For the first time, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, will appoint an external agency to manage public relations and social media for the institute, said an order issued on Tuesday by AIIMS Director Dr M. Srinivas.
As per the order, the move aims to strengthen institutional communications and enhance public engagement.
“In accordance with the need to strengthen institutional communications, enhance public engagement, and ensure effective dissemination of credible information through traditional and digital platforms, it has been decided that a specialized agency be engaged for comprehensive Public Relations and Social Media Management services at AIIMS New Delhi,” the order states.
The tender for selecting the agency will be floated on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, and the onboarding process is to be completed by 31 December, the order notes.
Currently, the institute operates its own media cell, headed by Professor Dr Rima Dada from the Department of Anatomy.
The agency will be entrusted with several responsibilities, including the formulation and execution of media relations strategies, drafting press releases, and running public information campaigns. According to the order, the agency will also manage AIIMS’s official presence across all major social media platforms, coordinate regular updates on institutional announcements, achievements, and public health advisories, and provide crisis communication support.
Further, the agency will monitor public sentiment about AIIMS in the digital domain and conduct analytics and impact assessments of all media and communication activities.
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It will also liaise with faculty members to gather data for national and international rankings and surveys such as National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and QS World University Rankings
On why an agency will be hired to collect relevant data, the order reasons, “While AIIMS faculty and officials can guide in the collection of appropriate data, they are usually over occupied with their routine work, due to which the timelines of data submission are often missed out.”
