Events

In November 2020, National Audit Office (NAO) invited 10 members from four civil society organizations and five media institutions to brainstorm on and inform our first Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for the next four years. The purpose of this engagement was to align and needs with our stakeholders and reflect the expectations of key stakeholders in this document. Due to the COVID-19 measures, we were not able to hold a bigger consultation and collect input from more of our key stakeholders.

For most of the participants, it was their first time visiting the NAO office in Kanifing or taking part in any activity organized by the office. This gave us an opportunity to collect fresh feedback and input from the group and share more information about the office and our work. The meeting was opened with remarks from the Auditor General, who clearly stated the expectations and outcome of the discussions during the sessions. He also briefly highlighted the role of media and civil society in promoting transparency and accountability to support the work of the office.

After the introductions set in, we gave an overview of the office, our communication objectives set in our Strategic Development Plan (2020-2024) and reflected on our current stakeholder relations, particularly with the media and civil society. At this stage, we allowed participants to share their needs and expectations from the office by asking questions like: What role do you think the NAO plays in the Government?, What do you want the NAO to publish? With the responses, we used this opportunity to clarify more about our role and responsibilities as a reporting institution and how media and civil society can step in as complements for progressive financial management and accountability.

Other important thinking processes that came out of the meeting:

• The most accessible ways to communicate with civil society, media and the public and what tools can best communicate our products to these groups
• Communication challenges which revealed that both groups either did not understand the audit reports or found it difficult to analyze what was in the reports.

At the end of the meeting, the participants brainstormed on activities that the NAO can adapt to address some of the challenges and concerned highlighted above. The participants were particular about how they can step in to ensure that reports are discussed and then publish and been notified when these reports get to the National Assembly. Consequently, for they stressed on communication approaches like sending out press releases or copies of the reports to media before publication.

The completed NAO Communication and Stakeholders Engagement Strategy is available on our website. Download a copy and be on track with our upcoming plans and stakeholder engagement activities.