Developing Resident Communication at the City of Helsinki
Wallenius, Tuuli (2020)
Wallenius, Tuuli
2020
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020112724788
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020112724788
Tiivistelmä
The main objective of this master’s thesis was to develop the City of Helsinki strategic communication to correspond to the residents’ expectations of communication, participation and citizen democracy. This study provides information about the expectations that pioneering residents in a new neighbourhood under construction have in terms of both communication and participation and points to domains of communication and participation to be developed as well as gives suggestions to this end.
This thesis is grounded on theories about strategic communication, stakeholder communication, expectation management, and organisational listening. Strategic communication that includes two-way, dialogic communication and listening to stakeholders and their expectations, is seen as key to enabling resident participation and implementing democracy in this study.
This thesis is based on a case study of the residents of Jätkäsaari. The research was de-signed and implemented in three steps. First, there was a mapping of the current means and practices of communication and participation of the City of Helsinki to and with its residents. It was followed by a survey to the residents of Jätkäsaari to find out their views of the communication of the City of Helsinki. After, there was a workshop for three communication managers in order to find ways to develop the city communication.
The main findings of the research were that the City of Helsinki and its communication enjoy the residents’ wide trust and the residents appreciate the communication as a whole. The City of Helsinki had fulfilled the residents’ expectations of reliability, and of getting relevant and interesting information in a clear and understandable way. However, the City of Helsinki had not been able to meet the residents’ expectations of listening, two-way communication and dialogue, nor their expectations concerning responding to feedback and possibilities to participate.
Thus, the main development suggestions to the City of Helsinki are to listen better to its res-idents, and develop its communication to be two-way and dialogic in order to answer to the expectations of residents and to enable their participation. This includes new structures and processes, such as creating new ways to deal with feedback, systematic and transparent communication about the possibilities of participation, as well as systematic monitoring and analysis of the residents’ expectations. In addition, the City of Helsinki should nurture a new organisational culture that puts the residents in focus. The City of Helsinki should also see that an organisation’s communication is the responsibility of the whole organisation, not just the communication department. Successful strategic communication requires input at every level. With these means, the City of Helsinki can increase the residents’ understanding of their possibilities to participate, and therefore, reinforce democracy.
This thesis is grounded on theories about strategic communication, stakeholder communication, expectation management, and organisational listening. Strategic communication that includes two-way, dialogic communication and listening to stakeholders and their expectations, is seen as key to enabling resident participation and implementing democracy in this study.
This thesis is based on a case study of the residents of Jätkäsaari. The research was de-signed and implemented in three steps. First, there was a mapping of the current means and practices of communication and participation of the City of Helsinki to and with its residents. It was followed by a survey to the residents of Jätkäsaari to find out their views of the communication of the City of Helsinki. After, there was a workshop for three communication managers in order to find ways to develop the city communication.
The main findings of the research were that the City of Helsinki and its communication enjoy the residents’ wide trust and the residents appreciate the communication as a whole. The City of Helsinki had fulfilled the residents’ expectations of reliability, and of getting relevant and interesting information in a clear and understandable way. However, the City of Helsinki had not been able to meet the residents’ expectations of listening, two-way communication and dialogue, nor their expectations concerning responding to feedback and possibilities to participate.
Thus, the main development suggestions to the City of Helsinki are to listen better to its res-idents, and develop its communication to be two-way and dialogic in order to answer to the expectations of residents and to enable their participation. This includes new structures and processes, such as creating new ways to deal with feedback, systematic and transparent communication about the possibilities of participation, as well as systematic monitoring and analysis of the residents’ expectations. In addition, the City of Helsinki should nurture a new organisational culture that puts the residents in focus. The City of Helsinki should also see that an organisation’s communication is the responsibility of the whole organisation, not just the communication department. Successful strategic communication requires input at every level. With these means, the City of Helsinki can increase the residents’ understanding of their possibilities to participate, and therefore, reinforce democracy.