Skillstate Institute

Social Media & Civic Engagement Strategy Course

Register for this course

We are committed to delivering this course in multiple training formats to accommodate your needs. Our state-of-the-art learning facilities ensure a comfortable and engaging experience. With our flexible face-to-face training calendar, you can select any classroom course and have it delivered at a venue of your choice, offering you unparalleled convenience and exceptional value.

Course Overview

This course empowers public sector professionals, civic leaders, and digital strategists to design and host inclusive, accessible, and impactful online civic engagement initiatives. Participants will explore how to use social media platforms, AI tools, and mobile-first strategies to foster dialogue, gather input, and build trust with diverse communities.

With a focus on digital equity, community co-creation, and real-time engagement, learners will gain the skills to lead participatory campaigns that are transparent, ethical, and measurable.

Course Duration

10 Days

Target Audience

  • Public sector officials and civic communicators
  • Nonprofit leaders and community organizers
  • Social media managers in government or advocacy roles
  • Urban planners and policy consultants
  • Students and professionals in public administration, governance, or social impact

Personal Impact

  • Gain confidence in leading inclusive digital engagement initiatives
  • Build a portfolio-ready civic campaign strategy
  • Strengthen their ability to foster trust and dialogue in online spaces
  • Stay ahead of civic tech trends and ethical engagement practices

Organizational Impact

  • Improve public trust and transparency through inclusive digital engagement
  • Increase participation in policy, planning, and service delivery
  • Build internal capacity for ethical, scalable civic communication
  • Ensure compliance with data protection and accessibility standards
  • Foster a culture of co-creation and community resilience

Course Level: Intermediate

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Design inclusive online civic engagement strategies using social media and mobile tools
  • Use AI-powered listening tools to monitor public sentiment and feedback
  • Facilitate real-time, multilingual, and accessible digital forums
  • Apply ethical moderation, data privacy, and transparency practices
  • Evaluate engagement success using participation metrics and behavioral analytics
  • Build long-term digital trust and community resilience

Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Online Civic Engagement

  • Evolution of public participation in the digital age
  • Social media’s role in civic trust and democratic dialogue
  • Overview of civic tech platforms and engagement models

Module 2: Participation Frameworks & Theories

  • Arnstein’s Ladder, IAP2 Spectrum, and participatory governance
  • Setting engagement goals: inform, consult, involve, collaborate, empower
  • Mapping stakeholders and levels of influence

Module 3: Platform Strategy & Digital Tools

  • Choosing the right platform: Threads, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
  • Live streaming, polls, hashtags, and asynchronous discussion threads
  • Tools for civic mapping, digital town halls, and mobile surveys

Module 4: Inclusive & Accessible Engagement Design

  • Addressing the digital divide and mobile-first access
  • Designing for marginalized voices and multilingual participation
  • Accessibility tools: captioning, screen readers, translation bots

Module 5: Content Creation & Moderation

  • Crafting inclusive, action-oriented messaging
  • Visual storytelling and civic narratives
  • AI-assisted moderation and community guidelines

Module 6: Real-Time Engagement & Crisis Response

  • Managing live sessions, Q&As, and digital town halls
  • Responding to misinformation and online hostility
  • Building trust through transparency and responsiveness

Module 7: Data Ethics, Privacy & Compliance

  • GDPR, Kenya Data Protection Act, and platform-specific policies
  • Consent management and ethical data collection
  • Moderation logs, audit trails, and accountability

Module 8: Analytics & Impact Measurement

  • GA4, Brevo, and social listening dashboards
  • Participation metrics: reach, engagement, sentiment, action
  • Reporting frameworks for public transparency

Module 9: Case Study – Digital Civic Campaign

  • Analysis of a successful online civic engagement initiative
  • Strategy, tools, challenges, and outcomes
  • Application to capstone project

Module 10: Capstone Project

  • Design and present a civic engagement strategy
  • Include platform plan, accessibility features, and evaluation metrics
  • Peer review and instructor feedback

Course Administration Details:

METHODOLOGY

The instructor-led trainings are delivered using a blended learning approach and comprise presentations, guided sessions of practical exercise, web-based tutorials, and group work. Our facilitators are seasoned industry experts with years of experience, working as professionals and trainers in these fields. All facilitation and course materials will be offered in English. The participants should be reasonably proficient in English.

ACCREDITATION

Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued a Skillstate Institute certificate.

TRAINING VENUE

The training will be held at a Skillstate Institute Training Centre. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and lunch. All participants will additionally cater to their travel expenses, visa application, insurance, and other personal expenses.

ACCOMMODATION AND AIRPORT PICKUP

Accommodation and airport pickup are arranged upon request. For reservations contact the Training Officer.

Email: info@skillstateinstitute.org
Phone: +254100920301
TAILOR-MADE

This training can also be customized to suit the needs of your institution upon request. You can have it delivered in our Training Centre or at a convenient location. For further inquiries, please contact us on:

Email: info@skillstateinstitute.org
Phone: +254100920301

PAYMENT

Payment should be transferred to our Skillstate Institute account through a bank on or before the start of the course. Send proof of payment to info@skillstateinstitute.org