The power of storytelling for local government
Why does public sector communication so often fail to build trust — even when the intentions behind it are good? That is the question I explored on the Sussex and the City podcast with Richard Freeman, and it is one I return to constantly in my work with local government and public sector clients.
The answer, in my experience, is not a lack of effort. It is a lack of storytelling.
The gap between intention and experience
The gap between what public sector organisations think they are communicating and what residents actually hear and experience is where trust dies. Organisations publish strategies, hold consultations, issue press releases and yet residents feel uninformed, unconsidered and disconnected from decisions that affect their lives.
Storytelling is how you close that gap. It bridges complexity to bring clarity, translating institutional language into human experience. But for storytelling to work effectively in local government, it has to grapple with how people actually find and process information today.
Three trends are shaping this:
1. We live in an age of reference People no longer form opinions from a single source. They hear something on social media, check it with a friend, attend a community meeting, and then decide. This is messy — but navigable, as long as a communications strategy ensures consistent, insight-driven engagement across the channels and moments that matter to each audience.
2. Communications needs to learn from marketing Too often, data-led marketing is dismissed in public sector organisations as somehow commercial or inappropriate. But the discipline of using data and technology to understand audiences and improve communications reach is not about selling — it is about relevance. Applying marketing thinking can make public sector communications significantly more effective, at lower cost.
3. The network effect is underused Influence is relational. In local and regional contexts, I have seen first-hand how networking and partnership have a multiplier effect on communications reach and credibility. Yet in most public sector organisations, partnership sits outside delivery — removing a potentially vital mechanism for scaling impact and building trust at community level.
Why Sussex is a particular challenge
As Richard Freeman and I discussed, bringing communities into the devolution story is especially challenging in Sussex compared to, say, Greater Manchester or the West Midlands. There is not yet a shared sense of regional identity, nor a clear and widely understood picture of what success from devolution would look and feel like for residents.
That makes the storytelling challenge — and the opportunity — even greater. Devolution offers real potential across transport, housing, jobs and climate action. But if that story is not told clearly, with emotional intelligence and genuine community engagement, the risk is that someone else tells it — and their version may divide rather than unite.
What effective local government storytelling looks like
From my work with public sector organisations, the communications approaches that build genuine trust share common characteristics:
They start with what audiences care about, not what the organisation wants to announce
They use real voices and real experiences, not institutional summaries
They are consistent across channels and over time, rather than campaign-led
They close the loop — showing residents how their input has shaped decisions
They are led visibly by senior leaders, not delegated entirely to communications teams
The organisations that get this right do not just improve their communications. They improve the relationship between institutions and the people they serve. This is ultimately what public trust is built on.
You can hear the full conversation on the Sussex and the City podcast here.
Natalie Orringe is a leadership communications consultant specialising in public sector, local government and regulated organisations. With over 20 years' experience, she advises leaders on how to use communications to build trust, drive engagement and support strategic delivery. She founded Strategy + Impact to bring senior communications expertise to organisations navigating complex change.
