Citizen participatory focus groups on Meaningful & Ethical Communications
Final Report
The study examines EU citizens' views of public institutional communications. Commissioned by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) under the Enlightenment 2.0 program, the study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and ethics of public communication strategies. Through focus groups in nine EU Member States, the study explores citizens' expectations and experiences with institutional messages, excluding party political and commercial communications.
Participants, diverse in demographics and political engagement, assessed examples of public communications and discussed their preferences. They favoured clear, concise, and actionable information with official logos to distinguish institutional messages. The study found confusion between institutional and political communications, with citizens often unable to differentiate them. Participants approved content based on personal relevance and disapproved of communications with negative framing or patronizing tones.
The study highlighted citizens' views for transparency, accessibility, and a balance between informative and persuasive communication. It revealed tensions in public communication strategies, such as the need for attention-grabbing messages without resorting to manipulation or scare tactics.The findings suggest that while citizens are open to creative and emotionally compelling messages, they value honesty, clarity, and respect. This research offers insights for public institutions to enhance communication strategies, ensuring they meet citizens' expectations for ethical, effective, and inclusive messaging.
KANTAR Public;
SILVA ALMEIDA Mara;
SMILLIE Laura;
2024-06-05
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC137915
978-92-68-15533-2 (online),
OP KJ-09-24-283-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC137915,
10.2760/32390 (online),
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