The second quarter of 2011 has seen some excellent examples of cross regional and national campaigns gaining significant traction in the media – boosting both our public affairs work programme and helping us achieve our fundamental objective, to raise the profile of civil engineering.
The second quarter of 2011 has seen some excellent examples of cross regional and national campaigns gaining significant traction in the media – boosting both our public affairs work programme and helping us achieve our fundamental objective, to raise the profile of civil engineering.
Regional awards ceremonies celebrating local infrastructure projects and the work of the civil engineers in creating them have been held across the UK, promoting the profession to the wider society. One hundred and forty articles, reaching over three million readers UK-wide were achieved.
Similarly, a push on skills in the national press has been well complimented by regional activity around two key campaigns – the QUEST scholarship scheme and President Peter Hansford’s Create Sport challenge. Alongside contributions to engineering supplements in The Times and The Independent and articles in the Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard, this has engaged a wide audience in the benefits of a career in civil engineering.
In the devolved regions, Scotland produced its State of the Nation briefing, providing an expert assessment of the condition of Scotland's infrastructure, concluding that significant investment is needed in several areas. The report achieved extensive coverage in the Scottish national and regional newspapers and key broadcast stations including BBC Radio Scotland.
On the public affairs side, ICE has continued its work to influence the progression of the Localism Bill. As the Bill moved to the Lords this quarter, ICE called for changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to be reconsidered. A dedicated media campaign saw the story run in all the main trade magazines, making a solid case for our proposed changes.
ICE’s report Flooding: A Local Issue of National Significance addressed another local issue with larger than local consequences - the proposed new approach to funding local flood schemes. The report called for a change in the funding formula to take into account the protection of important sub national infrastructure. A detailed piece on The Guardian website took the issue beyond our industry.
Finally, ICE’s quarterly survey, which gauges changes in public attitudes to key public services highlighted once again the public’s frustration with the state of our roads and provided an opportunity for ICE to repeat its call for preventative measures and a planned approach that deals with reduced funding. Coverage highlights included the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Daily Telegraph, BBC news online and extensive regional coverage.
You can download a copy of the report at http://www.ice.org.uk/Information-resources/Document-Library/ICE-quarterly-media-coverage-report-Q2-2011-April-.