The Polish government spent over PLN 148 million on public service campaigns carried out in 2016-2023 (1st half). Despite involving enormous public funds, noticeability - not achievement of desired changes in behaviours or attitudes - was considered the key indicator of effectiveness of the media activities taken. NIK has negatively evaluated as many as 18 of 20 audited campaigns. The most striking example of an unjustified and wasteful public service campaign was Happy tax returns [in Polish: Zwroty, które cieszą] implemented in 2023. The Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance spent the total of over PLN 7.2 million on that purpose. Following this audit NIK has prepared four reports of possible criminal activity for the prosecutor’s office. The reports concern six public officers exceeding their rights or failing to comply with their obligations.
FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE AUDIT
- over PLN 148 million was spent without any guarantee of effectiveness of the actions taken (campaign objectives were not set and its effects were not verified);
- PLN 19 million was spent against the law;
- PLN 12 million was spent in breach of proper finance management principles.
All of the audited campaigns were implemented in line with the assumptions and schedules adopted. However, most of them were financed inconsistently with the principle of reliable and rational management of public funds, set out in the Public Finance Act of 2009.
- over PLN 19 million was earmarked for purchasing airtime and airing broadcasts on TV and radio stations, in breach of public procurement laws or internal regulations;
- over PLN 9.6 million was spent on the campaigns in an unjustified and wasteful manner. No prior analyses were made to justify the need to conduct or continue the campaigns;
- PLN 6.7 million was spent on five campaigns in case of which the airtime purchase agreements did not specify the expected range and scale of their impact on viewers/ listeners. That did not make it possible to evaluate effectiveness of the information and thus prevented verification of efficiency of the communication channels applied;
- over PLN 4 million was earmarked for purchasing airtime on TV and radio stations with minimal viewing/ listening ratings;
- in two campaigns in which the planned Gross Rating Point (GRP) was not achieved, contractors were not required to pay contractual penalties.
In the audited period, the public service campaigns were financed both from the state and the EU budget as well as from off-budget sources, mainly the COVID-19 Prevention Fund. The NIK audit covered institutions which spent most on the implementation of promotion, information and education campaigns.
Recommendations
In light of the audit results NIK has made the following recommendations:
To the President of the Council of Ministers to:
- develop instructions for central bodies related to the process of designing public service campaigns, enabling their evaluation in terms of effectiveness and efficiency of the actions taken;
- agree upon guidelines on procedures applicable by central bodies in terms of purchasing airtime with media service providers, taking into account the necessity to properly analyse the media consumption to justify the selection of communication channels, in a way guaranteeing economic use of public funds.
To the heads of central bodies of the government administration to:
- tighten supervision over proper commissioning of public service campaigns, that is – among other things –in a way consistent with the provisions of the Public Procurement Law and the principles of rational management of public funds.
