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European Policy Framework for SDGs

Communications Best practice for SDGs and policy

Adriana Farenga (Comms Intern)Bruxelles, 8 Feb 2016This presentation does not necessarily represent IEEP’s view.

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Background

22 November - the EU Commission published a Communication on embedding the SDGs into EU policy and fulfill the goals of 2030 Agenda.

The Communication came with:• A proposal of a new Consensus on Development • A staff working document• A Eurostat report on sustainability in Europe

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The communications mix:

- A general press release translated in all the different EU languages

- Two dedicated press releases written in the three EU official working languages;

- Q&A session on Twitter

- Conference in Brussels on 20 December (live on Twitter)

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Social media strategy

• Consistent activity (including Youtube and Instagram)• High activity on Twitter (ongoing)• Use of theme hashtags (#SDGs, #development, #Eudev, #Peace)

and #EUDevConsensus - the campaign hashtag

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Social media strategy

Each channel is integrated with the others, publicising uniformly on all channels:

YouTube <-> Twitter <-> Facebook <-> Instagram <-> LinkedIn

Link to some of the videos:• A new Consensus on Development: the EU will do more, do it better and do it differently • The European Commission's paradigm shift for development cooperation • A paradigm shift for the European Union's development policy with the new Consensus on Develop

ment

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Social media strategy

The Twitter Q&A session took place on 30 November, under the hashtags #EUDevConsensus and #EUDevChat.

Institutions, International Organizations, and NGOs took this occasion to asIEEP did not take part in this Q&A session.

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Stakeholder Reactions

• WWF’s reaction was severe.

• Production of an Infographic.

• They have not reacted since the 22 of November.

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• More encouraging reaction to the Communication.

• Launch a series of blogs dedicated to the implementation of the SDGs.

• Blogs prepared the launch of Oxfam’s report on inequalities.

• Constant activity on social media and on the website, using the campaign hashtag.

Oxfam’s reaction

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Hyperlinks to Oxfam’s blogs:

1) Is EU development policy fit for the future – and is it fit for purpose? (25 Nov)

2) The New European Consensus: can the European External Investment Plan be pro-poor when it comes to growth and jobs? (28 Nov)

3) New EU framework has strong rhetoric on human development – but questions remain about money for its implementation (5 Dec)

4) EU’s focus on big agri-business puts sustainability of agriculture at risk (19 Dec)

5) Migration, peace and development: when concrete action clashes with a positive vision (22 Dec)

6) More than aid: tax is crucial for sustainable development (13 Jan)

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• Complete disappointment for the Communication and its lack of new ideas and proposals.

• Use of a comic to attract the reader’s attention, making a serious critic in a funny way.

SDG Watch Europe’s reaction:

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CISDE and FTAO’s reaction CONCORD’s reaction

Conclusion:NGOs agreed that the plan described in the Communication is inadequate to fulfil its purpose, and needs implementation in order to be actualised. The general message is a call for a concrete action that goes beyond the words.

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We have expressed a vision on SDGs and the need of concrete actions for their implementation.

Céline’s editorial said think tanks and research institutions needed to take an active role in supporting the transformation of EU Member States towards sustainable development, and proposed:

• Back casting: Working backwards from the SDGs to identify scenarios and policy options that can define concrete pathways to the desired future. Existing documents will not suffice. While still useful, the EU’s 2020 strategy is too growth oriented and short term;

• Innovative policies and governance: There is a need for reforming and simplifying European governance structure, to enable it to deliver the scale and speed of change needed;

• Financing: To mobilise public and private funding to implement SDGs, there is a need for robust information regarding the costs of both the transition and the business-as-usual approach in Europe;

• Bridging the gap between the knowledge community and the public: Citizens and the wider public need to be provided with information on what their governments have committed to within the SDGs.

The IEEP position

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The IEEP reaction

IEEP reacted to the Communication with a tweet, published on 23 November, which performed decently:

To give more visibility to this tweet, we could have used more tags, and possibly also the appropriate hashtag.However, considering the limited number of characters available, this would have meant to make more tweets on the topic.

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- News item on SDGs in the EU policy framework, uploaded on IEEP website on 14 December.

- Content: IEEP does not approve the Commission’s Communication. A lot more needs to be done. Reproposition of IEEP’s position (see slide n.12)

- Tone: authoritative and clear, but not excessively critic or severe

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• The link to the news item then has been spread on both LinkedIn and Twitter, gaining quite a number of reactions, especially on LinkedIn.

• Next step: development of a 4-pager dedicated to IEEP’s work on SDGs.

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Live coverage on Twitter of EU Commission’s conference (20th December).

Outcomes of this action:- 16 tweets produced- 10,3k impressions gained- 29 likes- 20 retweets- 29 link clicks

The IEEP reaction

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Conclusions

• EU Commission communications took advantage of different actions:- Press releases and a conference- Social media channels- Joint action between the various social media platforms and the traditional channels

• Particular relevance of Social Media Strategy:- more and more people look for information through Twitter and other social media platform. - Social media shorten distances between institutions, organizations and people, while creating a quicker and more

transparent dialogue.

• The live chat on Twitter created curiosity and attention around the Communication, depicting DG DEVCO as a transparent Institution.

• Social media allows users to make joint actions between the channels, using also images and videos, that can attract different audiences, speaking with different sectorial languages.

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• Stakeholders reactions expressed through press releases and spread through social media.

• Use of impressive images, able to caught the readers attention.

• Oxfam took the occasion of the EU Communication to create a vivid movement of opinion.

• Oxfam’s blog series spread using relevant hashtags, preparing the stage for the launch of the Oxfam’s report on inequalities.

• ECDPM tweets on average twice a week using the mentioned hashtags but linking to previous works that can offer details and ideas for future steps.

Conclusions

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• IEEP’s reaction has been particularly appreciated on Linkedin

• Twitter: the live coverage of the conference gave high visibility to IEEP’s profile

• Possible future actions on Twitter: follow up some news, using appropriate hashtags and tags, and connecting constantly with IEEP’s reports.

• Consideration on the news item: we could have been “faster” and upload immediately a reaction. However, differently from other press releases on the topic, IEEP’s news item included a real proposal on what to do.

Conclusions

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Questions and next steps:

• IEEP reacted to the launch of this report retweeting Oxfam’s tweet, asking what are the environmental risks of inequalities. We can do the same with EU institution, asking to give more light on the environmental implication of the Communication, and on what needs to be done in practice to deliver the 2030 Agenda.

• Use the technique used by Oxfam to promote old reports, or to launch new ones.

• Production of promoting material and events (a 4-pager, a briefing, a workshop or a conference) on the next step to take in order to implement environmental policy, in the light of the 2030 Agenda

• Creation of impressive pictures or infographics.

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European Policy Framework for SDGsThank you for your attention!

Adriana Farenga (Comms Intern)This presentation does not necessarily represent IEEP’s view.