The course aims to provide students with theoretical and practical skills on the planning and management institutional communication in the Public Administrations in the digital age, considering the evolution that public communication has experienced in recent years at national and international level.

These skills imply a complex and integrated vision of the external and internal communication of institutions, taking into account the synergistic use of  traditional and  advanced communication technologies (ex .: social and participatory web, social media, open data).

The course is also aimed at the acquisition of useful knowledge to critically observe the emerging forms of social communication, interaction and citizens' involvement  in decision-making by public institutions and nonprofit organizations, according to a vision of participated and shared administration.

The knowledge of principles, strategies and innovative criteria with which to design and implement activities of social and institutional communication in digital PA constitutes know-how needed to carry out professions related to the field of communication within the public administration and non-profit organizations.

The course will address the following topics in the order below:

A brief introduction to public communication

- Definition of public communication: area of interest and peculiarities of the discipline.

 - The current state of public communication based on the recent reforms of the public system

Institutional and social communication on the web

- Structures and tools for integrated public-institutional communication-institutional  in the era of social media.

- Laws and policies of public communication on the web with the underway transformations (open data, open-government, web 2.0)

- Communication and social advertising: social campaigns promoted by the public administration and the non-profit organizations. Criteria for choosing themes, objectives, strategies and actions taken in the changed context of communication (public communication 2.0, social media planning).

Planning public communication activities

- How  to design communication initiatives:  institutional and social communication plan in public administrations - exercise group

 The student must demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and theories provided by the course (principles, standards, theoretical models relating to institutional and social communication);

- The student must demonstrate the possession of the ability to use knowledge and concepts that allow to reason according to the specific logic of the discipline; - he must be able, in particular, to make strategic choices in the programming of activities of internal and external institutional environment, according to a vision of integrated communications.

-He must demonstrate to be able to identify programming methodologies of the on and off line communication of a public administration appropriate to the contexts; simulate the design of communication activities and propose possible actions; highlight strengths and problems of planned interventions.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lessons and exercise (working group) in classroom

Attendance

It will be a compulsory attendance 50% of the lesson time.

Course books

- Ducci G. (2016), Relazionalità consapevole. La comunicazione efficace tra PA e cittadini nella società connessa, FrancoAngeli, Milano (the processing and printing of the book is in course)

- Solito L. e Splendore S. (a cura di) (2016), Questioni in comune: giornalismo e comunicazione pubblica tra social media e open data, Numero monografico della rivista Problemi dell'Informazione 1/2016, Il Mulino, Bologna. (only the contributes that the teacher will indicate at the beginning of the course)

- Gadotti G. e Bernocchi R. (2010), La pubblicità sociale - Maneggiare con cura, Carocci Editore, Roma.

- Fiori A. e Sacchetti F. (2015), Ricerca-azione sul mondo della donazione e sui processi comunicativi, FrancoAngeli, Milano (read only)

Assessment

Oral examinaion

The verification will be through individual interview based on textbooks, aimed at assessing the learning content by the student and his reworking skills and argumentation.

Assessment criteria:

For excellent assessments: possession of good critical thinking skills and in-depth by the student; knowing how to link together the main issues addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with respect to the specificity of the discipline.

For discrete assessments: possession of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents by the student; a relative critical and linking the topics: the use of appropriate language.

For sufficient assessments: the achievement of a wealth of minimal knowledge on the topics covered by the student, despite some training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

For negative assessments: difficulties of orientation by the student with respect to the issues addressed in the exam papers; training gaps; the use of an inappropriate language ".

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Study of the course books.

Course books

- Ducci G. (2016), Relazionalità consapevole. La comunicazione efficace tra PA e cittadini nella società connessa, FrancoAngeli, Milano (the processing and printing of the book is in course)

- Solito L. e Splendore S. (a cura di) (2016), Questioni in comune: giornalismo e comunicazione pubblica tra social media e open data, Numero monografico della rivista Problemi dell'Informazione 1/2016, Il Mulino, Bologna. 

- Gadotti G. e Bernocchi R. (2010), La pubblicità sociale - Maneggiare con cura, Carocci Editore, Roma.

- Fiori A. e Sacchetti F. (2015), Ricerca-azione sul mondo della donazione e sui processi comunicativi, FrancoAngeli, Milano.

Assessment

Oral examinaion

The verification will be through individual interview based on textbooks, aimed at assessing the learning content by the student and his reworking skills and argumentation.

Assessment criteria:

For excellent assessments: possession of good critical thinking skills and in-depth by the student; knowing how to link together the main issues addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with respect to the specificity of the discipline.

For discrete assessments: possession of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents by the student; a relative critical and linking the topics: the use of appropriate language.

For sufficient assessments: the achievement of a wealth of minimal knowledge on the topics covered by the student, despite some training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

For negative assessments: difficulties of orientation by the student with respect to the issues addressed in the exam papers; training gaps; the use of an inappropriate language ".

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

For part-time students attendance of the lectures is not mandatory. Students who will not attend at least the 50% of the lectures will have to contact the teacher.