Clear communication-the competitive edge

Technical communication in western Canada lags far behind the rest of Canada and the US. As the first major attempt to increase the awareness of the profession in this area, three western Canadian chapters of the Society for Technical Communication (BC, AB and MB) undertook a $132,00 research project aimed at helping businesses become more competitive with effective technical communication. There were five major components to the research study: needs assessment survey, ie., identify industry needs for and current perception of technical communication; capabilities assessment survey, ie., identify the capabilities of technical communication practitioners in western Canada to see if they can meet the needs identified in the industry survey; research report, ie., communicate the results of the above two surveys, identify current and desirable standards of technical communication, and present strategies for increased exposure and usage of the profession in business; resource kit, ie., provide advice on the logistical and administrative tasks involved in technical communication projects, describe practical methods to successfully accomplish the necessary tasks, and illustrate improved communication documents with before and after examples; and workshops, ie., formally present the contents of the resource kit and expand on how companies can use effective technical communication to their advantage