AIIMS Delhi to appoint agency for PR and social media oversight

New Delhi: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi has decided to engage an external agency to handle its public relations and social media management for the first time, an official said.

According to an official order issued on October 14, the agency will also assist in setting up and maintaining a “museum of archives” at the institute. The tender process for appointing the agency will be floated on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, with onboarding expected to be completed by December 31.

“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 specialised agency be engaged for comprehensive public relations and social media management services at AIIMS Delhi,” the order stated.

The agency will coordinate with the institute’s Media Cell to “formulate and execute” media relations, press releases, and public information campaigns. It will also manage AIIMS Delhi’s presence across major social media platforms, ensuring “high-quality, timely content and proactive engagement”, while monitoring online sentiment around the institute.

In addition to handling updates, institutional announcements, and public health advisories, the agency will provide crisis communication support and undertake analytics and impact assessments of media and communications activities.

The institute also highlighted the importance of accurate and timely data submissions for national and international rankings such as the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and QS rankings.

“While AIIMS faculty and officials can guide 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,” the order stated.

The agency will therefore support the collection and collation of data required for such exercises.

As part of the broader initiative, the agency will help identify, collect, and digitise historical documents, photographs, awards, and other memorabilia relevant to the institute for the planned archives museum.

“To document and maintain accurate records of the glorious past of AIIMS New Delhi, it was decided vide OM dated March 31, 2023 to establish a museum of archives at AIIMS, Delhi. However, the concerned officials had expressed the requirement of supporting hands for documenting the rich history of AIIMS and for collecting various archives,” the order said.

The agency will also catalogue and curate archival material in line with museum and documentation best practices, and assist with exhibition planning, preservation, and display activities, it added.