Improving stakeholder communication in innovation policy: Communication Plan for the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Helsinki

Abstract

The main aim of the thesis is to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the communication process at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Helsinki in order to improve communication with the key external stakeholders in innovation policy in Finland. The thesis focuses on identifying the key Finnish stakeholders in innovation policy, their needs and interests, finding out the communication gaps and critical points at the external communication process as well as identifying the most effective communication channels and tools. The stakeholder groups are the external partners of the Embassy in innovation policy in Finland, including government agencies, research institutes, universities, business organizations and media. The final outcome of this research is a Communication Plan for the Embassy’s staff and management to improve communication between the Embassy and Finnish stakeholders. The literature review presents the key terms related to the research topic: public relations, public diplomacy, stakeholder communication, stakeholder identification and stakeholder engagement, communication plan. Specifics of improving stakeholder communication in innovation policy are explained in more detail as they are the main concepts of this thesis. The research methodology was a constructive approach since the purpose of this study was to find out a solution to the existing problem in the communication process between the Embassy and Finnish stakeholders. The final outcome of this study is a Communication Plan for the Embassy, which outlines a course of action to create a broad support for the communication activities. It proposes communication specific activities to enhance its effectiveness. The Communication Plan has been developed together with the key external stakeholders in innovation policy in Finland and it aims to appreciate local context and norms. The identified stakeholders are very important to the Embassy and the Communication Plan shows how much the Embassy value their input. It aims to empower the implementation of the key elements related to the innovation policy outlined at the Responsible Development Plan for Poland. The Communication Plan has been designed according to Cornelissen model and it is the first internal document for the staff and management of the Embassy, serving as a guidelines how to reach and manage the key Finnish stakeholders in innovation policy in a more effective way