Government Communications Planning Guide

Communication is a public service—not simply a campaign

A resident needs to know whether trash pickup changes. A parent needs to understand a program deadline. A business owner needs to plan around a road closure. A government communications plan succeeds when people can find accurate information, understand what it means, and take the right next step.

This Harbor Creative field guide offers a repeatable approach for cities, counties, utilities, education, parks, and other public organizations. It includes a six-question planning framework, realistic examples, working templates, and a release checklist. It does not replace statutory notice, public-records, privacy, accessibility, or emergency-management requirements.

The six-question Harbor framework

The framework is an original Harbor planning tool. It is informed by the U.S. Web Design System principles and the CDC Clear Communication Index.

1. Start with the problem, not the deliverable

“Create three social posts” describes production. “Help affected households confirm their new collection day before the schedule changes” describes a communication objective.

Distinguish outputs (posts, mailers, web pages, presentations) from outcomes (residents find the correct date, complete an application, or understand a decision). A polished flyer cannot compensate for a broken registration link or unanswered customer-service line.

Write one objective with an audience, an information need, a practical action, and a meaningful deadline.

Example objective: “Before the new service center opens, help current visitors identify the correct location, operating hours, and transportation options.”

2. Map audiences by needs and effects

A broad public audience rarely shares one information need. Residents near a construction project may need daily access details; businesses may need delivery instructions; frontline staff need verified answers; people without reliable internet need an alternative to a website.

Ask: Who will be affected but is least likely to see our first announcement? Validate assumptions with program staff, local information, and affected people rather than relying on stereotypes.

3. Write the message around verified facts

The CDC Clear Communication Index prioritizes a clear main message, a visible call to action, familiar language, and information organized with headings. Its guidance also encourages explaining what authoritative sources know and do not know.

For each communication, prepare:

• Main message: The one thing the reader needs to remember.
• Essential facts: Who, what, where, when, and why.
• Action: What to do, by when, and through which verified path.
• Uncertainty: What is not decided and when it may change.
• Help: A working contact or alternative way to obtain assistance.

Before: “Pursuant to the implementation of revised departmental service protocols, residents are advised of an upcoming collection schedule transition.”

After: “Your collection day may change on November 9. Check your address at [official lookup] before placing your cart outside. If your address is missing, call [verified number].”

The date and service scenario are fictional. For a real notice, verify every operational fact with the responsible department.

Maintain an evidence sheet

A designed draft is not proof that its claims are correct.

4. Design the whole action pathway

Follow the resident journey from discovery to completion.

1. Find it: Can someone encounter the information through a realistic channel?
2. Recognize it: Can they tell whether it applies to them?
3. Understand it: Are the instructions clear?
4. Use it: Do links, forms, phones, and offices actually work?
5. Recover: What happens when the preferred channel fails?
6. Follow up: How will someone learn whether a submission was received or a decision made?

Test the real experience before launch. A campaign directing people to an inaccessible form, closed office, or outdated web page is not ready to publish.

5. Build a coordinated channel system

Maintain a canonical source of current information—typically an official project page or approved public notice. Use other channels to reach audiences and reinforce the essential facts.

For each audience, choose a primary reach channel, a reinforcement channel, and a help channel. More posts are not a substitute for reaching the people who need the message.

6. Treat accessibility and language access as production inputs

Plan for meaningful headings, accessible documents, keyboard-usable forms, image descriptions, captions, readable layouts, and appropriate alternate formats. Test with human judgment as well as tools. See USWDS accessibility guidance.

Federal Section 508 and state/local ADA Title II requirements have distinct legal bases. The DOJ ADA Title II web and mobile rule fact sheet explains WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements for covered state and local entities and updated compliance dates: April 26, 2027 for populations of 50,000 or more; April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments, subject to the rule and its exceptions. Existing accessibility obligations remain relevant.

Language-access duties vary by program, jurisdiction, funding, and law. Determine actual needs with responsible officials; do not assume automated translation alone meets them.

7. Establish a risk-based approval path

Use fewer gates for low-risk routine communications and appropriate additional review for legally sensitive or high-consequence materials. Consolidate comments into one controlled version. See Harbor's Creative Approval Flow for a fuller workflow.

8. Coordinate production and public support

An illustrative four-week timeline for a routine, non-emergency project:

This is not a substitute for statutory notice periods or emergency procedures. The calendar should name the owner of each asset, deadline, review, live channel, and follow-up obligation.

Prepare a short response guide before launch: likely questions, approved answers, technical experts, correction authority, and an escalation route. When information changes, update the canonical source and affected channels; keep records according to applicable rules. Federal social-media recordkeeping is addressed by NARA Bulletin 2014-02.

9. Measure usefulness rather than visibility alone

Do not invent universal engagement benchmarks. Compare evidence with the project's objective, acknowledge limitations, and document improvements.

Fictional project: a county service-center move

Pine River County is a fictional county consolidating two service counters into a new building.

Initial request: “We need a flyer, a press release, and three social posts.”

Better brief: Help residents identify which services move, the correct location and opening date, appointment requirements, transportation and accessibility details, and where to obtain help.

Plan: Verify facts with operations; publish one official location page; notify affected appointment holders through authorized channels; post signs at old locations; brief telephone staff; coordinate with community partners; test maps and links; and monitor wrong-location visits and repeat questions.

Measure: Track recurring confusion and service requests, not just impressions. No actual county, project results, client relationship, or performance figures are claimed.

Five templates you can copy

Template A — One-page communications brief

Project: [Name]
Agency and project owner: [Name]
Situation: [What changed]
Objective: [What people must understand or do]
Primary and secondary audiences: [Groups]
Known access barriers: [Barriers]
Main message: [One sentence]
Action and deadline: [Instructions]
Fact sources and verification owners: [Names]
Required formats and channels: [Outputs]
Review and release authority: [Names]
Budget and milestones: [Resources and dates]
Success signals: [Appropriate evidence]
Maintenance and correction owner: [Name]

Template B — Message and evidence worksheet

Template C — Channel responsibility matrix

Template D — Launch readiness card

Exact approved version: [File/version]
Release authority and approval record: [Name/reference]
Canonical public URL: [Link]
Publishing sequence: [Order]
Verified facts, links, and contacts: [Signoffs]
Accessibility and language review: [Status]
Operations staff briefed: [Names]
Monitoring owner and hours: [Name/time]
Correction authority: [Name]
Archive location: [Repository]

Template E — After-action review

Original objective: [Goal]
What went out: [Assets and channels]
What people needed help with: [Evidence]
What worked: [Observed results]
What changed after launch: [Corrections]
Who may have been missed: [Limitations]
What we will improve: [Actions and owners]
Records and final files: [Location]

The Harbor Government Communications Planning Checklist

This is an original operational checklist, not a government certification or legal compliance test.

Purpose and audience

• The communication problem is clearly stated.
• The objective describes a real audience need.
• Directly affected audiences are identified.
• Potential participation and access barriers are assessed.
• The audience's next step is feasible.
• A project owner is assigned.
• The decision and release authorities are known.

Facts and message

• The main message is visible and understandable.
• Material dates, policies, and figures are verified.
• Each substantive claim has a source owner.
• Uncertainty is described accurately.
• The call to action includes necessary timing.
• The public help route is tested.
• Staff answers match the published message.
• Graphics do not distort facts or results.

Channels and accessibility

• A canonical information source is identified.
• Channels reflect audience needs rather than habit.
• Directly affected people are not dependent on social media alone.
• Applicable formal notice requirements are checked.
• Digital and document accessibility is reviewed.
• Language-access needs are addressed appropriately.
• Forms, links, and telephone routes are tested.
• Alternatives to online-only access are considered.

Review and release

• Subject-matter owners approve their facts.
• Required legal, privacy, and records reviews are completed.
• Editorial comments are consolidated.
• The exact final version is approved.
• Operational staff are ready to respond.
• The channel release sequence is documented.
• Corrections have an owner and process.
• Live published information is checked.

Monitoring and stewardship

• Public questions and service problems are monitored.
• Access issues have an escalation path.
• Changes are verified before correction.
• Results are assessed against the original objective.
• Lessons inform the next communication.
• Records and approved assets are retained appropriately.
• Content has an update or retirement owner.

The final reader test

Before release, give the communication to someone unfamiliar with the project. Can they tell whether it applies to them, what is happening, what to do, when to act, and where to get help? If not, revise the work. If the instructions are clear but the service cannot be completed, fix the service pathway.

The strongest government communications are not necessarily the loudest. They help people navigate public services with clarity and confidence.

Primary research and further reading

• CDC — Clear Communication Index
• CDC — How to Use the Index
• CDC — Core Criteria and Examples
• U.S. Web Design System — Design Principles
• U.S. Web Design System — Accessibility
• U.S. Department of Justice — ADA Title II Web Rule Fact Sheet
• National Archives — Managing Social Media Records

Editorial note: This educational guide is not legal, records-management, accessibility-conformance, or emergency-response advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and project. Harbor's planning framework, templates, checklist, timeline, and fictional example are original working tools, not government-mandated procedures or verified project outcomes.