Overview

The Directorate was responsible for whole of government communications, engagement, branding, public affairs advice and in 2013 the planning, coordination and delivery of the Centenary of Canberra celebrations.

The Directorate provided advice on protocol, managed hospitality and special events for the Chief Minister, and provided support for members of the Executive and their staff.  It also coordinated nominations for the ACT Australian of the Year, the ACT Citizen of the year, ACT Government nominations for the Public Service Medal, and nominations for the Order of Australia.

Highlights

Against this Output in 2013-14 the Directorate:

• delivered the Medicare Change Your Address campaign that encouraged new residents to Canberra to update their residential address with Medicare, resulting in 691 Canberrans changing their address, potentially bringing $1,727,500 in extra GST revenue;
• delivered the Canberra Gold Awards (which celebrate Canberrans who have contributed to the community for 50 years), the 37th annual Canberra Citizen of the Year award and ceremony, and the ACT Australian of the Year Awards;
• delivered media liaison officer training to the Public Information Sub-Committee of the Australia and New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee;
• provided secretariat support for the Canberra Nara Sister City Committee and hosted a successful visit by the Mayor of Nara and Mayoral delegation in October 2013;
• provided secretariat support to the ACT Veterans' Advisory Council, which met quarterly to discuss issues of importance to the local veterans' community;
• coordinated the sixth and seventh Twitter Cabinets in September 2013 and June 2014 respectively, attracting a total of over 1,500 tweets during both events;
• delivered International Association of Public Participation training in community engagement to government communicators and members of community groups;
• provided campaign advertising support across government and to the Independent Reviewer;
• managed the Coordinated Communications Network of ACT Government communications staff and regular media monitoring activities;
• raised funds for the construction of sanitation blocks at two schools in Dili and a Scouts Activity Centre as part of the Centenary of Canberra Dollars for Dili project;
• coordinated two 'Cabinet in the Community' events, held in conjunction with the openings of the Belconnen Community Health Centre and the refurbished Tuggeranong Community Health Centre;
• coordinated the implementation of the ACT Government Digital Mail Service that provides email messages on important government events and initiatives;
• coordinated tree planting at the National Arboretum by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in April 2014, and the Prime Minister of Singapore in June 2014; and
• finalised the delivery of the Centenary of Canberra program, further details are provided below.

The Directorate delivered on all of its accountability indicators against this Output:

• the Our City, Our Community newsletter was delivered to all Canberra households in September 2013 and March 2014;
• the Centenary of Canberra provided two updates to Government in the reporting period; and
• the average number of visits per month to the Time to Talk website was 2,333.

Centenary of Canberra

One of the major highlights of 2013-14 was the delivery of the Centenary program.  The Centenary of Canberra's vision was that 'All Australians proudly celebrate and share in the Centenary of Canberra, our nation's capital – the city that tells the story of our country's freedom, spirit, achievements and aspirations'.  To enable this, the program was diverse and included opportunities for visitors and the local community to engage, participate, contemplate and celebrate.  The program for the second half of the year included:

• Kick Up Your Heels – monthly themed social dances;
• Parties at the Shops, Parties at your place, and Parties in your Village;
• Portrait of a Nation: Unmade Edges – Distinctive Places;
• Harmony Bus which took passengers on a tour of significant multicultural venues around Canberra;
• Museum of the Long Weekend;
• Catalogue of Dreams by Urban Theatre Projects;
• Treasures of Canberra;
• Stellrscope;
• National Indigenous Basketball Championships;
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Golf Championships;
• Capital O – part of the 2013 Australian Orienteering Championships;
• the 5th Oceania Pan Hellenic Games Canberra 2013;
• the Nike Skateboarding Australia Pro/Am Tour;
• Team of Life by QL2 Theatre, developed through a series of workshops with young people;
• the forum Inside Out: New Actions for Change by First Australians held at the National Convention Centre;
• BLAK by Bangarra Dance Theatre at Canberra Theatre Centre;
• Country at M16 Artspace;
• Jack Charles v The Crown at Canberra Theatre Centre;
• Windsongs and Waterlines – Where is, What is, Wreck Bay? at Burrunju Aboriginal Gallery;
• Rock for Reconciliation at the Street Theatre;
• Hit the Floor Together at Canberra Theatre Centre;
• the historically and culturally significant Murra Bidgee Mullangari River Ceremony;
• Seeking Biloela at the Street Theatre;
• the Innovation and Discovery series, a program of events, occasions, tech fests, exhibitions, star-gazing sessions, lecture series, experiments, launches and openings throughout the year that celebrated Canberra's performance as a site of globally leading-edge research and innovation; and
• the Big Issues Big Talk program that brought together a range of lectures, speaker series and conferences throughout 2013.

Evaluation of the Centenary of Canberra

The Directorate developed a Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Framework, consistent with the ACT Government Evaluation Policy and Guidelines, to assess the program against the goals of the Centenary.  The Framework defines the key performance questions for each goal, baseline data, data needs, collection method and frequency.  Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were developed, corresponding to each of the Centenary of Canberra goals.  Consistent with the goals and the KPIs developed, the Centenary of Canberra has collected data to measure and analyse:

• consultation, involvement and collaboration of the ACT community, regional community and Australian community in the Centenary of Canberra celebrations;
• pride and a sense of ownership in Canberra as the national capital;
• media coverage of Canberra throughout the Centenary year;
• public and private investment in Canberra;
• events, initiatives and projects in the Centenary of Canberra program that are new to Canberra and either continue to operate in some form or inspire new productions; and
• the creation of new opportunities for connection with international partners.

The Framework evaluates the success of the Centenary as a whole and not just the activities of the Centenary team. 

A preliminary outcomes report was prepared by Langdale Consulting in February 2014.  The evaluation of the Centenary will continue until 2020 in accordance with the Framework.  The Community Services Directorate will assist CMTEDD in data collection.  The Communications team in CMTEDD will coordinate reporting.

Volunteers

Our special thanks to the over 450 registered volunteers who assisted on a number of Centenary of Canberra events.  Throughout 2013, 1,461 volunteer shifts were undertaken at 72 Centenary events, for a total of 6,465 hours.

Future Directions

In 2014-15, the Directorate will:

• through the Coordinated Communications Network, drive reforms to build and further improve communications capability and capacity;
• develop an ACT Government Digital Communications Strategy and Guidelines;
• conclude and evaluate the Centenary of Canberra program;
• deliver two Our City, Our Community digital newsletters in September 2014 and March 2015;
• review the ACT Government community engagement guidelines and 'tools', including the Time to Talk website;
• review and enhance the ACT Government Branding Guidelines, including use of the CBR brand within government;
• deliver the Canberra Citizen of the Year and Chief Minister's Canberra Gold Awards and ceremonies; and
• assist with ACT nominations for National Awards (OAM and above), Bravery Awards and Public Service Medals.

Further Information can be obtained from:

Anita Perkins
Acting Director
Communications
+61 2 6205 0035