Communication Planning for Development

Overview

The previous lectures introduced you on the basic concepts and principles of
development communication. The crucial role of communication in development
programs including the principles in media writing and developing IEC materials
were also discussed. You will encounter some of these concepts and principles as we
delve into the final lecture in this training – i.e. communication planning.

Training objectives

By the end of this module, training participants are expected:

1. Describe communication planning;
2. Identify the different steps in the communication planning process; and
3. Craft a communication plan.

Brief Introduction: What is Communication Planning?

According to Hancock (1981), communication planning refers to the preparation of

both short-range and long-term plans for the efficient and equitable use of
communication resources, in the context of a particular society’s goals, means and
priorities, and subject to its prevailing forms of social and political organization. It
can also be defined as designing the best strategy and series of actions by which a
communication process will achieve the intended objectives and determining
appropriate communication outputs according to their characteristics, needs,
capacities and resources. However, despite the crucial role of communication
planning in development work, it is often overlooked (Acunzo et al. (2014).

In a communication plan, communication activities must be anchored on the needs

and resources of the intended stakeholders. This commitment should be concretely
reflected in a specific work schedule and budgetary allocation. The effectiveness of
communication activities also needs to be readily measurable against realistic
targets and solid indicators. Communication planning systematically guides towards
identifying the when, where and how of accomplishing the projected goals.
The Steps in Crafting a Communication Plan

Step 1: Situational Analysis

This pertains to the collection and analysis of background information using

primary and secondary data to analyze project goals, stakeholders, institutional and
policy environment, potential partners and resources, as well as the communication
resources available (Acunzo, Torres, and Tirol, 2014). In some references, this is also
referred to as environmental scanning.

There are many ways of doing situational analysis. Some of these include:

1. Problem Tree Analysis

The communication aspect of the key problem or issue is identified here.

Questions to ask include: What are the project’s/program’s/organization’s focus
and objectives? What communication issues or opportunities exist?

Method/Tool: Problem Tree

2. Stakeholder Analysis

This refers to the profiling of the stakeholders. KSAP analysis or the study
of stakeholders’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices in relation to the issue
at stake is also determined.

In a nutshell, stakeholder analysis starts with identifying who are the

stakeholders in your development initiative. Second, you segmen and prioritize
these stakeholders. After prioritizing who will be the primary stakeholders, they
will be profiled. Profiling includes the gathering of information regarding socio-
demographic characteristics as well as the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
practices of the stakeholders towards the specific issue. FGDs and surveys are
usually very useful for this process.

Method/Tool: (Depends on the data to be gathered)

Social Map, Transect Walk, Timeline, Seasonal Calendar, Venn Diagram, Focus
Group Discussion, Key Informant Interview, Survey

3. Policies and Programme’s Analysis

Policies relevant to your programme or development initiative must be

assessed. How these policies could hinder or support your programme or
development initiative must be identified.

Method/Tool: Desk research and/or Key Informant Interview

 4. Organizational Mapping

According to Acunzo et al. (2014), this is the review of existing

organizations and institutions working in the target area, to map out potential
partners and explore synergies and opportunities for collaboration in the
implementation of the communication plan.

Method/Tool: Venn diagram

5. Analysis of Communication Resources

This pertains to the identification of the needed communication resources

for your communication plan to be able to reach your intended clientele. The
most appropriate communication channels and the most cost-effective ones are
identified.

Level of education, preferred and most trusted communication

channels/information sources, and availability and accessibility of
communication channels are just some of the factors to consider in selecting the
communication channels to use.

Method/Tool: FGD and KII; matrix ranking and scoring, social map

Before we proceed to the next step, let us have a workshop for Communication
Plan Step 1.

What to do?
1. Using a Problem Tree, narrow down a specific development issue that
your organization seeks to address.
2. Identify where a communication entry point can be established.
3. Afterwards, once the specific problem has been identified, the group will
fill up the table below.

Worksheet 1

Project Goal Key Development Issue Entry point for

communication
 4. Identify, segmentize, prioritize and profile the stakeholders involved in your
development programme.

Worksheet 2

Stakeholder Stake / Level of Socio- KSAP (if

Interests Priority demographic available)
(Primary, Characteristics (if
Secondary, available)
Tertiary)

5. Determine the policies or programs that may hinder/support your

development initiative.

Worksheet 3

Policy / Program Key provision / key feature

Existing programs and services Services offered by the project or

related to the project at hand program

6. What organizations could serve as potential partners in your development

initiative.

Worksheet 4

Organization Mandate Communication Potential

Resource Contribution/
Capacity Collaboration
 7. What communication resources do you think is the most appropriate and
cost-effective for each of your intended stakeholders?

Worksheet 5

Intended Communication Reasons for Using

Stakeholders Resources this
Communication
Resources

Step 2: Strategic Design

 The steps involved in developing a strategic design for your communication
plan include:

A. Formulating communication objectives

According to Acunzo et al. (2014), communication objectives serve as

basis in selecting communication methods and channels and in evaluating
targets for evaluating the development initiative.

Objectives should consist of the following elements:

 S: Stakeholder
 B: Behavior (action or change desired)
 C: Condition (situation under which the behavior will be performed)
 D: Degree (extent or measure of success)

Example: At the end of this session, at least 85 percent of the training

participants should be able to identify all the elements in writing good
communication objectives.

Stakeholder: training participants

Behavior: identify the elements in writing good communication
objectives
Condition: At the end of this session
Degree: at least 85 percent

Objectives should be from the stakeholder’s perspective. It should be

SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, and time-bound). It should be
written from lower order thinking skills to higher order.

B. Crafting key message for your development initiative

According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public

Health/Center for Communication Programs (March 2003), a message is a
statement containing key points of information that a program wants to
communicate to its stakeholders to encourage behavior change.

In crafting your key message, consider the following:

1. Identify the message focus or theme
2. In crafting the message, consider the:
o Participant’s characteristics
o Knowledge, attitudes, skills, practices
o Socio-demographic characteristics
o Communication behavior
o Desired change in behavior
 3. What makes up messages for communication campaigns (message
parts):
o Appeal - perceived benefit associated with a given value or
behavior. For example, nurturing, intelligence, responsibility,
happiness, bright future, sense of family, education, peace of
mind, control of future, health, etc.
o Approach - how the subject is presented (e.g. rational,
emotional)
o Content – what is being communicated
o Text/Image - copy, script, slogan, illustration, graph,
photograph
o Context - special characteristics of media environment. It may
be sociocultural, political, or moral
o Source - perceived and/or actual source of communication
affects credibility

4. Apply 7 C’s in your message

o Command attention (attract and hold audience attention)
o Clarify the message (convey a single important point)
o Communicate a benefit (Stress advantages of adopting new
behavior being promoted)
o Consistency (Repeat same message consistently to avoid confusion
and enhance impact of message)
o Cater to the heart and head (People are swayed by both facts and
emotions. Use both to maximize persuasiveness of message)
o Create trust (Credibility of message is important)
o Call to action (Tell audience precisely what they should do)

C. Selecting appropriate communication approaches, methods, and channels

Can you still recall the guidelines in selecting appropriate communication

approaches, methods, and channels discussed in module IEC materials and Media
Writing?

General rules for IEC selection:

Select and use a medium:
o for a single or specific goal rather than for different goals;
o with a unique characteristic or advantage to help achieve a specific
purpose;
o which the stakeholders are already familiar with and have access
to;
o which can easily accommodate ‘localized’ messages;
 o that can be locally developed, produced and operationally
supported;
o which complements and reinforces other channels used in the
same strategy, while offering distinct functional strengths and
emphases.

What to consider in IEC selection?

o Key Issues
o Stakeholder & KSAP (Knowledge, Skills, Attitude, Practice)
Analysis - provides insights about the characteristics and interest
of the intended stakeholders, knowledge, capacities, norms, and
values.
o Analysis of communication resources and social networks – what
communication channels are available to stakeholders, how they
are used, who influences the local flow of information and
knowledge, what are the potential community-based media and
communication services and facilities
o Communication objectives and content
o Cost effectiveness

Before we proceed to Step 3, let us do the following workshop:

Worksheet 6

Stakeholder Communication Objective

Worksheet 7

Key issue/fact Filipino families want access to high quality FP

What we want our services at an affordable price but do not know
message to address where to go
Promise FriendlyCare is your partner and friend in
Important benefit planning and caring for your family
FriendlyCare offers a full range of services, from
Support
FP to general family health at affordable prices,
Reasons to believe the
and in a friendly, caring compassionate
promise
environment.
Key message points FriendlyCare helps you achieve your goals for your
Included in all family
communication When it comes to FP, FriendlyCare is the expert
FriendlyCare staff are approachable
FriendlyCare services are affordable
 The whole family gets checkups at FriendlyCare

Worksheet 8

Stakeholder
Communication Objective
Type of Print Media
Title
Content Outline

Step 3: Development and Testing

Pretesting helps the project implementers determine whether the intended

stakeholders understand the key message and accept the prototype materials before
they are produced and distributed.

Bertrand (1978) defines pretesting as measuring the reaction of a group of

individuals to a communication or set of communications prior to widespread
diffusion. Its purpose is to determine systematically which of several alternative
versions of a communication will be most effective or to identify elements of a single
communication that could be changed to make it more effective.

What to measure in pretesting?

(CSAP Communications Team, 1994; Acunzo, et al., 2014)

1. Attractiveness

If a material is not attractive, many who see or hear it will not pay much attention to
it. Is the message interesting enough to attract and hold the attention of the target
audience? Do people like it? If more than one message is tested, which of several
messages attracts the most attention/is best liked?

2. Comprehension
The pretest should measure the clarity of the content and how it is presented. Is the
message clearly understood? If more than one, which of the several alternatives is
best understood?

3. Acceptability

The message and the way it is communicated must be acceptable to the audience.
Does the message contain anything that is offensive or distasteful by local
standards? Does it contain anything that people perceive to be false? Does it contain
any annoying elements that would become irritating after repeated exposure to the
message? If more than one message, which of the several alternatives is least likely
to be unacceptable?

4. Self-involvement

The intended audience should be able to identify with the material and
recognize that the message is meant for them. Is the message perceived to be
directed to the individuals in the target audience? Do they feel the message is for
themselves or is it for others? If more than one message, which of several
alternatives is perceived to be best directed to the target audience?

5. Persuasion / Call to Action

The material should clearly indicate the audience’s role. The message should ask,
motivate, or induce the audience to carry out a particular action/s (do-able
message). Is the message able to convince the target audience to undertake the
desired behavior?

How to pretest communication materials?

The recommended steps in pre-testing communication materials (Acunzo, et

al., 2014):

1. Determine the objectives and expected effects of the material.

2. Develop the prototype material; ensure it is consistent with its objectives.
3. Select an appropriate method for collecting data.
4. Prepare the tool for gathering the data.
5. Select pre-testing participants from the intended audience.
6. Conduct the pre-testing and collect the data.
7. Organize the data (categorize answers to open-ended questions, tabulate
responses).
8. Analyze and interpret the data.
9. Recommend changes in prototype material based on pre-testing results.

The most commonly used methods in pretesting include readability testing, focus
group discussion, individual interview, and self-administered questionnaires.
Step 4: Implementation and Monitoring

What are the important factors to consider in implementing and managing our
communication initiative?

A. Organizational Setup

o What are the main tasks to be accomplished?

o Who will be involved with or in-charge of the said tasks?
o In order to properly delineate the tasks and assign specific staff for each
communication activity, we can create an organizational chart for our
communication initiative.

B. Communication Activity

o What are the activities to be done in order to achieve the objectives?

o What concrete outputs should be produced for each activity?
o Be guided by the communication objectives when identifying specific
activities.

Sample Communication Activities:

o Organizing a group to manage communication efforts
o Conceptualizing, pretesting, and producing comm materials
o Conduct of training
o Awareness raising
o Consultations, community dialogue, community education
o Strengthening linkage and partnerships
o Sustaining efforts

Objective Communication Activities

At the end of one year Networking with private organizations

project implementation, Webinar on managing and sustaining
80% of the LGU officials clean water
should be able to establish Distribution of advocacy kits on clean
partnership with at least water
10 private organizations. Community visit

C. Timeline or Schedule
 o How long will the activity be undertaken?
o We can create a Gantt chart showing activities to be achieve either on a
weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.

D. Budget - How much is the cost?

Item Amount

Personal Services
MOOE
Equipment and Capital Outlay
Contingency
Total

Workshop Mechanics

Worksheet 9:

Communication Output Schedule Person Budget

Activity in (in Peso)
Charge
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1
0 1 2
Communication Objective #1:

1.
Step 5: Evaluation and Re-planning

How do we sustain our communication efforts?

1. Capacity Building
2. Partnership and Networking
3. Continuous Public Information
4. Building Champions
5. Fund Generation
6. Scaling Out and Scaling Up
7. Policy Reform

Monitoring and Evaluation

Acunzo, Torres, and Tirol (2014) define monitoring as the process of gathering or
collecting data and information about the progress of a project. It is done
periodically throughout the project. Data gathered at this stage pertain to the set
indicators—such as number of adopters of a technology or rate of increase or
decrease in frequency and duration of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in a
location—and do not include an assessment of whether or not the project is
successful. At the point when a value judgment on the data is made, i.e., deemed
“good” or “successful” (or otherwise), then the evaluation process has begun.

An M&E plan is part of communication planning and implementation. It is a tool for

tracking progress and determining the effectiveness of a program or project. It
shows what change occurs over time relative to the desired outcome, and indicates
the extent to which the observed changes are brought about by the project or
intervention/s.

Conducting M&E

1. Review baseline objectives

2. Identify targets and indicators
3. Select data sources and data gathering methods
4. Analyze data
5. Prepare M&E report

WORKSHOP

Worksheet 10
Sustaining Effort/Mechanism Specific Activity
e.g. partnership and networking MOA with LGU’s

Worksheet 11:

Objective Target/ Indicator Data source Data Person in

standard /s gathering charge
method
List of References

Hancock, Alan. 1981. Communication Planning for Development. France: UNESCO.\

Acunzo, M., Pafumi, M., Torres, C., & Tirol, M. S. (2014). Communication for Rural
Development Sourcebook. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3492e.pdf

Bertrand, J.T. (1978). Communications pretesting. Chicago: University of Chicago

Community and Family Study Center.

Cadiz, M.C.H. (2007). Educational communication for development: Basic concepts,

theories and know-how. University of the Philippines Los Baños College of
Agriculture.

CSAP Communications Team. (1994). Pretesting is Essential, You Can Choose from
Various Methods. The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information.
Retrieved from
https://www.orau.gov/cdcynergy/soc2web/content/phase04/phase04_step04_
deeper_pretesting.htm