Royal Roads students go live with communication solutions

Each year, organizations are invited to pitch communication challenges to graduate students in the Master of Arts in Professional Communications as a live case assignment within one of their first residency courses, Communication and Culture in Organizations.

The Live Case Challenge gives students an opportunity to put theory into practice in solving current communication dilemmas, such as how to build trust in organizations, preparing for growth, and developing communities. 

Associate Faculty member Barb Collombin, course instructor and Live Case Challenge coordinator, says the program has evolved compared to when she started.

“The nature of communication has changed. How we communicate is so tied to what's happening around us. And as our society changes, the structure of the organizations changes, and so do the challenges they have,” she adds.

The COVID-19 pandemic also brought change: the past three Live Case Challenges have all taken place virtually, rather than clients meeting with students in person to discuss the communication challenges to be addressed. Students still analyze each case, then make recommendations for communications plans and implementation.

Organizations that have taken part in the past include Seaspan, the BC Coroners Service,  and I Love First Peoples. The latter is a non-profit organization that aims to break the cycle of poverty in the lives of Indigenous children, through education and the motivation to stay in school. Collombin tries to select a diversity of organizations for each challenge.

“We like to get a government, a non-profit, as well as private business involved is to have a diversity of organizations,” she says. “Diversity is going to bring more solutions to the problems that we're facing right now in this complex world.”

The challenges

One team of students crafted a two-part strategy for the province's Office of the Chief Information Officer with ideas based on how craft beer became popular. Another team convinced Eproval, a Vancouver tech company, to consider changing its logo. A third group helped a neighbourhood association change the structure of its board and develop a speaker series as part of outreach efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The province presented its problem: how to ethically introduce artificial intelligence (AI) to advance society and improve conditions for all British Columbians.

The students recommended a two-part plan highlighting the balance between innovation and ethics as the BC government implements a new digital strategy – one for an internal audience, and one for British Columbians.

“Have the BC Public Service see itself as a policy artisan, using these new tools to craft better services and products. In this way, B.C. can build on its legacy as a creative hub. Whether it’s innovations in the resource sector or recent success with craft beer, we believe a made-in-B.C. approach to ethical AI can be a true world leader,” reads their recommendation.

 “Overall, this was an incredibly useful collaboration on both sides. The quality of work submitted to the OCIO was excellent and recommendations were realistic and actionable,” says Darcie Scollard, a senior policy analyst with the Office of the Chief Information Officer, says of participating in the challenge.

“The strategies brought academic rigour to our communication challenge but were easily applicable to our day to day work,” she added.

In the MAPC program, students study professional communication strategy, theory, processes, and methods. The goal is for them to become effective, ethical, and strategic communication experts, influencing societal, organizational, and cultural change.

“Community building is an important societal need right now. Technology is seeping into our everyday existence. How it’s communicated to us is important,” says Collombin.

For Eproval, an online granting system that works with local, provincial, state, and national governments to make it easier to submit, review and approve applications, its growth was stalled by the pandemic.

Students were asked to strategize how they expand Eproval's audience, build awareness, and prepare for growth.

“One of the Eproval partners was a national cyclist, and many of the employees were cyclists,” says Collombin. “Picking up on this, a team presented its strategy around the metaphor of a bike race – using humour and creativity to deliver the strategy.”

Another team, picking up on how its branding could match the organization's true values, slightly adjusted and redesigned the Eproval logo.

“Eproval loved the logo and was incredibly impressed with the quality of work and creativity that went into the strategies.”

The Cordova Bay Association, a neighbourhood organization, was trying to develop more community and outreach. After taking part in the Live Case Challenge, the association created a speaker series and restructured its board of directors.

“Now members are working on communication issues that students suggested they focus on, things like social media and community events, so there's some real tangible changes that have happened,” Collombin says.

Teamwork and culture

What resonates for her about the Live Case Challenge is the value of teamwork and culture.

“The value of teamwork, coming together and understanding how to function as a team, is so important,” she adds.

So is culture. Collombin says that while many organizations come in with a specific idea for the challenge, it often turns out to have deeper roots.

“Through the Live Case Challenge process, organizations realize that, to be successful, they have to understand and develop their culture. Our teams do a fantastic job of showing them how to align their communication processes with their goals and, in turn, be more successful.”