Communicating Monetary Policy in a Changing Environment: Best Practices

The collaborative course on Monetary Policy Communication was delivered by the JVI, the Deutsche Bundesbank (DBB) and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) from October 5 to 9 in Vienna. 30 participants from 20 countries completed the course, almost all of whom were central bank employees. 

The course is targeted primarily at central bank officials working in communications/public relations or economics/monetary policy departments and in financial education. It brings these professionals together for an intense and targeted week of training delivered by experts from the three institutions, as well from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund. The course focuses on two streams; i) general and technical aspects of monetary policy communication, including communication strategies, targeting, tools, clarity in communications and speechwriting for central bank governors; and ii) the economics-related aspects, such as central bank transparency, forward-looking monetary policy communication and internal and external central bank communication. Across both streams, the course also covers crosscutting issues such as enhancing financial literacy, communicating during crises, and behavioral insights into monetary policy communication. Mr. Gabriel Glöckler, Principal Communications Adviser at the ECB, once again delivered a very well received lecture on the ECB’s communication policy, including current communication challenges and recent innovations aimed at increasing its reach. 

The course was well received by participants, who were engaged and motivated throughout. As in previous deliveries, the diversity of participants’ geographical and professional backgrounds enriched discussions and facilitated peer learning. Indeed, bringing together central bank professionals from different fields and combining core communication aspects with monetary policy-oriented training is one of the key features of this course. This integration of economic and public relations perspectives helps broaden participants’ understanding and strengthen cooperation across departments. In turn, this contributes to enhancing trust and understanding, thus enhancing the overall effectiveness of monetary policy. 

Following the well-established successful cooperation between the three institutions and the guest lecturers, this course will be delivered again in early October of 2027, as always, updated to reflect any emerging issues in the field. 

Rilind Kabashi, Senior Economist, Joint Vienna Institute