established to provide a bridge between women's organisations and the UK Government. It provides a route for women's organisations to communicate effectively to Government, but also provides an easier way for Government to disseminate messages to and consult with women's organisations.
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Other women's organisations;
Ministers for Women and Parliament; and
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Equal opportunity and anti-discrimination
Diversity as a positive force
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Value the lived experience of women
Value grass-roots experience
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Enabling and participatory
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Strategic Aim 1: To effectively strengthen existing partnership base whilst focusing on under-represented groups.
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1) To analyse WNC's partnership base to identify which groups are under-represented.
2) To build and maintain relationships with under-represented groups.
3) To work with information gained above to target the under represented regions (e.g. North East, South West) and sectors of the community (e.g. younger women, women with disabilities, minority women and transgender women) to encourage them to become partners.
4) To ensure outreach activities are conducted in Wales, Scotland and N. Ireland and that Partners in each, feel their concerns are being heard and shared.
5) To engage Commissioners in partnership activities throughout the year.
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Producing a Needs Analysis report. To analyse our current database to identify gaps in representation.
To clearly categorise partners into interest or other groups, to help with targeting activity.
Ensure database is accurate, reliable and updated regularly.
Initiating and sustaining regularity of contact is a strategy designed to nurture relationships and build trust. This would increase the
quality of interaction and enable
effective communication via
telephone, meetings and other
Maintaining an up to date website and newsletter would also ensure better communication.
Ensure Partners are aware of WNC's Principles of Partnership and other important documents.
Holding events / seminars for specific groups in targeted regions, as recently in Wales and with the `Listening to Muslim Women Consultation'.
To identify the `hot topics' of each event and feed back to GEO and other stakeholders.
Ensuring effective monitoring and evaluation procedures are followed, as well as identifying reasons new Partners are being successfully recruited, i.e. because of events or website etc.
Aim to hold at least two events in identified regions of England to target gaps in partnership base.
Holding at least one event in each of the Nations every year.
Further ongoing activity to be conducted to identify how successfully WNC's aims are realised.
Consider introducing Newsletters for each of the Nations.
Working with Commissioners to arrange events on issues of their expertise and / or in their localities, e.g. as Baroness Gale has successfully achieved in Wales and Professor Kelly in the VAW sector.
All Commissioners to agree to recruit a set number of new Partners each year.
Commissioners to work with cross-party political representatives, for example by inviting to events and meetings with Partners for support on specific issues.
Commissioners to keep Directorate informed of progress.
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Gaps in Partnership base identified correctly.
Accurate and reliable database frequently updated.
Under-represented groups identified and events run to engage with, support and help build capacity
Increase in diversity of and numbers of women attending events.
Increase in total number of Partner's UK-wide, as well as under-represented groups.
At least one event held in each of the Nations every year.
Agreed number of events arranged and run successfully.
Increase in number of Partners recruited by Commissioners.
Events arranged for Partners and MP's.
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Strategic Aim 2: To ensure work supports WNC's core remit, by actively promoting the work of the WNC and its activities to raise its profile and to communicate its views to others.
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1) Raise profile and promoting the work of the WNC by providing partners and others, accessible and useful information on areas of interest, such as Government Consultations etc., to obtain views and contributions, to feed into government policy.
2) To develop a new, modern, interactive website, to be fully functional by Spring 2008.
3) To continue to manage Ministerial meetings of the 6 O Group.
4) To work to develop a new, modern `logo' for the WNC to replace the' women's heads'.
5) To consider how the WNC may most effectively have a soft re-launch.
6) To represent views of WNC Partners to government.
7) All Partners Conference to be held every other year with defined objectives and diverse representation. Outcome of Conference to be clear, i.e. Report to be fed into Government Equalities Office and Ministers for Women.
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Developing an attractive, modern, creative and interactive website, enabling the facility to carry out on-line consultations with partners.
By revamping the WNC Newsletter so it is attractive, engages partners' interests and is accessible, ensuring regular editions produced.
By attending partners' and others' events and seminars to network with other organisations.
Liaise with partner organisations to ensure they include a link to the WNC website from their own website.
By attending meetings of the Equality and Diversity Forum.
Ensure all WNC publications are current, revised regularly and available.
Commissioners to fully utilise Parliamentary links
Where possible, responding to challenging or incorrect articles in press by letters from the WNC Chair or Commissioners.
Ensuring WNC publications are available in a range of languages and in braille.
Identifying a suitable, modern, attractive and flexible design for the new Website.
Choosing a design which will be flexible to allow for on0line consultations with partners and others.
Having content that will aim to be more relevant and useful to viewers.
Aim to have a Partner's section providing specific information for partners.
A design which can be easily updated, but which requires the minimum of maintenance and is cost effective.
Agreeing regular dates for meetings between Private Office, WNC Chair and members of the Group.
By briefing the WNC Chair appropriately to lead these meetings.
To consider how best to expand this group to include under-represented groups.
Canvassing views from Commissioners and the Directorate.
By liaising with design companies to produce ideas for Commissioners to decide on an appropriate replacement.
Views to be sought from the Board, but may include announcing news of our revamped website and production of the new Newsletter.
Producing a plan and timeline for re-launch, liaising with GEO colleagues.
Forwarding partners' views on those issues which concern them, clearly and effectively to GEO officials through regular meetings, or through written communications, as appropriate.
Feedback and views received from partners attending events and seminars are relayed to government to enable policy change. Having an appropriate system which can track whether this has been useful in developing policy
Consideration given to holding Partners' Conferences outside London.
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Strategic Aim 3: To develop and actively engage wide-ranging, diverse and representative stakeholders
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1) To nurture long term relationships with Partners.
2) Provide information and promote links and awareness of the diversity of Partners.
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To work with specific Partners by:
Where possible, ensure a WNC presence at Partners' main events, i.e. Annual conferences.
Encourage Parliamentarians to attend Partner's events, by circulating details on the Parliamentary network.
To effectively utilise information gained from partnership forms to create links between Partners with similar interests and to encourage and facilitate where possible, informal networking and exchange of information towards feeding views to government.
Use leading expert partners to provide/exchange advice and information to other partners and at events.
Continuing to co-ordinate meetings of the 6 O Group with Ministers, ensuring that meetings take place regularly and the WNC is briefed to lead them.
To consider how best to expand this group to include under-represented groups.
Liaise with partner organisations to ensure they include a link to the WNC website from their own website.
Ensure Women's Organisational Directory is updated regularly and available on WNC website.
Ensure hard copies are available for Partners and for other general requests.
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