• Help us achieve our overall organisations Charitable Purpose & Objectives
• Promote and further our Mission, Vision & values
• Raise awareness of who we are and what we do
• Improve communications with all stakeholders
• ensure that all stakeholders can communicate easily with us
• Improve stakeholder engagement
• Influence behaviours and perceptions where appropriate
• Increase transparency and ensure greater accountability and consistency

 Laois Traveller Action Group CLG Communications Policy 2021

 Stakeholders

Laois Traveller Action Group CLG recognise stakeholders as being any individuals or groups of people who have a legitimate interest in the work of the association. LTAG stakeholders include:

• Beneficiaries – the people who benefit (directly or indirectly) from any services provided by the charity i.e. The People of Laois for whose benefit the LTAG was established.
• Employees and volunteers including Board members
• Partner organisations and supporters
• Funders
• Donors & Sponsors
• Regulators
• Public representatives
• The general public

In line with the LTAG Data Protection Policy & Procedures – for the purposes of GDPR the list does not include information pertaining to individuals in their private capacity but does include individuals professional or business contacts as well as those whose information is in the public domain such as local representatives.

The list records:

• The name of the group, organisation, business or title
• Address
• A primary contact name
• Telephone number
• Email

The list is not shared publicly but may be subject to GDPR requests.

Responsibilities

The administration manager is the primary contact for LTAG and is responsible for managing the website, social media, day to day e-mail, telephone and postal correspondence with all stakeholders. The chairperson is ultimately responsible for all Management Committee Communications. The Company Secretary & Minutes Secretary are responsible for day to day communications and the circulation of documentation.

 Standards for Communication

All communications activity should:

• Reflect the associations stated values
• Use plain English
• Be clear but friendly
• Avoid stereotyping & derogatory collective terminology
• Use gender neutral terms where possible
• Avoid colloquialisms
• Be open and honest
• Avoid repetition and clichés
• Be relevant, accurate, sensitive & timely
• Enable meaningful engagement with stakeholders
• Recognise the importance and value of engaging with members, trustees and staff.
• Ensure that the LTAG listens and acts on information received when appropriate and provides feedback.
• Reflect the principles of confidentiality, Data Protection, Freedom of Information and other relevant legislation.

Types of Communication

Laois Traveller Action Group CLG communicates with its stakeholders in a variety of ways:

• The website
• Social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
• Advertising – Posters & Flyers
• Press – Advertisements, Press releases & Appearances / Interviews
• Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• Workshops and Focus Groups
• Emails
• Mail
• Committee Meetings
• Whatsapp

The Website

The official LTAG website, www.ltag.ie is managed by the administrator and is responsible for managing content.

The website features:

• A feed link to the LTAG Facebook page with news updates and relevant posts.
• A section on upcoming events
• A contact us section where the public can e-mail the us directly.
• Links to current governance statements and reports

Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are now the primary channels for communicating with stakeholders and promoting awareness of the LTAG, who we are and what we do. Content is generally made up of news, events, photos and public information notices with links to the relevant LTAG or other official and relevant website pages. All social media accounts are managed by the coordinator.

The LTAG moderators adopt the following guidelines that employees and members must observe when participating in social networking sites. It is considered a breach of conduct to post on any public or private website or other forum:

• Anything that may harm the goodwill or reputation of the organisation or any disparaging information about the LTAG
• Any disparaging, discriminatory or harassing information concerning any employee, member or stakeholder.
• Any confidential information or intellectual property.
• Any private information relating to a member or employee.
• Moderators may remove any post that they consider inappropriate.

To allow for consistency and transparency the coordinator is primarily responsible for replying to direct messages received via social media accounts.

Press

Press Releases – From time to time the LTAG prepare press releases for major announcements or to promote the launch of a programme or event – only persons approved by the board may deal with the press, they should:

• Be clear in establishing in what capacity they are (or are not) representing the organisation
• Refrain from providing personal opinions or commentary where they may be seen to be in conflict with LTAG’s purpose, objectives or values.
• Refrain from commenting on any issues which may be deemed controversial or which may have party political undertones.
• Be conscious of the Communication Standards as set out in this document.

AGM

The AGM is held yearly and is organised in such a way as to bring together as many members and stakeholders as possible to mix and meet. All stakeholders are invited to attend the AGM.

• Invitations are e-mailed to those included in the master contact List
• Posts are shared via social media

The AGM is an important opportunity to showcase aspects of the organisation and communicate with all stakeholders. Groups and individual members are encouraged to participate fully in the AGM. The programming of AGM is the responsibility of the Board and there is a timetable for ensuring that members receive the papers in good time and in-line with the articles of association. Minutes of the AGM are circulated to all committee members and a redacted version is available to all other interested parties upon request.

Workshops, Focus Groups & Questionnaires

From time to time the LTAG may engage in stakeholder consultations. These may take many forms and be formal or informal in structure. Formal consultations will always have a specific objective under a developed brief e.g.

• Programme performance reviews and feedback
• Consultations on specific project proposals
• Consultation before making a significant change to the service the LTAG provides that will impact on members or service users
• Consultation pre formulation of annual or strategic plans
• Consultation pre any revisions to the LTAG’s purpose or objectives

Committee Meetings

Papers for management Committee and Board Meetings are confidential. The Company / minutes secretary is responsible for ensuring that members receive the papers in good time. Documents are circulated via the

Emails

All LTAG emails, whether to staff, members, stakeholders or third parties (for committee e-mails see below) – should:

• Only contain content relevant to the recipients
• Only be issued from a corkpride.com account
• Contain a concise title in the subject field
• Be signed off formally with the name and position of the author, contact information, Logo and the following registration details:

Laois Traveller Action Group CLG is a Registered Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee

Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20074548

CHY (Revenue) Number: 19107

Companies Registration Office Number: 413265

Group E-mails & circulars – from time to time emails are sent to multiple recipients or to the wider stakeholder mailing list, these should not contain contact information or mailing list details (all recipients should be entered using the BCC function)

Committee/director E-mails – all e-mails should be sent via the LTAG account with the secretaries’ accounts cc’d for record and filing purposes.

Mail

Incoming Mail – The following procedures should be followed regarding mail received by the organisation

• Unopened mail shall be stored in a secure location
• Mail shall be stamped with a received date and referenced for action where appropriate
• Filing – all mail should either be filed or shredded as appropriate

Outgoing Mail – all outgoing mail should be on headed paper, be duly signed and dated and include the Registered Charity Number. A digital copy should be retained or paper copy filed.

 Approval & Adoption

This Policy was unanimously approved and adopted at Laois Traveller Action Group CLG meeting of the XX March 2022