Preconference: Public Sector Communication: The Challenge of Building Intangible Assets
Thursday  May 22, ICA 2015

Sponsored Sessions

Chairs
Maria Jose Canel, U Complutense de Madrid, SPAIN Vilma L. Luoma-aho, U of Jyvaskyla, FINLAND
Public sector organizations are globally challenged by reaching and engaging citizens and maintaining their trust, a challenge for which the role communication plays needs to be more fully analysed. Present world economic and financial crisis, associated with a crisis of trust in public institutions, is challenging both practitioners and researchers with ethical issues about the practice of communication in the public sector. As long as this crisis implies doing more with less (functions and responsibilities are being increased and resources are coming under threat), citizens’ expectations are not met. Public sector organizations are being impelled to legitimize their activities in order to preserve their existence, bringing communication into the center of public sector practice. This preconference focuses on the role communication plays in building intangible assets for the public sector, through concepts such as expectations, reputation, legitimacy, social capital, intellectual capital, engagement and trust.

Programa: 20150416.PreConference Programme ICA 2015

Presentación: Luoma-aho Canel.Public sector communication.Introductory remarks