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KOFAP - Korea FAO Sustainable and Innovative Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme

Tools for the Guidebook for evaluating fisheries co-management effectiveness

Task 1.7: Determine the audience(s) that will receive the evaluation results and develop a communication plan

Before the evaluation begins, determine the audience(s) that is (are) to be reached and develop a plan for communicating the results of the evaluation to it (them). There may be many different audiences that will require different methods of communication.

For example, the primary audience may be whoever requested the evaluation, such as a national agency, co-management leader, or donor. Keep in mind that there may be others who would find the results useful and who might benefit the co-management effort. Special attention should be given to ensuring that primary stakeholders and resource users, and others whose livelihoods depends on the managed resources, are reached. This may require communicating in local languages and using illustrations rather than text.

Using the results of the stakeholder analysis carried out in Task 3 will help to identify the target audience(s) and how to communicate with it (them). Answering the following questions may also help:

  • For each audience - what do you know about their preferred method of receiving information? This may be closely related to their technical capacity. For example, do they prefer to read information or listen to a radio or television? Do they use computers and the Internet regularly? Do they gather periodically at meetings or conferences? If so, when are these meetings scheduled?
  • What language does each audience speak? What is their average level of education? What style of communication do the prefer - technical and academic, or casual and conversational? Where and how does communication by word of mouth usually take place?
  • What specifically, do you expect each audience to do with the results of the evaluation and the information you present to them? What actions do you want them to take following the delivery of your results? How are these expectations linked to the goals and objectives of the co-management system?

Prioritize primary audiences based on the need to reach them, how they will use the results and the types of actions they can take, and develop a communication plan that includes specific considerations for each of the audience groups.

A communications plan will contain the following elements: 

  • An audience analysis matrix that identifies the range of possible internal and external audiences, their characteristics, and a set of priority target audiences.
  • A description of how target audiences prefer to receive information. This will help in the development of a logical presentation and format (one-way and/or two-way communications (for sharing the evaluation results with the target audiences. Use a variety of communication methods. These range from a summary report for a donor, to a video for resource users.

Develop a strategy for how and where results will be delivered by identifying whether one-way or two-way presentation formats will be used with each target audience. Include in the strategy the approach and style of delivery to be taken. A results delivery strategy outlines exactly how to conduct the presentation formats assigned to target audiences. Consider how to make the presentation formats most meaningful and thought provoking for each target audience and include this in the results delivery strategy. For example, what language, tone, style of text, and voice (i.e. passive or active) will most resonate with the target audience? The results delivery strategy should include the messages and formats that will be used to communicate with different target audiences. Use the audience analysis matrix to identify outreach opportunities.

A set of key messages with illustrated examples and stories that explain the results will help to focus the attention of particular target audiences. Messaging allows the evaluation team and co-managers to keep in mind the critical pieces of information that target audiences will be looking for during the evaluation and as results are generated.

Develop a timeline of when messages and presentation formats are to be released and delivered to target audiences. The timeline will depend on the type of formats and the style in which results are delivered.

The communication and presentation methods identified will also be useful for the validation process. A validation of the early results of the evaluation should be carried out before final conclusions and recommendations are agreed to. An appropriate way of communicating during the validation process will need to be thought through (see Task 3.5).

 

Suggestions
  • Communication tools, including templates, examples and ways of monitoring their impact are abundant online.
  • Communication can be very expensive, so it is advisable to determine what the budget can afford based on the objective.
  • Communication toolkits for civil society organizations tend to be more affordable and rely on direct channels of communication or social media.
Resources

  1. Claussen, J.E., Cooney, P.B., Defilippi, J.M., Fox, S.G., Glaser, S.M., Hawkes, E., Hutt, C., Jones, M.H., Kemp, I.M., Lerner, A. & Midway, S.R. (2013). Science communication in a digital age: Social media and the American Fisheries Society. Fisheries, 38(8): 359–362.
  2. Duggan, D.E., Farnsworth, K.D. & Kraak, S.B. (2013). Identifying functional stakeholder clusters to maximise communication for the ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Marine Policy, 42: 56–67.
  3. McConney, P. & Haynes, C. (2011). Communication. In R.S. Pomeroy & N. Andrew (eds), Small-scale fisheries management: Frameworks and approaches for the developing world, pp. 178–195. Oxfordshire: CABI Publishing.
  4. Osborne-Gowey, J. (2014). Starting the social media science communication – online and in fisheries. Fisheries, 39(1): 7.
  5. Soomai, S.S. (2017). The science-policy interface in fisheries management: Insights about the influence of organizational structure and culture on information pathways. Marine Policy, 81: 53–63.
  6. Wilson, D.C. & Pascoe, S. (2006). Delivering complex scientific advice to multiple stakeholders. In L. Motos & D.C. Wilson (eds), The knowledge base for fisheries management, pp. 329–353. Elsevier.