Congressional Stakeholders
A key component of an effective communications strategy is communicating with, and obtaining information from, external
stakeholders.12 OOC’s leaders recognize the importance of communicating
with stakeholders and have taken steps to expand their efforts in this area. However, our interviews with a wide range of congressional stakeholders, including majority and minority staff in both the Senate and the House, indicate that OOC’s efforts to effectively consult with the Congress have been uneven and additional efforts are needed.
On the one hand, some congressional staff—but by no means all—told us that they believed OOC has made efforts to develop more transparent and collegial working relationships with congressional stakeholders. For example, a congressional staff member cited the efforts of OOC's General Counsel to reach out to congressional staff shortly after he joined the Office in May 2003. Another staff member cited an example where OOC worked constructively with his office to resolve a potential fire safety problem involving the placement of furniture. This staff member
appreciated OOC's willingness to discuss the issue with his office and work to find a satisfactory solution that would both comply with safety
requirements and take into account the need of his office to continue to conduct business and the physical limitations of the space involved. On the other hand, a number of staff, including some who acknowledged and appreciated OOC’s recent efforts, said that they remained unclear about the office’s role and services, how it makes decisions, and related matters. Moreover, several congressional staff members told us that they have not seen much outreach from OOC, or that the outreach they did experience was inconsistent and could be more effective. For example, one individual told us that he only received information from OOC when it was interested in proposing a legislative change that would require the
cooperation of the Congress. Another concern cited by several staff was the perception that OOC did not make an effort to ensure that they were
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informed “at the front end” concerning significant activities and initiatives. Thus, the concern is not so much the existence of OOC’s operating
procedures. Rather, the concern is communication as those procedures are being applied and OOC undertakes its daily operations.
Effective communications strategies take into account how to most effectively communicate the message given their intended audience. For example, in September 2003 OOC initiated a formal rulemaking process to amend parts of its operating procedures. As required by the CAA, OOC’s Board of Directors submitted an announcement for inclusion in the
Congressional Record announcing proposed changes in OOC’s procedural
rules and inviting comment. A key staff member said that it would have been more helpful—and could have avoided, or at least limited, subsequent concerns with the process used to issue the draft rules—if OOC had more fully reached out to key committees and Members before the draft proposal was announced publicly. Another staff member told us that, at a minimum, it would have been helpful if OOC followed the notice by contacting them directly to ensure that they were aware of the proposed rules and the subsequent 30-day comment period, explaining that such announcements are easy to miss if one is not looking for them. Although OOC’s initial posting met its legal obligations, the Office decided to place another notice and extend the comment period.
To encourage additional feedback from stakeholders and other interested parties, OOC’s Board decided to hold a public hearing on the proposed changes even though the CAA does not require it. According to OOC, the decision to hold the hearing was consistent with feedback OOC had received several years earlier from some congressional stakeholders. However, instead of creating an opportunity for stakeholders to provide additional feedback, the Board had to cancel the session because only one person had agreed to speak at the hearing. Congressional staff told us that the Congress’ lack of participation in the hearing was not an indication of a lack of interest in the issues to be discussed, but was due to concerns about the nature and structure of the forum. OOC had not informed congressional staff of its intention to seek additional comment in this way. Moreover, one congressional stakeholder said that OOC’s approach to solicit additional comments through a public hearing was inappropriate.
Communication protocols provide a potentially valuable tool that organizations can use to avoid such surprises and help foster clearer understanding with stakeholders. For example, after working closely with the Congress and after a trial phase, GAO implemented congressional
protocols in November 2000.13 From our experiences in developing the
protocols, we have identified key lessons and success factors—that developing protocols is a time-consuming process which involves (1) personal commitment and direction from the agency head, (2) senior management participation and buy-in, and (3) continuous outreach to and feedback from external stakeholders. Despite the time and the effort, however, our experience using protocols as a transparent, documented, and consistent way to set priorities has been very positive for us as well as our congressional clients. Similarly, for OOC such protocols could help foster an understanding of its goals, functions, and procedures with its congressional stakeholders.