What are the implications for practice? The results indicate that performance measurement can enhance communication quality by supporting dialogue about the priorities to be set. With increasing organisational awareness of the power of communication, communication experts are receiving many requests for support from within organisations. However, such internal requests for support or advice on communication might not relate to the most pressing issues, for example a possible decline in public support for current municipal priorities. Furthermore, problems urgently requiring communication advice are not always addressed to the organisation’s communication department. Accordingly, communication experts need to pro-actively monitor the situation. The instrument tested here clearly helps in maintaining an overview and setting priorities. It gives managers a broad insight into how communication can contribute to the organisation, as the various objectives of communication are mentioned and made concrete, such as enhancing responsiveness to citizen views and supporting internal change processes. In this way the instrument supports dialogue between communication experts and the top managers of governmental organisations.