Packaging

The previous example already introduced different forms of packaging.

In our day and age, a publication is no longer necessarily something that comes back bound in boxes from the print shop. A publication will often only be published digitally. It can be a PDF file, but also a web page or a blog entry. In fact, it need not be written at all. A publication can (and will increasingly often) be a social media update, a podcast or a video.

But even a traditional publication can come in many shapes: a leaflet, a compendium, a book, a blog entry, a brochure or an article, to name but a few.

Example:

Let us use the same example as we used for narrowing down the message:

You want to write a publication about new reforms to exams in certain rural VET schools in Algeria that now involve small- and medium-sized enterprises, state companies, authorities at the local, national and regional levels and trade unions who, based on a new national framework and revised occupational standards, have introduced different ways of mixing classroom education and on the job training so what students learn better reflects what they may meet in the labour market, thus improving the transition from school to work.

There is probably enough material for several information packages here. For example:

• A final report back to the people who funded the pilot project that gave these results.
• A policy briefing about social partnership for better examination.
• A video for and about VET teachers in Algeria who must get used to the thought that they are no longer the only evaluators of learning results.
• An article about a flagship example of broad community collaboration to improve the skills.