Workshop on
Strategic Communication for Poverty Reduction:
Experiences from PRSPs and Development Programs
Sida, Stockholm
9 March, 2004
Summary Report
The increasing demand for communication in development programs recently brought together around 40 officials and professionals from different agencies at a workshop in Stockholm to discuss how Strategic Communication can be institutionalized and mainstreamed in development interventions.
This one-day workshop, “Strategic Communication in Poverty Reduction: Experiences from PRSPs and Development Programs,” was held at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in Stockholm on March 9th 2004.
The event was jointly organized by Sida, Development Communication Division (DevComm) of the World Bank, and the Information and Communication for Development (ICD) group of the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Mr. Ulf Källstig, Deputy Head of Sida’s Information Department, chaired the day-long event.
Representatives of bilateral and multilateral agencies, government cooperation partners, and other experts[1] gathered to share knowledge, experiences, and ideas on how Strategic Communication can strengthen development effectiveness by building consensus and ensuring greater participation of stakeholders. They also shared their views and experiences on how different national and international development agencies and organizations have integrated Strategic Communication into their development activities.
Discussion Topics
The discussion in the workshop focused on five main topics[2]:
i. Overview of Strategic Communication in development programs;
ii. Challenges often encountered and/or assumed in the process of integrating communication into development interventions;
iii. Strategic Communication in Sida’s sector wide approaches;
iv. Experiences and challenges of Strategic Communication in PRSP process. The discussion included a brief overview and focused on the experiences from Tanzania and Moldova, and on the issue of fostering public debate;
v. Open discussion on how to build partnership, share knowledge and experiences, and develop collaborative work among development partners in the areas of Strategic Communication.
Main Issues Discussed
Following are some of the major issues, topics, experiences, and challenges that were in the center of the discussion in different sessions of the workshop:
Strategic Communication in Development
1. Communication is an integral part of development interventions and NOT an ad-hoc element. Every project has social and communication aspects that improve development effectiveness.
2. Proven results from successful communication intervention from development programs are crucial for moving forward in the area of Development Communication – both in mainstreaming and getting recognition within development institutions. This is essentially the issue of developing and applying a systematic approach to measure the impact of Strategic Communication intervention.
3. Communication in development is geared towards creating an environment that is conducive to dialogue with stakeholders and communities. It is not a one-dimensional phenomenon but a two-way process, and much more than dissemination of information or marketing. It involves consultation and participatory methods to include stakeholders’ needs and concerns into projects.
4. Areas of dialogue within bilateral and multilateral donors:
- dialogue in the partner country,
- dialogue between the country’s government and the donor community,
- dialogue among various donors.
5. Factors for achieving a good dialogue:
- a high capacity for dialogue and sensitivity to the perspectives of others among primary stakeholders such as project owners, financiers and project agents,
- a decentralized structure,
- a clear division of roles,
- high level of insight into cooperative arrangements,
- strong local ownership.
6. A planned approach to communication, a clearly defined component or sub-component as part of the project/program, and adequate allocation of resources for communication intervention result in better projects/programs outcomes.
7. One of the major constraints in many development interventions (such as reforms) is the lack of information and consensus. The predominant issues are about consensus building.
8. Mainstreaming is crucial for institutionalizing communication activities. We need to move from theory to becoming an integral part of development interventions– from concept to completion.
9. We must start looking at communication from the planning stage of a development program/project. It’s about integrating substantive operational knowledge with communication skills to make development more effective.
Communication in PRSP
10. Communication is important to build consensus on the institutional framework, define lines of responsibilities, and create a framework for predictable engagement.
11. PRSP experiences show that there is a need to reflect on a true multi-stakeholder approach to information sharing, use a variety of methodologies in reaching out with information, and take stock of existing capacities.
12. Ownership depends on public debate, not just on participation and consultation. Issues surrounding PRSPs are placed in the public arena and subject to analysis and comment by different actors, including those with most at stake.
13. There is a very low level of awareness of PRSP processes within media. Reporting, when it happens, is disengaged and formulaic. There is a lack of technical skills within the journalism corps to report on economic development and sector specific issues such as health, education and agriculture.
14. There is a lack of interaction between NGOs/CSOs and the media.
15. The issue is not that of PRSPs, but it provides a magnifying glass through which we can look at how media is related to poverty. We have much more complex media trends, perhaps resulting in poverty becoming marginalized. During the last ten years we have seen an exciting democratization of media. At the same time media is becoming increasingly urban, commercial, advertising driven, and consumer oriented directed towards the middle class.
16. Focus should be given on:
– providing credible, accessible, dispassionate information;
– creating spaces for public debate through the media;
– creating channels for poor people to have their voices heard in the public arena.
17. It has often been observed that PRSP is usually a one-way process from the government to civil society. In an ideal situation, there would have been a flow of information in all directions.
Experiences and Challenges
18. We must be aware of the difficulties in the disconnect between headquarters and the donor’s local office which is staffed with specialists who do not get enough support from headquarters.
19. Ensuring greater and effective participation in PRSPs is a long term process. It involves socio-political and cultural history of a given country. We are asking for a big move quickly and that is not easy.
20. Structural issues and institutional arrangements are crucial for creating an enabling communication for dialogue, debate, and participation.
21. Lack of technical expertise in applying communication has been identified one of the major challenges when it comes to integrating communication into development interventions. Communication is often viewed as only a Public Relations activity.
22. Level of institutional support and understanding about communication issues and approaches among people from other background is another challenge often encountered in the process of mainstreaming Strategic Communication.
23. Proven previous results from communication interventions in development projects/programs is crucial for mainstreaming and institutionalizing communication;
Proposals for Future Collaboration
Following are some of the major areas that participants identified as possible areas of future collaboration in mainstreaming and institutionalizing Strategic Communication:
1. Develop and deliver training workshops on how to apply Strategic Communication in development projects/programs; focus on specific issues/areas such as PRSP and MDG, sectoral and thematic areas such as health, education, reforms, governance, empowerment, participation, etc.;
2. Conduct joint research with colleagues from other organizations;
3. Involve communication professionals (from other organizations) in the team and/or conduct joint mission to design, implement, and supervise communication interventions in selected projects/programs;
4. Create and maintain a web-based platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences, knowledge, etc.;
5. Publish reports, newsletters, maintain electronic mailing list, and convene meetings/workshop regularly on communication for poverty reduction.
Annex-1: Workshop Agenda
Strategic Communications for Poverty Reduction:
Experiences from PRSPs and Development Programmes
______
Sida Auditorium
Sveavägen 20, Stockholm
Tuesday, Match 9, 2004
Agenda
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Welcome Remarks
Mr. Ulf Källstig, Deputy Head of Information Dept, Sida
9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Overview on Strategic Communication for Development
Mr. Paul Mitchell, Chief, Development Communication Division, The World Bank
10:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Challenges of Strategic Communication
Participants will present their view and challenges of Strategic Communication in Development Programmes in general and PRSPs in particular.
Speaker: Mr. Klas Palm, consultant, Sida
Moderator: Mr. Arne Ström, Senior Advisor/World Bank, Division for Multilateral Coordination, Sida
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. BREAK
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Strategic Communications in Sector Wide Approaches
Speakers: Mr. Erik Illes and Mr. Ingemar Gustafsson, Sida’s Method Unit, and Mr. Klas Palm, Sida
1:00 p.m – 2:00 p.m. LUNCH
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m PRSP Communication Experiences and Challenges
– Overview
Mr. Sina Odugbemi, Coordinator, Information & Civil Society
Department, DFID
Mr. Masud Mozammel, Communications Officer, Development
Communication Division, The World Bank
– Experiences from Tanzania
Dr. Servacius Likwelile, Director, Poverty Eradication Division, Vice
President’s Office, Government of Tanzania
– Fostering Public Debate
Mr. James Deane, Executive Director, Panos Institute, London
Moderator: Mr. Arne Ström
3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Communication Intervention in Development Programmes and linkages to PRSPs
Speaker: Mr. Anders Rönquist, Sida
Lead discussant: Ms. Alison Scott, DFID
Moderator: Mr. Paul Mitchell, The World Bank
3:45 p.m. – 4.00 p.m BREAK
4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Discussion on Future Collaboration and Next Steps
Participants will present a set of proposals/plans for developing collaborative work in areas of strategic communication. The discussion will also focus on the nature and level of engagement.
Moderator: Mr. Arne Ström
5:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Concluding remarks
Mr. Ulf Källstig, Sida
Strategic communication for Poverty Reduction: Experiences from PRSPs and Development Programs
Sida, Stockholm, 9 March 2004
Page 4
Annex-2 : List of Participants
List of International Participants
Name / Title / Organization / Address / E-mail1. Christian Sundgren / Dep Director General / Department for Development Policy,
Finish Foreign Ministry /
2. James Deane / Executive Director / Panos Institute / 9 White Lion Street
London N1 9PD, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7278 1111
Fax: +44 (0)20 7278 0345 /
3. Rebeca Cronin / Panos Institute / 9 White Lion Street
London N1 9PD, UK
4. Elizabeth McCall / Civil Society Adviser / UNDP
Inkognitogt. 18
N-0256 Oslo
Norway / +4722122700
+4722122703
Fax:+4722122701 /
5. Alison Scott / DFID /
6. Servacius Likwelile / Government of Tanzania /
7. Sina Odugbemi / Coordinator / Department for International Development (DFID) / 1 Palace Street
London SWIE 5HE
Tel:+44(0)20 7023 0286
Fax:+44(0)20 7023 0223 /
8. Christian Hofer / Press and Information Officer / Swiss Economic Development Cooperation
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs seco / Effingerstrasse 1, 3003 Bern Switzerland
Phone: + 41 31 324 09 10
Mobile: + 41 79 328 74 72
Fax: + 41 31 324 09 62 /
9. Susanne Roslund / European Union /
10. Marisol Sanjines / UNDP MDG Campaign /
11. John Young / Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London /
12. Amy Pollard / Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London /
13. Barbara Zatlokal / 52 Vernham Road
London SE18 3HB
tel: + 44 208 317 7442
fax: +44 208 317 0905
mobile: + 44 (0) 790 991 6446 /
14. Stelina Nedera / DFID /
15. Takeshi Sakamoto / Representative / Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) / 4th Floor, River Plate House
7- 11 Finsbury Circus
London, EC2M 7EX,U.K.
Tel.44-20-7638-0175
Fax.44-20-7638-2401 /
16. Jason Monty / DFID /
17. Johanna Martinson / Development Communication Division,
The World Bank / 1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433, USA
Tel: 202-458 7955 /
18. Paul Mitchell / Development Communication Division,
The World Bank / 1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433, USA
Tel: 202-458 1423 /
19. Masud Mozammel / Development Communication Division,
The World Bank / 1818 H Street NW
Washington DC 20433, USA
Tel: 202-473 4770 /
List of Swedish Participants
Name / Title / Sida / e-mailUlf Källstig / Deputy Head of Department / Information Dept. /
Arne Ström / Senior Advisor / Division for Multilateral Coordination /
Ingemar Gustafsson / Head of Section / Method Unit /
Erik Illes / Desk Officer / Method Unit /
Anders Rönquist / Desk Officer / Africa Dept. /
Gunilla Cederqvist / Communication Officer / Information Dept. /
Ulla-Britt Hedvall / Head of Section / Section for Legal Issues /
Teresa Rovira / Desk Officer / Latn America Dept. /
Mats Sundgren / Communication Officer / Dept. for Europe /
Britta Olofsson / Desk Officer / Dept. for Europe /
Anna Liljelund / Desk Officer / Natural Resources Management Dept. /
Elisabeth Berg-Khan / Communication Officer / Information Dept. /
Bertil Odén / PRSP Advisor / Policy Dept. /
Tomas Törn / Information Dept. /
Bhanu Bhatnagar / Desk Officer / Dept for Democracy & Social Development
Division for Culture & Media /
Klas Markensten / Senior Advisor / Director General’s Office /
Pia Hallonsten / Desk Officer / Dept for Democracy & Social Development
Division for Culture & Media /
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Erika Wasserman /
Lena Tranberg /
Margareta Wennlund /
Others
Oscar Hemer / Senior lecturer, international faculty coordinator / University of Malmö, School of Arts and Communication (K3)
Communication for Development /
Klas Palm / Communication Consultant / Amazonas Ltd /
Peter Mathsson / Consultant / Svensk Information /
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[1] A list of participants is attached in the Annex.
[2] Workshop Agenda is attached in the Annex.