The course aims to provide the students with theoretical and practical competences on public communication as an autonomous discipline, with particular attention to the principles and ways in which Public Administrations inform and communicate with citizens (institutional public communication) and how public and non-profit organizations promote communication initiatives to raise population's awareness about  issues of particular social relevance (social communication).

Specifically, theoretical and practical competences concern:

A) The evolution of public communication from the Nineties to today: communicative theories, organizational theories, reference norms and public administrations reform processes.

B) The digitalization of Public Administrations and the impact of social and participatory web on institutional communication aimed at citizens and employees (external and internal communication, in a view of integrated communication)

C) Digital Challenges: Open Data, Public Engagement (smart cities), socialPA (goals and criteria for the use of social media by public administrations).

D) Styles and languages of social communication in the network society: how public organizations programme and implemente communication initiatives on socially relevant issues (eg smoking, alcohol, road safety, violence, etc.). Particular attention will be paid to crisis and emergency communication, with specific reference to the communication on Agenda 2030 sustainability issues (especially health, environment, social inclusion).

E) Principles and criteria for planning communication activities in a public administration.

The knowledge of innovative principles, strategies and criteria to design and implement institutional and social communication activities in the network society is a necessary know-how for the pursuit of the professions related to the communications sector within the Public Administration and non-profit organizations (public communicator, chief press officer, social media manager ...).

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

1 - Introduction to public communication

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

1.2. Evolution of public communication in time in the light of the communicative and organizational theories theories

 1.3.  The current state of public communication in the network society with the recent public system reforms and the internet evolution (increasing digitization)

2. Institutional and social communication on the web

- 2.1. Structures and tools for integrated institutional public communication in the era of social media (evolution of information and communication structure - Public Relations Office, Press Office, Spokesperson -).

- 2.2 Laws and policies of public communication on the web with the underway transformations (open data, public engagement/smart cities, social media for public administrations).

- 2.3 Communication and social advertising: social campaigns promoted by public administrations and 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).

3. Planning public communication activities

 3.1 How  to design communication initiatives:  institutional and social communication plan in public administrations - exercise groupSeminars will be organized on the following topics: seminar on new challenges for structures and professions of public communication today; preparatory seminar for group work on health and environmental communication (communicating sustainability, themes of 2030 Agenda).

Students must achieve:
1. Knowledge and understanding: the concepts and theories of the course (principles, norms, theoretical models of public and institutional public communication) through the acquisition of theoretical competences on public communication models with particular attention to the impact that Digital innovation and the spread of social and participatory media are producing on the strategies adopted by public administrations to communicate with citizens in the network society.
1.1. Students gain such basic knowledge through the frequency of lessons and the study of the texts discussed in the classroom.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: through the ability to analyze the strategies and activities promoted by public administrations and the ability to plan institutional communication in the public domain.
2.1. Skills gained through classroom workout moments.
3. Making Judgements: Critical reflection on the theoretical and empirical changes in the public institutional communication, starting from the observation of communicative practices that see public administrations, non-profit organizations and related citizens as public figures.
3.1. Such judgment skills should be applied in classroom confrontation with the teacher and colleagues during the exercises and in the preparation of the final exam.
4. Communicative Skills: Students are asked to interact in the classroom through questions, exchanges with fellow students, writing short presentations during the tutorial.
4.1. Skill exercised in the classroom with the organization of discussion and exercise moments.
5. Learning Skills: students are required to adopt a critical learning method capable of connecting theoretical skills and empirical analysis, focusing on the specification of an autonomous thought.
5.1. Skills to enhance thanks to the argument with the teacher and with the classmates.

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 (group work).

Innovative teaching methods

A substantial part of the course is dedicated to carrying out a workshop according to innovative teaching methods, such as scenario simulation and learning by doing. The group work that is an integral part of the workshop is in fact aimed at designing a communication plan on socially relevant issues (related to environmental and social sustainability) related to the 2030 Agenda. Some of the projects conceived can be taken into consideration for the effective implementation of social communication campaigns/initiatives by specific institutions.

Attendance

It will be a compulsory attendance 50% of the lesson time.The study of the texts in the program is compulsory.

It is not possible to take the exam as a non-attending student, with the exception of students enrolled in part-time mode.

Course books

Canel M.J. and Luoma-aho V. (eds.) (2019), Public Sector Communication. Closing Gaps Between Citizens and Public Organizations, Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken NJ USA.

Ducci G., Materassi L., Solito L. (2020), Re-connecting scholars’ voices. An historical review of public communication in Italy in the open government framework, Partecipazione&Conflitto, vol. 13 (2) anno 2020: 1062-1084. Open access:  http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/22502

Lovari A., D'Ambrosi L., Bowen S. A. (2020), Re-Connecting Voices. The (New) Strategic Role of Public Sector Communication After the Covid-19 crisis, Partecipazione&Conflitto, vol. 13 (2) anno 2020: 970-989, Open access:  http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/22497/18928 

Norman C. D. (2010), Social media and health promotion, Global Health Promotion, vol. 19(4), 3-.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1757975912464593

Lovari A., Martino V., Righetti N. (2020), Blurred Shots: Investigating the Information Crisis Around Vaccination in Italy, American Behaviour Scientist, 1-20.

Cioni, E., & Lovari, A. (2014), Social media for health communication: Implementation issues and Challenges for Italian Public Health Authorities. In M. Houses, E. Boricky, & A. Kushniruk (Eds.), Social media and mobile technologies for healthcare (pp. 235-261).
Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Assessment

Oral examination

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.

Course books

The set texts for part-time students – who are able to take the exam as non-attending students – are:

Canel M.J. and Luoma-aho V. (eds.) (2019), Public Sector Communication. Closing Gaps Between Citizens and Public Organizations, Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken NJ USA.

Ducci G., Materassi L., Solito L. (2020), Re-connecting scholars’ voices. An historical review of public communication in Italy in the open government framework, Partecipazione&Conflitto, vol. 13 (2) anno 2020: 1062-1084. Open access:  http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/22502

Lovari A., D'Ambrosi L., Bowen S. A. (2020), Re-Connecting Voices. The (New) Strategic Role of Public Sector Communication After the Covid-19 crisis, Partecipazione&Conflitto, vol. 13 (2) anno 2020: 970-989, Open access:  http://siba-ese.unisalento.it/index.php/paco/article/view/22497/18928 

Norman C. D. (2010), Social media and health promotion, Global Health Promotion, vol. 19(4), 3-.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1757975912464593

Lovari A., Martino V. and Righetti N. (2020), Blurred Shots: Investigating the Information Crisis Around Vaccination in Italy, American Behaviour Scientist, 1-20.

Cioni, E., & Lovari, A. (2014), Social media for health communication: Implementation issues and Challenges for Italian Public Health Authorities. In M. Houses, E. Boricky, & A. Kushniruk (Eds.), Social media and mobile technologies for healthcare (pp. 235-261).
Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

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.

Attendance is obligatory for a minimum of 50% of the lessons. It is not possible to take the exam as a non-attending student, with the only exception of those students who are enrolled in part-time mode.