The Communication Initiative

[cleofe.torres]

This is a contribution to the "CSDI ComDev CCA Expert Group Discussion"

For information on how to participate or unsubscribe to this forum please see the footnotes below.

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 Dear Chris,

Thanks for the very organized synthesis. That gave us a lot of good things to reflect on some more as we go about our daily grind of ComDev work. We shall as be as inspired and as challenged to join the group in the next journey.

Mabuhay! Ciao!

--
Cleofe


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[Chris Morry]

This is a contribution to the "CSDI ComDev CCA Expert Group Discussion"

For information on how to participate or unsubscribe to this forum please see the footnotes below.

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Hi Everyone,

We want to, once again, thank all of you for your participation in this discussion. It has been fruitful and raised many relevant points that will help as we move forward to the next phase of the consultation. This summary distills the main themes and findings that we will incorporate into our planning as we prepare for the wider consultation in September. We hope and trust that all of you will acompany us on this journey and join us and many others when we convene again.


The consultation was established to:

* map relevant stakeholders, programmes, online platforms and networks, identify trends, needs and gaps and develop an action plan for moving forward.

* improve our understanding of the role ComDev is playing in CCA development work today

* bring to light real world experiences that demonstrate its importance and impact

* and outline emerging issues and trends.

The VEC was also designed to open the road to the creation of a broader consultation and partnership process among practitioners, researchers, institutions and donors working in Communication applied to CCA.

Its major objectives were to:

* identify major trends, needs and gaps in relation to strengthening knowledge sharing and collaboration as well communication approaches presently being applied to responses to the varied impacts of climate change

* develop a draft action plan for improved knowledge sharing and communication for development amongst people and organisations working on CCA.

* and to be the starting point for the establishment of a global platform on Communication for climate change adaptation.

The VEC began on June 8 2009 and continued through to July 13 2009. It structured its discussion around a 3 phase agenda:

1. Foundational discussion to analyse trends, issues, needs and gaps in relation to what needs to be done to strengthen information, knowledge sharing and collaboration among those engaged in using ComDev as an integral element in CCA action based on the paper “Towards a Communication for Development Framework for Natural Resource Management and Climate Change – the CSDI”

2. Sharing knowledge on ComDev and CCA to identify stakeholders, networks, case studies and publications taking into account the members individual knowledge as well as the document “Communication for Development and Climate Change Adaptation Global Scan”.

3. Towards an action plan in which the VEC was to focus on identifying the main stakeholders and critical networks that need to be engaged, the essential actions required to respond to the trends, issues, needs and gaps and the tools or platforms that will be most useful for strengthening information, knowledge sharing and collaboration among those engaged in ComDev and CCA.


In the Foundational discussion the major themes and reflections on the paper were:

1. Participatory and individual behaviour change approaches are both valid depending on context but perhaps the paper presents them too strongly as dichotomies. This links to a question raised as to whether behaviour change is given too much prominence in the paper and should instead be utilised as a context for discussing ComDev approaches that respond to what's been learned and what's needed today. Perhaps the historical arc is one of moving from an either/or perspective to one of complementarity?

2. The paper should more clearly articulate the connection between ComDev, CBA and SLF.

3. The idea that C4D is a profession requiring skills and experience needs to be emphasised against the too prevalent idea that communication programmes can be designed and implemented by people with no experience.

4. CCA is a real response to changes in the environment and adaptation is not a choice but a necessity and ongoing reality for many communities. The question may not be one of encouraging new behaviours but rather new thinking about how communities can approach adaptation in a systematic and planned way - a paradigm change in community thinking about the environment they find themselves living in that requires a similar change in the way they (and therefore we) approach development.


Key issues and trends were:


1. Not enough resources for ComDev.

2. ComDev not seen as a profession and initiatives are often run by people without appropriate skills or training.

3. ComDev can require a range of skills such as behaviour science, sociology, psychology, anthropology and ComDev professionals have to work more and more in interdisciplinary teams.

4. ComDev is often ad hoc and poorly planned.

5. Communication is a process and not a tool. We have to be careful not to view the tools (ICTs, mobile phones, radio etc) as the process.

6. ICTs as with other communication tools must be planned to complement the objectives and be systematically designed as an integral part of CCA projects.

7. ICTs are among a constellation of tools that can be used ranging from radio and print to IPC and the tools used need to reflect the media most used by the communities or groups who are engaged in a ComDev process.

8. ComDev suffers a lack of theoretical/conceptual frameworks, definitions, indicators, processes, protocols, etc.

9. ComDev is not just a matter of communication it is also about creating environments that enable this change - If you want people to stop throwing their garbage in the river, place a bin in the community, and arrange for regular garbage pickup; if you want people to become energy efficient, provide energy efficient bulbs to households.



In the sharing knowledge on ComDev and CCA portion of the discussion the major themes and reflections on the scanning document were:

1. The document needs more detail on what the 'communication focus' of different organisations are and a more refined distinction between the different approaches and tools reflected.

2. Stronger and better case studies are needed and it is important to include (determine) the perspective and "framing" of the communication work that is outlined in order to correctly identify and place the strategies and approaches.

3. A continuum of communication approaches/practices could be used as a way of being able to ensure that we discuss and compare 'apples to apples'.

4. Developing measurements/indicators to use in identifying success stories and having confidence that case studies and other examples of value added will stand up to reasonable scrutiny is critical to building a foundation for the importance and value of C4D for CCA.

5. The document underlines the peripheral nature of ComDev in the emerging area of CCA.

A number of you also sent new resources, networks and case studies:

Creating a Climate for Change:
Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change
Edited by Susanne C. Moser and Lisa Dilling
Cambridge University Press
http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/publications/special/creating_climat e_for_change/index.html

Barefoot College - ED is Bunker Roy nv.ernet.in
http://www.barefootcollege.org/prog_solar.htm

Plus:
http://www.barefootcollege.org/
http://barefootimpact.org/
http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2009/03/article_0002.html
http://www.unesco.org/courier/2000_03/uk/dossier/txt02.htm
http://www.american.com/archive/2007/july-0707/ending-poverty-but-only -on-paper

Networked Intelligence (http://www.networkedintelligence.com/pipe.html)
http://www.networkedintelligence.com/Biopolitics_of_water.pdf
http://www.networkedintelligence.com/smallplayerHIGHSTAKES.pdf


In the final action oriented phase major themes were:

1. Putting C4D at the centre of CCA ComDev will require a more aggressive approach to marketing ourselves in relation to making the case that ComDev ensures higher success rates, makes the work of other aspects of the programme and those implementing it easier, improves community support, and helps to capture results.

2. It was suggested that a professional association of ComDev practitioners should be established.

3. There is a real need for facilitating a range of networking and info sharing needs using ICTs.

4. It is important to capture relevant and robust case studies but as the area of CCA is new we may need to look elsewhere. It was also mentioned that case studies of programmes that failed or did poorly because of a lack of communication would also be useful. For instance on The Communication Initiative NRM theme site you can find resources such as:

Creating the Space to Empower Women Fishers: Lessons from the Philippines
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/296015/306

Success Stories in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural Research and Technological Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/297942/306

Livelihood Adaptation to Climate Variability and Change in Drought-Prone Areas of Bangladesh
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/290488/306

Media Poetics and Cattle Ranching: Making Community Radio Relevant to Language and Power
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/296395/306

These are just a few of several hundred.

5. ComDev should be part of overall planning and implementation and introduced into the programme cycle at the point of initial overall strategic planning.

6. Training will take time but we can start with some of the basics for participatory outreach, dialogue etc and also recognise that an increasingly important skill is learning to work in multidisciplinary teams which can also help flesh out some of the skills needed for strong ComDev programming.

6. Advocacy with decision makers and programme implementers is important but it is also important to engage with the technical people working in related areas - the agriculturalists, administrators, scientists who often have significant influence in the content of programmes and projects. There was a suggestion that we need to identify influential champions to support advocacy efforts.

7. We also need to advocate in our own organisations and recognise the ComDev has been progressing in recognition and developing in terms of professional qualifications as witnessed by ComDev degrees and by ComDev posts being advertised. There is a growing demand for ComDev professionals though there remains a long way to go.

In conclusion the VEC helped us identify gaps and areas needing refinement in the background documents, provided insight into key issues and trends, identified a few new resources and networks and made a start in frameing the next phase of the consultation through its discussion of needed actions. As with all such discussions it represents a beginning not an end. A place to move forward from based on a wider range of perspectives and an outline for priority areas for further action.


Thanks once again to everyone.


The moderation team at CSDI and The Communication Initiative.


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