PUBLIC POLICY STRATEGY OF THE FINNISH DEFENCE ADMINISTRATION

PUBLIC POLICY STRATEGY OF THE FINNISH DEFENCE ADMINISTRATION MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEFENCE FORCES CONSTRUCTION ESTABLISHMENT OF DEFENCE ADMINISTRATION

CONTENTS 1 The strategic role of public policy 2 The vision, values and basic functions of the defence administration 3 The principles of and requirements for public policy 4 The implementation of public policy 5 Main messages of defence administration 6 Actors and responsibilities in public policy 7 The strategic objectives of public policy 8 Monitoring and evaluation of public policy 9 Laws and statutes, recommendations and instructions

1 The strategic role of public policy The Defence Administration is composed of the Ministry of Defence (130 employees), the Defence Forces (16500 employees during peacetime, 8700 of whom are military personnel) and the Construction Establishment of Defence Administration (1200 emoployees). The Defence Administration needs a public policy strategy of its own, because the defence administration is important for the whole society; political and administrative issues are both nationally and internationally more and more interconnected; the social importance of public policy has increased; public policy is an essential to the modern leadership. The public policy strategy will be a part of the administration s action strategy: it sets standards to the administration s communication practices in both normal conditions as well as in crises and emergency situations; it defines different actors with their roles and responsibilities, main messages and strategic objectives of public policy; public policy plans, attached to annual action and economic plans, will be prepared on this basis; it will be updated simultaneously with the action plan. Laws and statutes as well as joint instructions and recommendations create the basis for developing public policy of the defence administration and set the guidelines for all its public policy activities.

2 The vision, values and basic functions of the defence administration Vision: Finland is an independent state with a strong defence will of its citizens, capable of international cooperation. It has a national defence system capable to deter various threats. Values: Public policy is appreciated by citizens and cooperation partners both nationally and internationally. It bases on the following framework of values: security, reliability, credibility and patriotism. Basic functions: Public policy forms an integral part of the strategic planning by supporting the basic functions of the defence administration basic functions, which are military defence, cooperation with other authorities and international cooperation.

3 The principles of and requirements for public policy Public policy of the defence administration is systematic, active, reliable, interactive and basing on shared values. Security: Systematic and active public policy supports national security. Systematic public policy is goal-directed and anticipatory. Activeness improves efficiency and capacity to act rapidly. Reliability and credibility: Reliability requires information basing on facts, and that it is sufficient and understandable. Information must also be provided by competent authorities. Inter-activeness means openness, reciprocity and willingness to serve. Patriotism: Independent public policy secures the ability of the nation to act in the changing environment. It confirms the confidence of the citizens in the future.

4 The implementation of public policy Every official and employee has the duty to participate in the public policy activities, although the main responsibility for the implementation of the public policy belongs to the highest leadership. The defence administration provides general information about its activities. It also provides instructions and aims at improving the participation functions and offers advice on administrative matters that are at hand. It also aims to further citizen participation of the citizens in public affairs. Informing means communication through the media and providing various brochures and other publications. Instructing means ensuring that the citizens have sufficient information to deal with the administration in as an interactive manner as possible. As the public can also directly contact the defence administration for any queries they might have regarding administrative procedure, this ensures that communication between the public and the authorities is as interactive as possible. Promoting citizen participation means interactive communication where the officials promote debate by communicating actively of issues under preparation as well as of problems and different alternatives to solve them. It also means that the decisions must be explained publicly. Issues related to the public policy of the defence administration are discussed in the Public Policy Cooperation Group, consisting of the representatives of the Ministry of Defence, Defence Forces and the Construction Establishment of Defence Administration. Public policy will be regularly evaluated within the defence administration.

5 The main messages of the defence administration Military defence: Finland has the willpower, the skills and the means to defend itself. A system of military service Capable and efficient defence forces A strong national will to defend the country coupled with voluntary military service Cooperation between authorities: By working together we can make Finland a safer country. Executive assistance to other authorities Coordination of the system of total defence Provision of operational information International cooperation: Finland is an active and capable actor in military crisis management. Crisis management and peacekeeping Multilateral cooperation Bilateral cooperation

6 Actors and their responsibilities The Ministry of Defence is responsible for coordinating communication within its own administrative branch and coordinates central matters related to communication between the defence administration and the rest of the state administration. The ministry sets the strategic goals for defence administration communication and ensures the preconditions for it are met as well as directs and monitors defence communication practices as a whole. Communication is to support the ministry s central tasks of preparing and implementing defence policy. The Defence Forces communication practices are one of the means through which Defence Force strategies are implemented. The tasks are carried out within the framework set by the Defence Forces supreme command by taking into consideration the shared communication principles of the defence administration. The Public Information Division of the Defence Staff is responsible for directing its field of activities in the Defence Forces. This includes centralized communication, community marketing and public image control. In addition, it provides expert services on communication and it is in charge of military music and entertainment in the Defence Forces. The Defence Administration s Building Unit is responsible for the implementation of its communication activities in accordance with the defence administration communication framework.

7 The strategic objectives of communication Defence administration communication is to plan, implement and develop ways in which the administration can be in touch with society. Communication with the public is achieved through: External publicity: contacts with citizens (answering citizen queries, participating in fairs and other events, civic festivities, organising seminars, lectures, and visits to defence installations, maintenance of a strong national will to defend the country) Media publicity: direct contact with the media and news monitoring Web publicity: maintenance and development of electronic communication and monitoring of web publicity Expert publicity: contacts with authorities, external partners and target groups and influencing the public via experts Internal publicity: communication inside and between the actors of the defence administration International publicity: contacts with foreign partners (diplomatic missions, defence establishments), international organizations and foreign media

8 Monitoring and evaluation of communication In the defence administration, communication is monitored and evaluated specifically according to the state administration system for monitoring and evaluating communication ( VISA ). The practical measures for monitoring and evaluating are part of the annual budget plan. The defence administration may on occasion take part in other specific communication-related projects (for e.g. media barometers). The monitoring and evaluation system is composed of the following sectors: News monitoring Monitoring themes, arguments and actors that receive media publicity, especially from the point of view of defence establishment s own needs of communication. Communication with interest groups A survey of how well interest groups feel communication with the defence administration works. Web communication Use of the defence administration s websites is monitored and user feedback is encouraged. Themes, arguments and actors that receive web publicity and are available on the internet for the general public are also monitored. Citizen feedback Evaluate the content of citizen feedback, assess whether the feedback system is adequate. Communication management and internal communication Evaluation of the defence administration staff s views about internal communication and communication management. Resources Annual evaluation as to whether available resources meet the requirements set for communication The defence administration focuses on media coverage pertaining to the national will to defend the country, information threats and the public image of the Finnish defence administration.

Acts and decrees Administrative communication practices are bound by the following statutes: - The Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999). In order to make public service more transparent, the authorities have a duty to produce material describing their work and they must inform the public of decisions and on-going preparations. - 621/1999 is complemented by the Decree on the Openness of Government Activities and on Good Practice in Information Management (1030/1999) and subsequent amendments (380/2002) on the planning and arrangement of communication in state administration. - The Emergency Powers Act and the State of Defence Act - The Language Act Recommendations and instructions - Communication in state administration is guided by the Recommendation on Central Government Communication issued by the Prime Minister s Office. There are also separate instructions on how to step-up central government communication when there is a heightened demand for information both in normal conditions and during disturbances to normal conditions. - The guiding principles of communication in crisis and emergency conditions are included in the newly up-dated Strategy for Securing the Functions Vital to Society and in the Prime Minister s Office s new recommendations on the dissemination of information in crisis and emergency conditions.