Scottish Government Communications Plan 2016-17

02 Who We Are And What We Do

Communications division undertakes specialist, high-quality work to support the delivery of the Scottish Government's outcomes, providing the following functions and services:

News Hubs offer strategic and tactical communications advice to Ministers and officials, as well as communicating directly with the media to promote and explain Scottish Government policies. They are placing increased emphasis on broadcast, digital and online content to reflect changes in the way people access news and improve direct engagement with key audiences.

The Digital Communications Team provides advice to Ministers and staff on digital engagement and is responsible for the Scottish Government website (gov.scot) - our biggest single communication channel.

The Marketing Unit works with policy colleagues and provides advice to Ministers on how to use marketing as a lever to change behaviour, to inform the public about legislative change and to promote Scotland overseas.

The Corporate Communications Team uses internal communications and employee engagement to support organisational change and help staff do their jobs more effectively. It also promotes the organisation's reputation externally and is responsible for the Scottish Government's intranet.

Providing strategic and tactical communications advice

Ensuring insight is used to develop the most effective communications for audiences

The Strategy & Insight Team is responsible for providing overall strategic direction and ensuring insight is used to develop the most effective communications for audiences, to maximise reach, impact, efficacy and return on investment. It also promotes robust evaluation across Communications.

The Communications Services Unit works closely with the specialist teams to provide the support they need to do their job effectively, including news planning, media monitoring and budget and contract management.

We encourage Scottish Government officials to seek advice from Communications at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure we are all working as effectively as possible.

The division also welcomes conversations with public bodies about how we can collectively contribute to the delivery of Ministers' priorities.