{"id":3857,"date":"2017-02-24T08:40:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T13:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2017-02-24T15:59:06","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T20:59:06","slug":"a-permanent-revolution-in-think-tank-communications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/a-permanent-revolution-in-think-tank-communications\/","title":{"rendered":"A permanent revolution in think tank communications"},"content":{"rendered":"

Communications is not just about content.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s about relationships. It\u2019s about values. It\u2019s about timing.<\/p>\n

The digital think tank<\/span><\/h2>\n

Those of us who work in think tank communications have been slightly obsessed over the last few years with going \u201cdigital first\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mike Connery\u2019s 2015 article <\/span>The Digital Think Tank<\/span><\/a> remains the best explanation of the reasons behind this shift and some of the changes we can expect. As Mike says: <\/span><\/p>\n

Today, audiences are used to <\/span>information finding them<\/b>. It\u2019s a model sprung from digital media, and one that privileges brevity, shareability and a highly visual approach to content.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So we\u2019ve all spent an awful lot of time thinking about content and ways to deliver it.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Soapbox, that meant that we spent much of 2015 writing, designing and building scrolling, media-rich, longform microsites \u2013 like <\/span>this one<\/span><\/a> for the International Rescue Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then in \u00a02016, we built several different ways for think tanks to deliver long-form research content from within their own websites. This included a multichannel publishing solution for <\/span>Chatham House<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pres
The Chatham House multichannel reader on mobile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year we have started rolling out websites built with modular content management systems, an innovation well described in a <\/span>recent article<\/span><\/a> by Joseph Miller:<\/span><\/p>\n

You write, edit, and approve a single source of content. Since the content is modular, you can create different combinations of modules. And \u2026 you can push different content combinations to different platforms.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first modular content management system we built was for the LSE\u2019s <\/span>Urban Age<\/span><\/a> site. The latest is the new <\/span>Nuffield Trust<\/span><\/a> site, but there are others in the works, each one building on the last.<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital first has unstoppable momentum and \u2013 while we have still have a long way to go before we are actually producing content in this way as standard \u2013 there is a fairly good consensus on what the content will look like when we get there.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, as I said, communications is not just about content. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond government<\/span><\/h2>\n

In his 2016 RSA lecture Matthew Taylor offered a critique of what he dubbed \u00a0\u201cthe policy presumption\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n

By this I mean an assumption among ministers, civil servants and policy advisors, but equally all of us \u2026 that, on the whole, the most effective way to accomplish social change is to pull the big levers of central government policy.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, policy still needs to be evidence-based. But that is not sufficient. People are mistrustful of political elites. They feel let down and not listened to. In massive numbers, they are looking elsewhere for change. We are realising that successful policy involves engaging with values, feelings and relationships \u2013 and with the lived experience of people who deliver and receive public services. <\/span><\/p>\n

Policy impact often means changing the conversation gradually over years but it also means acting opportunistically when the time is right. And it can mean building coalitions to stand up for what we believe and challenging those in power when they act against evidence and against progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

Politics has changed. The public perception of politics \u2013 and by extension policy \u2013 has changed. The ways that policy is delivered on the ground and that services are designed has changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>recent publication<\/span><\/a> on think tank impact, Julia Slay writes that: <\/span><\/p>\n

Some think tanks are beginning to look beyond government as the source of change and towards other organisations and activists that can build grassroots support among the public, campaigners and organisational partnerships.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Think tanks have always been good at public affairs and media communications \u2013 working directly with political decision-makers or through the media to create impact. But we\u2019ve rarely been very good at capturing the public imagination. And we\u2019ve never been very good at mobilising mass support. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because we never had to. Until now. <\/span><\/p>\n

Going pro<\/span><\/h2>\n

I believe that digital first is actually part of a wider movement towards the professionalisation of think tank communications which has been going on for over a decade now \u2013 a kind of ongoing revolution in think tanks comms.<\/span><\/p>\n

I often tell young Soapboxers that when I started working on think tanks reports they were all A5 size, all typeset in Times New Roman and all had a picture of Big Ben on the cover. It\u2019s only a partial lie. <\/span><\/p>\n

Design standards in think tank reports started improving dramatically about ten years ago. <\/span><\/p>\n

About seven years ago we started trying to present data in more imaginative, accessible ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

Five years ago think tanks started to take their visual identity more seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n

Three years ago we started getting report content online in full \u2013 the beginning of the long death of the PDF. <\/span><\/p>\n

This year modular content is taking off. <\/span><\/p>\n

Constant change. Constant progress. A constant move to more professional communications.<\/span><\/p>\n

The change is driven not just by the digital revolution in content, but also by the changing ways think tanks create impact and the much wider range of audiences we seek to engage.<\/span><\/p>\n

We need to take a step back and ask what kind of communications framework can meet these challenges. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the next step in our permanent revolution?<\/span><\/p>\n

We need to talk …<\/span><\/h2>\n

I\u2019m going to discuss four concepts which are commonplace for professional communications in other sectors, but which think tankers have struggled to get to grips with, ignored or actively turned up their noses at over the years. <\/span><\/p>\n

Corporate communications started taking these concepts seriously in the 1960s and 70s, with big charity and political comms not far behind. So it\u2019s time we got with the picture. I\u2019m afraid we need to talk about:<\/span><\/p>\n