Dear Delegate,

“There is no doubt that communications was not a high point of the events of last autumn.” Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England.

For institutions historically known, and respected, for their discretion, increased scrutiny and the advent of real-time financial news present daunting challenges.

At no time are these more acute than during financial crises, as events of the previous year have demonstrated.

Yet there is a great deal of uncertainty about how and when central banks should talk about key aspects of their jobs: interest-rate decisions, distressed banks, asset-price bubbles and exchange-rate movements.

To be sure, the digital age presents central banks with an abundance of opportunities, but also a great many potential pitfalls.

This seminar equips delegates with the tools to handle the exacting communication challenges that central banks and regulatory agencies now face. It is designed for those charged with the responsibility for external relations as well as press officers, and aims to help them in the effective management of their organisation’s voice.

Key sessions address:
• Communications in crises
• Expectations and monetary policy
• Website effectiveness
• How to target television and radio audiences
• Internal communications
• Relations with politicians

Throughout the week delegates will consider particular communications challenges and create strategies to address them. Experienced facilitators will challenge delegates with real-world examples and case studies.

Delegates will focus on how to communicate with a host of very different audiences, including the financial markets, the press, governments, parliaments, the international community, and the general public. All have radically differing information needs.

As an independent organisation, Central Banking Publications’ seminars provide an ideal platform for candid discussions among practitioners and the exchange of ideas and experiences.

Robert Pringle
Managing Director, Central Banking Publications Ltd

Catering for diversity
Led by the chairman, Niels Bünemann

Central banks influence the economic performance of nations, but their policy decisions have tended to be understood by an elite few. This is no longer acceptable. Communicating policy to the general public is a difficult task, requiring central banks to explain decisions made on the basis of highly technical modelling to an audience often with little or no education in economics. But it is necessary: central banks must garner public support if their measures are to be fully effective. This session will discuss how this can best be done.

Communication in the new model of central banking
Charles Goodhart
Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics and a former Member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Bank of England

A key element of the revolution in central bank policymaking over the last two decades has been the change in communication. In an age of transparency, so-called “black box” explanations of policymaking are no longer possible. Today, central banks place great store in ensuring the reasons for their decisions are understood. Indeed their credibility rests on it. In this session, Charles Goodhart will discuss the central role communication plays in policymaking and, crucially, shaping expectations across the economic spectrum.

How to assess effectivenes
Matthias Volbracht
Director of Analysis, Media Tenor International

If a central bank puts out a podcast that no-one downloads does it make a sound? Ensuring your message is heard is as essential as the message itself. This session will look at methods to measure effectiveness of communication. Focus groups, polls, website statistics and media monitoring are just some of the tools that can be used for this.

Guidance in turbulence – a view from the financial press
Paul Wallace
Britain Economics Editor, The Economist

The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have each responded to the subprime fallout in their own way. In the financial press, none has escaped criticism. Given the complexity of the situation, a certain amount is inescapable. But could they have tempered some of this negative press? And did each press office ensure that leading commentators were kept well informed?

Reaching the masses with television and radio
George Lee
Economics Editor, RTÉ

Central banks typically have limited television coverage. But television allows central banks to transmit their message to a wide audience, much of which would otherwise be entirely ignorant of central banks. How can central banks increase coverage – and do they always want to? When central banks do succeed in provoking interest from television and radio, how can they ensure that their image will be portrayed positively and that the general public will understand their actions?

Accountability and transparency: how to talk to politicians
Speaker to be confirmed

Independence requires central banks and financial regulators to account for their actions to politicians, often in parliamentary committees. In turn, central banks rely on political support for their legitimacy, especially in times of crisis. And, relations with parliaments and politicians can suffer badly if communication is inappropriate or insensitive. How can such relations best be managed? This session covers how to maintain a constructive dialogue with politicians.

How markets view central bank communication
Sarah Hewin
Senior Economist, Standard Chartered Bank

In the digital age, the prevalence of real-time economic news has led markets to expect up-to-the-minute and detailed information on central bank policy. The session will look at how the press office can best meet these expectations, identifying the key pieces of information that markets look for in central bank communications. It will also consider the limitations of communications policy.

Talking money: the public and banknotes
Antti Heinonen,
Director, European Central Bank

Issuing banknotes is a core task for any central bank. Ensuring the integrity of the banknotes requires efficient communication, which has to be directed at the general public as well as at specialised target groups such as cashiers, retailers and cash-in-transit companies. Unlike other areas of central bank communication, it has to employ the whole array of tools known from the commercial sector. Discussion will focus on how to roll out a campaign that reaches the entire population.

Rate-setting in the new model
Bobbie McCrackin
Vice President, Public Affairs
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

The effectiveness of monetary policy depends on how the central bank’s message is communicated and perceived. Today there is a growing need for central banks to be forward-looking in their assessment of the economic conditions within which policy is formulated. This underlines the need for a coherent and comprehensive communications framework. The speaker will assess the communication policies of the Federal Reserve, whose actions move markets around the world, and discusses lessons that can be drawn from this.

Limiting the damage: dealing with crisis scenarios
Bobbie McCrackin

The events of the credit crisis have demonstrated that central banks and supervisors must be ready to react to emergencies. Increasingly, this is taking on a international dimension as central banks work together to reassure jittery markets. What they say – or don’t say – will have significant impact in times of uncertainty. Case studies presented in this session will challenge delegates, working in small groups, to consider how they would handle a crisis situation. They will be asked to formulate effective responses under time pressure. The speaker will then critique the proposed approaches and, with the group, examines what kind of advance preparation is useful and achievable.

Effective internal communications
Led by the chairman

As central banks are placed under an increasing degree of scrutiny, staff, more than ever, need to perform the role of ambassadors for their institution. If they are to do this effectively, however, they must be fully informed about issues that do not directly relate to their day-to-day tasks. It is the responsibility of the bank’s communications team to ensure this occurs and that individuals are able to convey a common message in their comments to the media.

What to say and when on supervision and financial stability
Clive Briault
Former Managing Director, Retail Markets, Financial Services Authority

Communicating on supervision policy and financial stability is among the trickiest tasks which central banks and financial regulators face. They must warn consumers and financial markets about risks, but at the same time avoid undermining confidence, which could provoke an adverse reaction. In addition, they must safeguard confidential supervisory information. Clive Briault discusses challenges central banks and supervisors face.

How to make the most of the internet
Timo Laurmaa
Head of Web Communications, Bank for International Settlements
David Bowen
Senior Consultant,Bowen Craggs & Co

A website is, for most of the world, a central bank’s public face. The quality and usability of a website will affect the public’s perception of an institution, and it must therefore be of the highest order. Recent rapid developments in the use of the internet by official-sector agencies and others have raised the bar considerably. Central banks and regulatory authorities need to think carefully about how to meet these higher expectations.

Over two sessions, the morning’s discussion will focus on how participants can help their respective organisations maintain a state of the art site that is used and understood by a broad range of users from market participants to academics to elementary-school pupils. In the first session, Timo Laurmaa discusses the ingredients required to develop a world-class website. In the second, David Bowen, who has been watching the growth of new techniques closely, examines how central banks can best use - and where necessary control the risks of - new media such as podcasts, blogs, RSS feeds, streaming and interactive charts.

Lessons and action points
Led by the chairman, Niels Bünemann

The group will finish the week by reviewing the lessons of the course and their applicability to participants’ own institutions. Delegates will be asked to discuss the course and formulate points on the key themes and issues highlighted throughout the week.