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Communications and Engagement Strategy 2025-28

Rushcliffe Borough Council Communications and Engagement Strategy 2025-28

Review: Annually

Next Update: 2028

Contents

Foreword

“Communication and engagement with our residents and stakeholders is ever more important in an age when we strive to meet the pace of change of the digital era with the need to still reach out to people face to face.

“This strategy aims to ensure Rushcliffe’s demographic is ever more informed and engaged and that we can listen to feedback on our services in ways that are relevant, convenient and timely.

“We have developed this strategy through ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders and we will will continue to listen and ask all where we can improve Council services and partnerships for the benefit of all and improve the quality of life in the borough.”

Cllr Jonathan Wheeler
Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Wellbeing, Member Development and ICT,
Rushcliffe Borough Council

 

“This strategy lies at the heart of the services we provide to residents every day. The ways in which our staff engage with our communities is vital to strengthening and shaping our services so they can be as effective as possible. Our corporate priorities are also linked to this, ensuring our communications and engagement assist a better quality of life, efficient services, better our environment and maintain sustainable growth.

“It’s vital our colleagues can do so in line with our key values of showing commitment, collaborating, striving for excellence, embracing inclusivity and acting with integrity.”

Adam Hill, Chief Executive, Rushcliffe Borough Council

 

Purpose

Information is one of our most important ‘frontline’ services.

Residents and all stakeholders need information about Council services, what’s going on in the Borough, who to contact, what the Council is doing and more about services which contribute to their quality of life.

Residents pay Council Tax to Rushcliffe Borough Council; in return they expect a variety of services, delivered to a high quality, that meet their needs, in order to understand these needs the Council needs to engage with and listen to its residents.

The easier it is for them to access these services, or to find out information about what their Council Tax is being spent on, the more satisfied they are – and happy residents make for a happy Borough.

If residents aren’t informed or actively engaged, there is less opportunity to positively enhance services, activities, plans and proposals and this may not maximise networks with the community it serves. There can also be a connection between uninformed residents understandably reacting less favourably if they are not engaged effectively.

There is information to suggest that residents are more likely to engage with a council where it is clear that residents’ views are taken into account and where they feel they can influence decisions, in line with those made by councillors.

This means that the production of quality communications and engagement highlighting the strategic development work of the Council as well as the delivery of direct, frontline services is an essential factor in continuing to make Rushcliffe a great place to live and work.

To be effective, this information needs to be timely and engaging, clear and accurate, inclusive and informative as well as utilising a variety of channels and mediums to ensure as many residents as possible are informed. This is in line with the Council’s Customer
Access Strategy 2025-28, ICT Strategy 2025-28 where relevant and its 2023-2027 Corporate Strategy.

 

How do we communicate?

As of March 2025, we have approaching 30,000 followers on our social media channels.

Our corporate website has nearly 2 million page views annually, with an average of over 35,000 unique users visiting each month.

Our twice yearly Rushcliffe Reports magazine is delivered to every home in the borough, reaching out to those who may not engage with us digitally.

Our events team host a number of popular events every year and our Customer Service face-to-face sites offer opportunities for residents’ queries to be answered in four locations, the most sites of any Council in Nottinghamshire.

Campaigns and digital communications

Based on insight, objectives, strategy, tactics and evaluation.

Media relations

Build effective relationships to ensure that the council voice is heard and well represented locally, regionally and nationally.

Events and promotions

Deliver events that support our corporate priorities, encourage visitor footfall and grow our economy with features that appeal to sub-regional audiences.

Place and tourism

Develop and promote the cultural assets and maximise the benefits of the visitor economy and promote them locally, regionally and nationally.

Internal communications

Maintain effective channels of communication so that colleagues are well informed. Encourage interaction, listen to colleagues and support the delivery of the five corporate values.

Corporate and civic

Communicating the civic and statutory duties of the council and the democratic process.

Leading and collaborating on crisis and emergency communications

Working with the Local Resilience Forum and Nottinghamshire County Council.

Collaborating and enhancing partnerships such as Building Control services

Maximising partnerships to deliver even more efficient services to residents.

Brand management of all communications activity

Be a guardian of all communications branding for external and internal content.

 

Communication and Engagement channels

Our website www.rushcliffe.gov.uk

Our social media channels: Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube

Our weekly newsletters - available to sign up to at: www.rushcliffe.gov.uk

Rushcliffe Reports - Delivered to every home in the borough twice a year.

Customer Service face-to-face sites in West Bridgford, Cotgrave, Bingham and East Leake.

Our events including Proms in the Park, Lark in the Park, Taste of Rushcliffe and Christmas Lights Switch On plus other seasonal activities.

Our local Town and Parish Councils - updated with fortnightly newsletter

Local media outlets including West Bridgford Wire, Nottinghamshire Live, BBC East Midlands Today and Radio Nottingham, ITV Central, Notts TV, Newark Advertiser, The Local News Group and other local radio stations.

 

Digital Reach

Total Facebook followers - 9,235

Total X followers - 10,274

Total Instagram followers - 3,278

Total LinkedIn followers - 4,101

 

Newsletters:

Garden waste: over 25,000

Residents newsletter: over 6,000 subscribers

 

Public Relations:

Between January 2024 - December 2024:

We received and responded to 73 press enquiries.

We issued 169 press releases, all of which were used by at least one media outlet.

 

Target Audiences

Residents

We will foster positive relationships between the council and the community through open and honest two-way communication. We will engage and inform the community about initiatives, programmes of activity and services through a broad range of digital channels and
provide targeted communications where they are needed.

In our communications, we will highlight the local authority’s commitment to openness, accountability, and responsible governance. We will partner with community organisations that work with vulnerable people to help us to engage with harder-to-reach groups.

Stakeholders

We will build relationships with key stakeholders and support partnership working with community organisations, educational institutions and businesses.

We will support work to collaborate and achieve common goals as key projects and partnerships involve including East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) and East Midlands Freeport. We’ll also actively promote working for RBC as a great employer to assist the Council’s recruitment process.

Staff and elected members

Internal communications are as important to us as external communications.

As a team, we will facilitate effective communication and engagement within the organisation, align employees and members with strategic objectives and reinforce the organisation’s values and culture.

Media

The Media Team is the go-to place for local media regarding issues affecting the borough. We have built trusting and positive relationships with local media and offer a professional and timely media handling service.

We provide accurate and timely information to journalists and news outlets, offer interviews and expert opinions on relevant matters and champion our community on a regional and national scale.

We will use our media channels to promote a vibrant and inclusive community and showcase the initiatives being delivered to local, regional and national audiences.

Looking ahead

External

Over the life of this Strategy, we intend to review the range of channels we use to communicate to and with residents to include potential new social media channels and further explore direct means to reach stakeholders including digital newsletters to their email inbox.

We also intend to further explore artificial intelligence tools and more engaging technologies such as more tailored and bespoke content on our social media channels, as well as continuing to develop strong, positive relationships with the local media outlets to ensure our communications reach as wide an audience as possible.

There are also a number of specific tasks to increase the transparency of our decision making processes and broaden the profile of our councillors within their local communities. We are also committed to engaging further with our residents through a large scale residents’ survey and associated consultation activities to inform the future plans of the Council.

This strategy demonstrates our commitment to clear and consistent communications that meet the needs of all our stakeholders, assisted by an annual communications plan. This is also in conjunction with ensuring our content is as accessible as possible, highlighted by our continued Shaw Trust accreditation for our website.

Good external communication is vital if the Council is to enhance its already strong reputation. Effectively communicating with residents, engaging them in healthy debate, and meeting their needs as customers of the services we provide, are all important elements of delivering efficient engaging communications.

Internal

Effective internal communications are important if the Council is to inform Councillors and staff in an effective and timely manner, listening to and adapting to contemporary channels to ensure all feel engaged with the key information they need.

Our latest research shows that 87% of Council staff are proud to work for the organisation in a 2024 survey.

We will continue to consult and ask for the views of all internal stakeholders to ensure weekly updates such as Staff Matters and Councillors’ Connection provide timely and informative updates in the formats that all find most convenient.

Engagement

The Council acknowledges a new focus on engagement during the lifetime of this strategy will only strengthen existing communication methods and now seeks to reach out even more to communities and those who may not directly feedback on services regularly.

New principles on the next page will highlight the direction of this refocused approach on wider aspects of communication and engagement.

Communication and Engagement Principles

  • Informing with timely, effective updates and content to stakeholders
  • Listening, responding and consulting with stakeholders
  • Involving and reaching out to stakeholder groups to shape services
  • Discussing and devolving selected engagement activity to stakeholder groups
  • Working and collaborating with partners

This strategy builds on the External and Internal Communications Strategy 2022 - 2025, with an increased focus and new section on engagement activity with stakeholders.

This new emphasis on engaging further acknowledges the balance that continues between reaching stakeholders digitally with face-to-face and other methods to ensure council services and updates reach as many residents and groups as possible.

In the duration of this strategy we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of all communication and engagement activity, using the above key themes and shape them over the lifetime of this document for more tailored effective communications and engagement.

Ways we currently engage

The following methods of engagement are how the Council currently listen and welcome feedback from residents and stakeholders on a regular basis.

It is aware when there’s an issue that directly affects them, such as can be the case with any public body, the engagement can be negative and the Council seeks to resolve any issues as quickly and effectively as possible.

  • Consultation of planning applications
  • Service specific consultation such as a policy change or service review
  • Town and Parish Forum
  • Citizens’ Questions at Council
  • Our customer feedback procedure
  • The petition scheme
  • Officers and teams directly engaging with residents day in, day out
  • Direct feedback to officers at Council events
  • Statement of community involvement

Internally we also listen and engage through our bi-annual staff surveys, and the annual “who reads what survey” to help inform newsletter content (for staff and councillors) and consultations on topics and services as necessary.

Why further engagement?

Reaching out, listening and responding to stakeholders is increasingly important in the digital era. We endeavour to reach out to hard to reach, diverse groups, those with learning difficulties, dementia or neurodiversity and younger stakeholders and others who may not use our services.

We also want to converse with those not digitally engaged so we can continue to have their voice heard on services.

We engage currently with consultations throughout the year, both generally such as our Residents Surveys and more specific service requests for views on ongoing matters including community governance reviews or new community facilities.

This strategy has been extended to continue to assess how to engage with these groups and others to ensure information and the two way communication residents is maintained. This includes on Council services, what’s going on in the Borough and who to contact for queries.

The strategic development and production of quality communications and engagement over the next three years as well as the delivery of direct, frontline services and updates, is an essential factor in continuing to make Rushcliffe a great place to live and work.

We have an increasing and ever more diverse population in line with the growth of the borough and are aware an increasing number of people may not engage with the Council for a variety of reasons. The strategy seeks to engage further with a significant number of stakeholders who only contact us when they need to use our services.

We will proactively continue to tailor our communications and engagement to listen to the issues they may wish to be resolved, how they would like to engage with us in the future and how they can have their say and continually shape our services.

Evaluation - Monitoring the effectiveness of this strategy

Delivery of the tasks contained in this Strategy are monitored through the Council’s internal performance monitoring systems as well as through regular statistical updates to the relevant director. The following measures are monitored directly:

External

  • percentage of residents who feel the Council keeps them informed (residents’ survey)
  • percentage of residents who feel satisfied with Rushcliffe as a place to live (residents’ survey)
  • percentage of residents speaking positively about the Council (residents’ survey)
  • percentage of residents feeling they can influence decisions that affect their local area (residents’ survey)
  • the number of media releases produced
  • percentage of media releases which generate further coverage
  • the number of unique users visiting the Council’s website each month
  • satisfaction with the Council’s website
  • the number of transactions being completed via the Council’s website
  • the number of people following the Council on its social media channels
  • the engagement in Council news across all social media channels

Internal

  • The volume of unique open clicks for internal update for staff and councillors
  • The volume of engagement in staff campaigns and updates
  • The volume of stakeholders who engage
  • Anecdotal feed back from stakeholders month to month to tweak and shape updates
  • The volume of open rate and wider engagement of Staff Matters newsletters and Intranet clicks
  • Engaging directly with the Employee Liaison Group on communications
  • How we engage in partnerships with fellow colleagues across Councils as we share services such as Building Control

We pledge to

  • Maintain, refresh and introduce updates and channels that ensure key messages reach the audiences in the most timely and direct manner that inform or ‘nudge’ behaviour appropriately.
  • Ensure information links back to corporate priorities and where applicable assists the Council’s policies and makes communications as accessible as possible.
  • Make stakeholders aware of wider Council related news and information that assists them updating their peer groups and communities.
  • Ensure our communications comply with The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and all relevant legislation.
  • Any external communication published in any format or on any channel will have due regard to the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity 2011 especially with regard to objectivity, even-handedness and political bias.

 

Communications and Engagement Strategy 2025-28

The Communications and Engagement Action Plan sets out the work plan for this strategy.

 

Accessible Documents