This paper advocates that Development needs innovation
Innovation is the right medium for communication
Effective development needs planned communication inputs
Communication has different functions
Communication action needs to be research-based and planned
Development initiatives can be shaped by communication interventions
Engaging stakeholders at the start can influence the design of a process.
In order to embrace these opportunities, organizations need to articulate policies to embrace communication
Train staff in communication planning skills
Modify budget allocation procedures to include communication planning and implementation Build flexibility into programming
Integrate communication into project cycles.
Communication and Participation - Two Sides of the Same Coin
Part of the definition of Development Communication states that "communication and participation are two sides of the same coin". In essence, what we are saying is that there cannot be participation without some form of communication. To be effective, communication needs to be a planned and researched activity to complement any development initiative be it program or project. As development specialist Erskine Childers has noted:
If you want development to be rooted in the human beings who have to become the agents of it as well as the beneficiaries - who will alone decide on the kind of development that they can sustain after the foreign aid has gone away - then you have got to communicate with them... if you don’t do that you will continue to have weak or failing development programs. It’s as simple as that.
Erskine Childers, UN analyst and Communication for Development specialist.
Source: FAO Video, "Sharing Knowledge," 1991.
