What are some best practices for communicating policy evaluation results to different stakeholders?

1 Understand your stakeholders

Before you start communicating your policy evaluation results, you need to identify and analyze your stakeholders. Who are they? What are their interests, needs, expectations, and preferences? How do they use and value policy evaluation results? What are their existing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the policy or program? How do they communicate and access information? By understanding your stakeholders, you can tailor your communication strategy, messages, and methods to suit their characteristics and contexts.

2 Define your communication goals and objectives

Next, you need to clarify what you want to achieve by communicating your policy evaluation results. What are your communication goals and objectives? How do they align with your evaluation purpose and questions? How do they support your policy or program goals and objectives? How will you measure your communication success and impact? By defining your communication goals and objectives, you can focus your communication efforts, resources, and activities on the most relevant and important aspects of your policy evaluation results.

3 Develop your key messages and recommendations

Then, you need to distill your policy evaluation results into concise, clear, and compelling key messages and recommendations. What are the main findings, conclusions, and implications of your policy evaluation? What are the most important and actionable recommendations for your stakeholders? How can you present your key messages and recommendations in a way that is accurate, credible, and relevant to your stakeholders? How can you use storytelling, visualizations, and examples to illustrate and enhance your key messages and recommendations? By developing your key messages and recommendations, you can communicate your policy evaluation results in a way that captures and retains your stakeholders' attention and interest.

4 Choose your communication methods and channels

After that, you need to select the most appropriate and effective communication methods and channels for your policy evaluation results. What are the best ways to deliver your key messages and recommendations to your stakeholders? How can you use different formats, such as reports, briefs, presentations, infographics, podcasts, videos, or webinars, to suit different purposes, audiences, and situations? How can you use different channels, such as email, social media, websites, newsletters, media, or events, to reach and engage your stakeholders? How can you leverage existing networks, platforms, and opportunities to disseminate and promote your policy evaluation results? By choosing your communication methods and channels, you can optimize your communication reach and influence.

5 Plan and implement your communication activities

Finally, you need to plan and implement your communication activities in a timely, coordinated, and responsive manner. When and how will you communicate your policy evaluation results to your stakeholders? Who will be responsible for the communication tasks and roles? How will you coordinate and collaborate with your evaluation team, policy or program team, and other partners or stakeholders in the communication process? How will you monitor and evaluate your communication activities and outcomes? How will you adapt and adjust your communication strategy and tactics based on feedback and changing circumstances? By planning and implementing your communication activities, you can ensure that your communication is efficient, effective, and ethical.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?