Health e Communication

[blozare]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Closing Note

Thanks Nona for your comment. And to all our participants, both viewers and commentators, a most hearty thank you for your most valuable contributions. I also wish to express my thanks to Chris and Deborah for moderating the forum. Great job everyone!

I think this has been a most productive forum and I am very much impressed at the quality of the postings from all over the world. I have gained a lot of great insights which would be extremely useful in my work.

Just a few thoughts that I would like to share with everyone. I believe that a greater share of attention paid to non-material resources would yield significant results. As many of you have pointed out, it may be useful to avoid comparing material and non-material resources---we need both-- as each play an important part in the development process.

Perhaps the shift of more attention to non-material resources would offer greater hope to developing countries in their search for sustainable development. We may need to turn our eyes inward and reflect more on that practical adage that "to change others, we may have to change ourselves first."

I recall a famous story about an African archbishop who in his death bed said ---"when I first became a priest, i dreamt of changing the world but the world refused to change. So I focused instead in changing my community but my community also refused to change. Then I tried changing my family but my family also resisted change. I finally realized that the only thing that I could change was myself and perhaps I may have gotten things backward. I should have started to change myself first. Then the change in me may have caused some change in my family which could have then influenced our community and our community in turn would have inspired change in the world."

So thank you everyone for your great comments. Hope to see you all sometime soon in another forum.

With best wishes,
Ben

Quote:

Hi Ben, Responding to your latest note, yes "self limitation mental model" is one of the barrier, the other barrier that I often witness in every program in the developing world is "the expert mental model" where we come with the attitude of we know how to help people come out from their current situation, which are mostly negative, to a better situation - perhaps considered as "beyond imagination" from their standpoint. This mental model prevent us from seing the potential that the community has in order to help themselves progressing to achieve a better life. The use of non-materials resources should also mean making use of the resources within the community that can be use as vehicles instead of introducing a new vehicles that are not part of their everyday life. Community groups and their activities are part of community life in every villages, at least I can speak for Indonesia. When we approach stakeholders, they are also part of these groups, and we should utilize both the stakeholders as agent of change/champion as well as the community groups they belongs to as the vehicles. Cheers, Nona Pooroe Utomo Health Communication Coordinator USAID - Environmental Services Program Telp: (62-21) 720-9596 Fax: (62-21) 720-4546 E-mail: (nona_utomo@dai.com) Website: www.esp.or.id

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[nona_utomo]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Hi Ben,
 
Responding to your latest note, yes "self limitation mental model" is one of the barrier, the other barrier that I often witness in every program in the developing world is "the expert mental model" where we come with the attitude of we know how to help people come out from their current situation, which are mostly negative, to a better situation - perhaps considered as "beyond imagination" from their standpoint. This mental model prevent us from seing the potential that the community has in order to help themselves progressing to achieve a better life.
 
The use of non-materials resources should also mean making use of the resources within the community that can be use as vehicles instead of introducing a new vehicles that are not part of their everyday life. Community groups and their activities are part of community life in every villages, at least I can speak for Indonesia. When we approach stakeholders, they are also part of these groups, and we should utilize both the stakeholders as agent of change/champion as well as the community groups they belongs to as the vehicles.
 
Cheers,
Nona Pooroe Utomo
Health Communication Coordinator
USAID - Environmental Services Program
Telp: (62-21) 720-9596
Fax:  (62-21) 720-4546
E-mail: nona_utomo@dai.com (nona_utomo@dai.com)
Website: www.esp.or.id

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[blozare]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

***

Thanks Freida, Mike and Rehan and all for your contributions. Great discussions going. Indeed, we may need to think hard how we can capture the elusive nature of "non-material" resources. One critical resource is self-efficacy which in my experience is seriously hampered by self-limiting mental models. Self-limiting mental models are mind sets or frameworks where we believe that we cannot make a difference.

When I was a kid, if someone said that sometime in the future, people will carry telephones in their pockets, call anywhere in the world, use the phone to take photos and videos, I would say that is "beyond imagination" or even science fiction. Yet we have cell phones carried by billions of people around the world.

I grew up in a world of telegrams where someone comes to my house in a bicycle and delivering a short message in a piece of paper. If you told me when I was a kid that sometime in the future, people will send letters to one another by pressing button and the letter will be received instantaneously anywhere in the world, I would say that that is beyond imagination. Yet we are having this electronic forum and you guys are around the world discussing and sharing ideas.

If someone said in 1947 that France and Germany will become friends and share a common currency, people will call him or her as "crazy". Yet we now have the European Community where former enemies share many dimensions of governance.

In 1950s, the development literature describe Asia as a hopeless "basket case" where famines, social disorders, and incompetent governance create much havoc. Let's look at Asia now and see how much have changed.

What is the point? Sometimes, the biggest problem may be in our heads---our "self-limiting mental models".

Comment anyone?

Best wishes,
Ben
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[rehanraju]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Dear All,
Thanks to Frieda Subrata for valuable suggestions. We can't quantify non-material resources and inputs. It should be qualitative assessment. We have to define quality in this regard and think about standards.

Rehan Uddin Ahmed Raju
Consultant
National AIDS/STD Programme (NASP)
Bangladesh.

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[Jose Miguel R. de la Rosa]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Hi Ben and colleagues,

In the Philippine experience, the choice of leaders in community-setting is very important. What is the profile of prospective leaders who are not in the program for the material rewards? How can we identify them? What motivated them to stay in the program and influence others to join in.

I would like to hear from our colleagues in other countries if they have such information. As I have said in my previous e-mail, I see capability-building strategies and programs as major factors in keeping people in the program. This type of intervention should cascade to lower echelons of leaders. There may be "gatekeepers" who are easily identifiable, but we want to discover members of the community who are just waiting to be tapped.

The National Population and Family Planning Outreach Project in the Philippines had a very successful experience in this area. I intend to investigate this and share my findings to everybody.

We can probably strike a happy balance between material and non-material resources. But given the scarcity of material resources, we have to depend more on non-material resources to sustain any development programs.

Mike de la Rosa

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[blozare]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

***

Dear Rehan, Gisell and Pradeep,


Thank you for your support about the importance of non-material resources and its relation to our capacity building efforts. We seem to have a consensus building that this is a dimension that needs more attention. There are many challenges that we need to overcome but I am confident that if we put our hearts and mind to the task, much can be achieved.

Here are some questions that may help trigger more comments:


1, Why have we given less attention to non-material resources compared to material resources? What concrete steps can we take to address this?

2. What is the relationship between material and non-material resources? How do they interact? How do we leverage material resources to generate more non-material resources and vice versa?

3. What is the best way to "invest" in non-material resources to nurture their growth?

Appreciate comments and responses from all.

Best wishes,
Ben


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[frieda subrata djoko]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Dear all,

I think now we all agree that both material and non material resources in communication is important. The challenge as Ben said is how to quantify and assess the process and the result of this non material resources.
Material resources is very easy to monitor, quantify and the proof is tangible. How if we develop this non material resources in communication in stages, just as Ben and JHU always says "problems are solved in stages"?

In the area of capacity building, we can incorporate training in
communication from:
1. communication skills: stening skills, counseling skills, presentation
skills etc
2. developing health communication: P process
3. Leadership in communication

If we use the term "communication training", I believe the donors can understand that. The only problem is still how to assess the outcome? From personal perspective, I think if we can at least train people up to leadership in communication, we can expect them to continue pursuing their own personal development and will benefited the program.

Thank you all,
frieda

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[rehanraju]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.
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I would like to thank Health e Communication and Dr. Benjamin Lozare for taking this initiative on his shoulder. The non-material resources and intellectual contribution of communication personnel are not yet recognize properly and this a very good opportunity to discuss and raise voice.

Thank you all.

Rehan Uddin Ahmed Raju
Consultant, Advocacy & Communication
National AIDS/STD Programme (NASP)
Bangladesh

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[giselle garcia]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Dear all

I think is very important -non-material -, to discuss, to share ideas

Giselle García

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[sarkarpradeep]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Dear All,
 
This is a great effort and congratulations for the same.  I also would like to contribute to it.
 
I think we will have to agree for the capacity building efforts.  This is an investment which will contribute productively and effectively in health communication especially in the Indian context.  And I am sure it will pay rich divedend in the long run.  We all in India those who are in the development sector will definitely benefit by this group.
 
Thanks
 
Pradeep Sarkar
New Delhi
India

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[blozare]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Dear Sanjeev,

Thanks for your quite thought provoking thoughts! Lots of things to think about as we delve deeper into non-material resources.

If we go back to the original article of Fogel, one of the key points that he made is that he finds the unequal distribution of "spiritual" or "non-material" resources even more problematic than the unequal distribution of material resources. Fogel presents a lot of interesting data that approximates measurement of these assets that we need to reflect on.

I guess, the optimal and potential use of non-material resources is a reason for hope in developing countries where material resources are scarce and often misused. Again, the concept of leverage as mentioned by Walter may also be useful. It may also be more productive if we accept that both material and non-material resources are valuable and that we should make full use of both. Just as good carpenters do not debate whether a screwdriver is better than a hammer, we need to recognize the value that these two types of resources offer.

I think we have opened the door to some highly promising approaches that we need to explore further. Once again, I invite observations and comments from our viewers who have not posted anything so far.
We welcome your insights everyone!

Best wishes,
Ben

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[dociftee]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Hi there!

Bev!.... you are right Non material is a intellectual property so it is a asset.

Endorsing your thought......

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[blozare]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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To Bev and Peter and everyone,

Thanks for your contributions. The asset mapping model is indeed of great value Bev and I encourage all to review this. Indeed, this may be a good approach to developing concrete measures of relevant non-material resources.

Thanks Peter for your substantial comments which are quite insightful. I like very much the point that a 'good’ project stands or falls with the people who actually support it. Indeed we cannot overestimate the value of a highly committed counterpart which can really make a difference. The principle of local ownership may indeed be a sine qua non of sustainable and effective health programs.

For everyone, what do you think of the idea of using the concept of "best principles" rather than "best practices". I think most can appreciate that the best practices in many developed country contexts may not be easily replicated in less resourced situations. What we may need to focus on are those principles of "local ownership", shared vision, commitment, local solutions for local problems,etc.

Your insights and comments are most welcome!

Keep the great ideas coming. I am really impressed with the many wonderful ideas that have been expressed so far.

Best wishes to all,

Ben

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[sanjeevbcc]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Dear Ben and friends

I would like to take up the point of the name issue- non material, spiritual, assets. I think it is important and critical because therein lies the significance of we or others valuing it. Now when I say "valuing" it, what the issue is that value in terms of it being monitisable/measurable or valuing interms of its intrinsic or perceived worth. Is it possible to have a budget line item which says builing non material resources (nee spiritual/assets) in the human capital we work with, say, health workers. I wonder if the donor/funder/foundations othert than may be, FBOs, would even consider it or undertand it. Try to see it from the CTO/financial evaluator perspective- he/she will ask - what ithe deliverable in concrete terms, what is my OVI or Means of verification? How does this contribute sigificantly to the end result or indicator. Can we demonstrate that?

On the other hand we are supposed to do "capacity building" programme and efforts whic most of the people still feel is a alternative term for "training". Is development of "non material" resources a part of the "capapcity building" initiatives? In that sense non material is suppoed to be a basic part of the sytem or the functionary. You do not invest in the element which suppored to have been there already and for which society, community, faith and the whole socialisation process is suppoed to contribute. These "assets" are supposed to be there. Can we think in terms of developing these "skill sets"? Are these (non material resouces) skill sets? Can we do an OR where you invest in people with additional non material resources in one group and other inputs minus the additional inputs of buidling and energising the "Non material resources"?

I do not know if the feel good factor of being nice, positive, supportive, ready to listen, not loose temper, be patient, see other perspective, go the extra mile, take that extra effort, go beyond the call of duty or job description, be with the people, an all that can be SMARTly "measured" and emonstrate that it makes "x" percentage difference in the outcomes and results?

On second thoughts, do we really want that to get "measured" and "funded/supported"?

Wow!

Dr Sanjeev Kumar
New Delhi
India

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[bbrewer]

This is a contribution to the 'Non-Material' Resources in Health and Development Communication discussion forum. The forum is sponsored by Health e Communication and moderated by Dr Benjamin Lozare Associate Director, Center for Communication Programs, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.

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Hello to everyone,

John McKnight and John Kretzman talk about "assets" in their asset mapping model when defining community strengths. It's positive, but rather neutral as well. Assets can be material as well as non-material.

Just a thought....

Bev

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