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Contracting Services is latest group with interest in Communication Planning

You can probably guess by the title what ITD’s Contracting Services Section does on a day-to-day basis. Yet, they do much more than that. Conveying the scope of the work they do, and sharing their story within these walls and beyond, can benefit greatly from communication planning.

Contracting Services invited the Office of Communication to their staff meeting on Monday to learn more about how communication planning can enhance the effectiveness of their work. Contracting Services collaborates with the districts to put construction projects out to bid, but they have a variety of additional responsibilities, including prequalifying consultants, consultant contract administration, and innovative contracting like Design-Build.

The Section also oversees a number of specialized programs, including:
- The Public Transportation Program
- The Research Program
- The Transportation Alternatives Program
- The Rail/Utilities Program

ITD Senior Leadership’s recent embrace of communication planning is a strong statement that every group within the department would benefit from considering communication needs when initiating new projects or programs. Groups are encouraged to think about their customers – internal, external, and other interested stakeholders. Who are those target audiences, and what do they need to know? What is the desired outcome you hope to achieve? What key messages could be repeated early and often to help you achieve these outcomes? What is the right timing, and do you have a primary carrier of these message(s)?

The Communication Office can help groups talk through communication needs, timing, and methods.

Pictured above, left to right: Barbara Waite, Karen Rodriquez, Juanita Risch, Rachel Pallister, Carissa Edwards, Holly McClure, Jared Holyoak, Monica Crider, Kim McGourty, Ned Parrish, and Kyle Monson. Not pictured is Shauna Miller.