Onderzoeksartikel

Het communicatiespectrum

---

Abstract

One of the seventeen recommendations of the Committee on the Future of Government Communication (2001) spoke of positioning communication in the process of policy development. To do so, the article states, one has to know exactly what this process entails. For each of the seven phases of policy development - agenda-setting, policy-making, decisionmaking, planning, execution, implementation and maintenance - the article names characteristics, goals and roles of the government and its constituents, their relations and the ideal communication and interaction strategies. In doing so, the article introduces the Communication Spectrum, presenting it for further discussion. The Spectrum is an instrument that provides, on the one hand, a framework for managers, policy-makers and experts in communication when articulating and translating the communication strategy. On the other hand it offers managers who are responsible for communication a helping hand in choosing the right approach. An increasing amount of turbulence and the ever-larger number of parties involved in the process of policy development undeniably links communication to the content and process. A successfull approach to policy development lies in the capacity of government organisations to combine these three powers. Unfortunately, experience demonstrates that this is not always the case. The article encourages the use and adaptation of the Spectrum to help organisations pursue this goal.

How to Cite:

Gehrels, C., (2002) “Het communicatiespectrum”, Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap 30(4), 347–369.