Proactive, end-to-end management of public communication channels (Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn) reaching tens of thousands of local people per month, funded by Safer Streets and The Safety of Women at Night Fund.
Interviewed project leads on-site, created videos, and interpreted minimal style guidance into a recognisable visual brand. Reported metrics quarterly to the Home Office via project manager.
Worked with a variety of key partners – including Devon & Cornwall Police, Exeter City Council, and University of Exeter – to establish partner priorities, voices, and shared communications goals.
There are over 300 Community Safety Partnerships across England and Wales. Introduced by the Government in 1998, each is a collection of local authorities, working together to address crime and antisocial behaviour.
Exeter's CSP, colloquially known as 'Safer Exeter', is led by the University of Exeter and CoLab. Major partners include Devon and Cornwall Police, Exeter City Council, Devon County Council, Met Office, and InExeter (the Business Improvement District). The full list can be found here.
Working as a contractor with Safer Exeter means working with each of these partners both individually and as a collective.
Public sector partnership working can be challenging. Each partner organisation has its own goals. Safer Exeter brings them together to address problems that cannot be solved by one alone.
The brief was to work with the collective Community Safety Partnership, and each of its individual organisations, to ensure that project progress and outcomes were communicated to the public via social media.
My stretch goal was to use social media to further the aims of Safer Exeter, helping people feel more safe in the city in which I feel at home.
Regular meetings with partners and Communications Lead, Andrew Kirchin, were key. As well as providing up-to-date verbal reports of how social channels were helping reach targets, I also workshopped posts with partners, helping them feel able to discuss tricky topics.
I wanted to go above and beyond. I video-interviewed partners, visited sites across the city, and used new and emerging channel tactics.
Day-to-day, I had complete ownership of three social media channels. I managed strategy, ideation, writing, graphic design, scheduling, and engagement (including responding to sensitive direct messages from the public).
Elevated a key survey to receive thousands of responses, which in turn led to regional news coverage and helped the CSP gain future funding.
Worked with PR agency Program on their award-winning bystander intervention campaign.
Published a variety of video clips with project leads, including statutory leaders, recording and sharing project progress in an engaging manner.
Encouraged and celebrated sign-ups to a women's safety charter and documented the launch event.
Reached tens of thousands of local people every month and more than doubled the total number of followers.