Communications
The BIZimpact Project was undertaking a range of activities to improve the flow of information to businesses, to meet their information needs identified in the survey and to improve public-private dialogue with the business community.
Specific activities included:
• Organising an awareness-raising campaign
• Organising a series of visibility events and information days throughout Croatia to inform the business community and the media and to stimulate dialogue
• Producing publications, CDs, a website etc to inform the business community, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions, guides to each of the 8 legislative areas and proposals for improvements to information services
• Training in PR/communications skills at national and regional level
Communications Strategy
Following circulation and discussion of the BINS results, a Communications Working Group was established in June 2008 to prepare a Communications Strategy for an Awareness-raising Campaign to address the information needs of small businesses identified in the research.
The Communications Working Group, which had regularly meetings to oversee implementation of the campaign, consisted of representatives of all Project’s partners (MINGORP, HAMAG, HGK, HOK and HUP) plus the Project team. Consultants from Coris Educa (part of the public relations agency Millenium promocija) had also been engaged to assist in preparing the Communications Strategy, the Action Plan (see below) and implementation of the Awareness-raising Campaign.
The Communications Strategy sets out the overall aim and objectives to be achieved during the Awareness-raising Campaign and the main fields of activities to be undertaken to fulfil these objectives.
The overall Aim of this Communications Strategy is derived from the overall purpose of the BIZimpact Project, namely: To improve information to SMEs and crafts in Croatia about changes to laws and regulations arising from Croatia’s accession to the European Union so that they better understand the changes, are better able to comply with them and are better able to compete in the European market.
This overall Aim is broken down into a number of Specific Objectives:
• Specific Objective 1: Sources of Information. Improving the sources of information of BIZimpact’s partner organisations, and access to these sources, for small businesses concerning changes to laws and regulations in eight legislative fields arising from Croatia's accession to the European Union.
• Specific Objective 2: Dissemination of Information. Improving dissemination of information to small businesses by BIZimpact’s partner organisations concerning changes to laws and regulations in the eight legislative fields, and develop public-private dialogue concerning these changes, with particular emphasis on targeting the most relevant information to specific groups or sectors of enterprises.
• Specific Objective 3: Media. Improving understanding and coverage in the Croatian media at national and regional level of changes to laws and regulations in the eight fields and their importance to small businesses.
• Specific Objective 4: Internal Communications. Improving communications within and between partner organisations, between their central and county/regional structures and between partner organisations and other providers of information to small businesses.
• Specific Objective 5: Collaboration with other Information Providers. Increasing collaboration in the provision of information to small businesses between partner organisations and between partners and other providers of information to small businesses at national, county/regional and local level.
• Specific Objective 6: Communications Training. Upgrading the communications skills and capacities of partner organisations and other providers of information to small businesses.
• Specific Objective 7: Regional Piloting. In co-operation with the county/regional structures of partner organisations and other information providers at county/regional and local level, piloting information activities in selected counties/regions of Croatia as examples of good practice.
The Communications Strategy was finalised and agreed in July 2008. The final version can be downloaded below.
Action Plan for Awareness-raising Campaign
Following agreement of the Communications Strategy, a detailed Action Plan for its implementation was prepared and discussed by the Communications Working Group. This Action Plan sets out precise activities and tasks which are required to achieve each of the Specific Objectives, plus the responsibilities for each, resources required and a timetable for implementation.
The Action Plan was finalised and agreed in September 2008. The final version can be downloaded below.
Action Plan
Timetable of Action Plan
Implementation of the Awareness-raising Campaign
To initiate the Awareness-raising Campaign and involve as many of the Project’s partners and other stakeholders as possible, a series of regional seminars was being organised. The following seminars have already taken place:
• Lika, Kordun and Banovina Region: 12 November 2008, Karlovac (HGK County Chamber)
Karlovac Seminar Agenda
• National partners / stakeholders and Zagreb Region: 13 November, Zagreb (MINGORP)
Zagreb Seminar Agenda
• Northern Croatia Region: 10 December, Varaždin (HGK County Chamber)
Varaždin Seminar Agenda
Regional Piloting
In accordance with the BIZimpact Project’s commitment to improve information to small businesses throughout the regions of Croatia, it has been agreed to pilot communication activities relating to certain of the eight fields in particular regions of Croatia where these are most relevant.
For each of the five Croatian regions outside Zagreb, one of the eight fields has therefore been chosen, based on the relative importance of that field to the region in question. Information activities concerning that field was thus “piloted” in that region.
The pilot regions and field selected for each were as follows:
• Northern Croatia (Krapina-Zagorje, Varaždin, Koprivnica-Križevac, Bjelovar-Bilogora and Međimurje counties): standards for industrial products.
• Slavonia (Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Virovitica-Podravska, Brod-Posavina and Požega counties): standards for agricultural products.
• Lika and Banovina (Sisak-Moslavina, Karlovac and Lika-Senj counties): state aid.
• Istria and Primorje (Istria and Primorje-Goranska counties): competition policy.
• Dalmatia (Zadar, Šibenik-Knin, Split-Dalmatia and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties): environmental protection.
The other three fields - public procurement, intellectual property rights and consumer protection – are seen as being equally important for all regions of Croatia. Activities concerning these three fields were therefore focused in Zagreb (at national level).
Sustainability
While the Action Plan (see above) focused on communications activities during the lifetime of the BIZimpact Project (until September 2009), all partners agreed that the structures and processes started during this period should continue beyond the end of the Project. In particular, they all agreed that co-operation between the partners should continue in improving information to and developing dialogue with the small business community throughout Croatia.
The Action Plan therefore contains “Sustainability Recommendations” for many activities, suggesting how these can be continued after the end of the BIZimpact Project.
Communications Training
The BIZimpact Project aimed to provide training in communications and public relations skills to Project partner organisations at both national and regional / county level, in order to strengthen their capacity to participate in an awareness-raising campaign aimed at SMEs / crafts and opinion-formers, including the media.
Consultants from Coris Educa have therefore been contracted to provide a series of training courses. Each course lasts 1.5 days and consisted of a mix of presentations and practical exercises. Subjects covered in the training included:
Session 1
• Role of a communications officer – main tasks / the importance of PR
• Practical experience as a communications officer
• The Croatian media – national and regional
• Working with the media
• Practical working groups (2) - drafting a press release / organising a media event + feedback / discussion
Session 2
• Communications within and between organisations
• Dealing with a crisis – preparing for and handling bad news
• Practice TV and radio interviews + feedback / discussion
Session 3
• Presentation skills – successful conferences and seminars
• Communicating with small businesses – problems and opportunities, targeting information
• Practical working groups (2) – potential real issues + feedback / discussion
• Further training needs – discussion + completion of evaluation forms
The first series of training courses were held in May-June 2008, as follows:
• 14-15 May, Osijek (HGK County Chamber)
• 19-20 May, Split (HGK County Chamber)
• 27-28 May, Varaždin (HOK County Chamber)
• 4-5 June, Rijeka (HGK County Chamber)
• 16-17 June, Zagreb (Croatian Standards Institute, MINGORP)
• 19-20 June, Zagreb (Croatian Standards Institute, MINGORP)
Full details of the courses are given in the following report:
Communications Training Report, May-June 2008 (English only)
Further courses in the same format have subsequently been held for partner organisations and key stakeholders as follows:
• 26-27 November 2008, Zagreb (Croatian Journalists’ Association)
• 3-4 December 2008, Zagreb (Croatian Journalists’ Association)
