St. Eustatius, locally referred to as “Statia”, is a special municipality of  The Netherlands. Together with Bonaire and Saba it forms the BES islands, also referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands.

Statia is undergoing a period of transition since 2018. After an investigation by the government in the Netherlands in February 2018, the ‘Temporary Act on Neglect of Duties’ passed through Dutch parliament. The Netherlands “took over” as they say in Statia. A Government Commissioner was appointed.

In 2020 an important step was taken in the gradual return of the democracy by the election of the Island Council in October 2020. Another important step was in 2022 when two island commissioners were appointed. It is expected that the democracy will completely be restored in 2024 when a Governor will be appointed. 

Challenge

Keeping the good-natured residents of the Dutch municipality St. Eustatius well informed and engaged is not an easy task. It takes continuous effort, sharp focus and huge amounts of energy. Important updates on the return of the democracy and high-profile projects were not sufficiently provided. This resulted in complaints and growing dissatisfaction with the local and the Dutch government.

The Government of St. Eustatius knew this better than most. However, resources and tools to properly and timely inform the community were lacking. 

BridgeGaps’ Solution

To take massive action by the delivery and execution of a communications plan. 

BridgeGaps BV worked with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in the Netherlands, the Government Commissioners, the Island Secretary, the Directors and their Communications Department to develop and execute a Strategic Communications Plan for 2022-2024. 

Results

The execution of the Strategic Communications Plan resulted in a major boost in Government messages (80%) to the public. By delivering continuous updates on relevant projects such as the upgrading of the infrastructure, social housing, COVID-19, etc. through social media and the radio, the Government increased the number of messages to the public with appr. 80% within 6 months 

A huge improvement of the quantity and quality of the means of communications was also evident. The existing Facebook page of the Government of St. Eustatius was revamped, and the number of daily posts on this page increased fivefold. New means of communications such as WhatsApp for the community, LinkedIn, and YouTube were introduced. The website was now updated on a daily basis instead of only once in a while. 

BridgeGaps also introduced bottom-up communications. Bi-weekly Q&A sessions with the government commissioners were organized and the quantity and the effectiveness of the informative sessions (the so called ‘Town Hall Meetings’) for the public were improved. 

Effective cross departmental communications was implemented by identifying information needs and putting new processes and procedures in place to ensure that each directorate and unit shared news and continuous updates about their projects.  

The output of the communications department was highly improved. Brand new equipment was purchased, videography and photography were enhanced significantly. Existing staff members were trained in a.o. writing press releases and interview skills. Additional staff was recruited. The building of a new studio is in progress. 

Government Commissioner Alida Francis and previous Deputy Government Commissioner Claudia Toet are very satisfied with the results.