Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (NHDRA) recently received the 2020 Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) Award for its strategic approach to public outreach.
NHDRA developed and coordinated a 12-month communications plan, which is customized annually, to deliver its core messages to its key stakeholders. The FTA Awards create an opportunity for best ideas and practices throughout the country to be shared with other state tax administrators, and NHDRA will present its public outreach concept as part of a webinar series for FTA members later this year.
NHDRA is one of six states honored nationally through FTA’s 2020 Awards.
The Federation of Tax Administrators is a nonprofit association composed of the taxation and revenue agencies in the 50 states, District of Columbia, New York City and Philadelphia. Its mission is to improve the standards and methods of tax administration.
“Prior to 2018, our outreach to our constituents was essentially limited to just notices and reminders. Over the past three years, we have completely shifted to a strategic, proactive approach, which has allowed us to further succeed in our mission to fairly and efficiently administer the tax laws of New Hampshire,” said NHDRA Commissioner Lindsey Stepp. “We are honored to be recognized on a national level and excited to be a resource for other states looking to expand or reimagine their public outreach initiatives.”
Based on a successful tax amnesty public outreach program in late 2015, NHDRA engaged the same strategic communications agency, Manchester, NH-based Montagne Communications, in 2017 to conduct a communications audit to identify opportunities for ongoing communications and a strategy for executing a communications plan. The audit delivered a comprehensive report with recommendations that led to the formation of a 12-month plan with specific initiatives, timing and tactics for communicating with NHDRA’s various key stakeholder groups, including taxpayers, media, tax preparers, elected officials and professional associations. Since the audit in 2017, proactive communication from NHDRA has increased considerably and NHDRA relies on its annual strategic communications calendar to plan ahead, craft specific messaging, and make its resources more easily understood and known to all who interact with NHDRA.
According to judges of the 2020 FTA Awards, which include retired former presidents of the FTA Board of Trustees, “It is easy to see how many other agencies could use this. It’s easy to just keep doing the same things over and over and over again, especially in the way we communicate. It was clever and special that they were willing to evaluate the old ways and see if their messages or channels could be improved upon.”
