Workspace/Communication for Results - a Planning Guide and Resource Kit for Water Governance Projects
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| A Communication Planning Guide for International Waters Projects (Workspace with background documents) | |||||
This is the workspace for the Communication Planning Guide
DRAFT VERSIONS of the guide
Zero-Draft (03 March 06):
NOTES from the IW-Comm-Workshop, Vienna 19/20 Jan 06
Outcomes Group 1
Members: Janot, Melina, Deyna, Yegor, Mary, Kari
Project Managers should
...get their coffee themselves!
Managers of Micro grant projects are also managers; they could other groups to implement their project as well. The Strategy should apply to all level of projects.
Get PM onboard at the very start. Communication should be built in the Project Document and started at the early stages of the project implementation.
Talk-write in a very simple language.
Stakeholder involvement plan (Mary).
Communication activities could be both incorporated into the project components and be a separate component of the project (a separate budget). It is recommended that somebody is responsible only for that.
Mandatory proportion of the budget is to be allocated for the communication-related activities – the scoring system templates.
GEF promotional ads on the transport (e.g. a ferry).
If the budget allows, a person has to be hired.
Communication groups to give communication tasks to does not work. Full responsibility is the only way.
Scenarios have to be given for different levels and project stages - different settings (Kari).
Communication cycle – more problem solving and the project in the beginning with gradual fading of the project away and sustainability.
Self-evaluation vs. external M&E. Different indicators.
There is a need of a set of indicators to assess the usefulness of the project. Mngt indicators are the action priorities. Strengthening of capacity in the institutions rather than in the GEF. M&E system and mechanisms should be built in from the very beginning.
People on the ground and projects/managers/governments sometimes have different priorities. SHA is critical.
A Network with Voluntary participation of communication experts. Peer network.
Training for Project managers!
Project Implementation Task Team – the team is sent to help developing the project implementation plan. Regional experiences.
No copy and paste approach – communication activities have to be designed and adjusted to the real situation and the region, also cultural and other sensitive issues.
Communication matrix.
Critical paths or actionable activities.
Communication Plan.
Outcomes Group 2
Members: Hamid, Steve, Rita, Khulood, Sylvia, Mish
Discussion & Feedback: Hamid:
- Communication has many levels/layers (upstream)
- Important questions in a sequence:
- What to communicate (is it important to communicate NOW; at all? )
- WHOM do I want to communicate this
- ..
Mary:
- Important to highlight the benefit of comm (on the ground)
Janot:
- Boring CHapter-headings --> Let's put questions!
Outcomes Group 3
Members: Dann, Ardalan, Magdi, Leah, Paul, Kari
The Project Manager should ...
(See Project Managers section)
Developing the Communication Strategy in detail
- Project objectives come first
- Target audience
- Communicate with:
- partners
- internal stakeholders
- external projects
- general public
PRESENTATIONS
Powerpoints > 10 MB are stored externally and linked to in green.
NOTES (Paul's Summary - Long Version)
Here's the word-file: Here is Paul's 2-pager:
WHAT IS STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
- Comms is confusing term for PMs, sexy now
- Some know what it means, some use and apply
- Need to differentiate "comms" from "public participation", and how they link
- ***Project should have people who know how to do this
- One tool to help project achieve its objectives, get results faster
- It’s a science And art (no quick fixes)
- Strategy is the start, but actions are the key
- "Social marketing"? – need to use commercial marketing principles to get behaviour change, preparing people for it
- Should integrate from start, but GEF planning process as is makes it hard to fit in completely
- Comms take 2 – need to tell and listen
- Don’t re-invent the wheel – who else is doing what?
- Need to partner
- How to access and disseminate "official info"?
- Learn along way, living document
- Should be done from start of project
- Start small (e.g. objectives), get small wins, and move on
DESIRED OUTCOMES (Goals in using communications)
- Information collection and dissemination
- Education/training (separate effort? Very important!) and awareness raising
- Big picture issues and solutions, raise general awareness
- ***The project, showing its added value and what it achieves!!!, maximizing use of project results in terms that relate to people: environmental, economic, social) (E.g. improve waste management, freshwater, access to information) (stakeholders don’t know what project does, sometimes very complicated)
- Motivate people to change behaviour (focus on specific ones!) (e.g. Cooke), or act
- Public participation (planning, decision-making, implementation, monitoring) (e.g. in developing Management Plan)
- Communications flow = dissemination, raise awareness, persuade, train, get public participation
- Train and encourage sub-project managers to communicate strategically
TARGET AUDIENCES
- Need to define, research, understand them, how they think (stakeholder analysis) (e.g. Cooke: found they’re unaware of how their activities cause problems, they don’t have enough info) (e.g. Danube farmers also unaware of pollution)
- 3 levels: regional, national, local
- Government planners and decision-makers, industry, local residents, landowners, tourists
- International institutional clients, commissions
- Local community level very important (how to get from "top" to "local")
MAIN MESSAGES (to target audiences)
- Personal benefits – what’s in it for me?
- Calls to action – make fun and simple
- Even institutional people! But need to be careful, culturally sensitive (SP more "fun" than CEE?)
- Be consistent, repeat often
- ***Money talks, financial benefits (e.g. loss of tourism) (law also talks)
- Campaign name important
- Change meaning (e.g. make waste a resource)
- "Make and implement a Plan"
- "Project will have clear benefits for you" (Kura Aras)
- "Shared resource"
DELIVERY VEHICLES (Products, activities)
- Too much jargon, technical info
- Engage, personalize, make fun,
- Promote stakeholder excellence (awards e.g. greenbag competition, waste champions)
- Popular Ambassadors promoting campaign
- Improve electronic and website effectiveness
- Online interactive tools, databases (e.g. Caspian: scientists, NGOs), bulletin (Caspian, BS)
- Update!
- Online library – reports and photos
- Under-use of radio, important at community level
- Advocate creative products and activities as solutions (e.g. banana circles, green bag, landfill site pictures)
- Teacher-children education and comms good idea ‘Study Packs’ (SP, Caspian, Danube Box, REC, Black Sea, Red Sea) (e.g. board game for kids, BS) (BS Shell Palace)
- Public awareness grants and matching (Caspian, Danube, Red Sea) ($500 – 50,000) (governments, industry, NGOs, public) (maybe don’t call it ‘grants’?)
- Workshops, trainings (Red Sea Comms training system)
- Journalist workshops
- Annual Days (Danube, BS),
- Competitions (photo, stories)
- Different publications (in-house, story submissions to popular or scientific journals…)
- Basic products to communicate project (e.g. visual identity)
- Stories! (e.g. Red Sea, sold in stores)
- Drama great tool for local delivery (Vanuata)
- Use tangible demonstrations – show how it works!
MONITORING
- Focus on measurable change at community and national levels through indicators
- E.g. environmental, physical, behaviour, institution, awareness/attitude, process indicators like # radio ads
- E.g. Cooke: get 75% target group aware of problems and solutions
- E.g. Cooke: Lots of great feedback, queries
- Monitoring and Evaluation Plan!
- E.g. (Red Sea) questionnaire for students proved positive and materials still in use, fishermen still using products
- E.g. (Vanuatu) density of land crabs increased!, champions invited to other places to send messages
EVALUATION
- Hard to show communication impacts for success and environmental change, and cost-effectiveness
- Technical component evaluation easier
- Done throughout project, fed in to continuously improve things
WINS
- Project better understood
- Short-term wins
- Solutions promoted by "champions" through media, "puts a face"
- Coached national coordinators to communicate
- SP: Household waste dropped 60%, reduced organic waste to landfill, more use greenbag, government savings (Parliamentarians loved this)
- Countries now have more dialogue (e.g. Caspian, Danube)
- International comms and public participation network (with national focal points) created to implement actions (Caspian, Danube)
- Good pilot projects
- Highly used website
- Cooke: chemical ban, swimming in dangerous area stopped, people boiling drinking water
- How to transfer wins to other projects? (WaterWiki can help, focus on lessons learned)
- DRP was there long enough to make wins
- Sub-project managers encouraged to use strategic comms (Danube)
- Red Sea: teachers and NGOs cooperating each other across boundaries, but scientists and engineers less so
WEAKNESSES/BARRIERS/NEEDS?
- Comms not planned in early enough, needs right people and proper budget (dedicated comms person), put into ToR
- Behaviour change takes time, so needs time and long project
- Budget constraints
- Hard to get data (e.g. oil companies Caspian)
- IT not used much in some developing areas (Caspian, BS)
- Did not get to local level enough (Caspian)
- There should be a GEF comms and public participation strategy template (in process, to be tested soon)
- Hard to communicate in a "formalistic culture", people don’t believe in need to disseminate info or have public participation
- Do some NGOs represent all NGOs?
- Lack of local trust in government, or think government should do all
- Lack of people with comms experience
- Evaluating effectiveness of comms
- Multiple cultures, languages, expectations (translations! Too much English)
- Need to get and respect stakeholder feedback
- How to spark interest for issues like "nutrient pollution" or "access to information"?
- Too many opinions in making a strategy so becomes nothing
- Comms activities are ad hoc, not regular or coordinated
- There are universal problems but no universal tools/fixes
- Should something be an "information clearinghouse"?
- Takes time to train non-comms people how to communicate strategically
- Hard to spark interest in some issues (e.g. nutrient pollution, transboundary cooperation)
- Hard to make comms strategy at regional level, should focus on local areas and specific audiences
- Internal comms crucial (missing sometimes): staff in the field need to see what happens at HQ. Hard to feed local results into a bigger picture, be within one project or between projects.
- Cultural barriers (e.g. Vanuatu, women have little say)
- How to make things sustainable after project (partners get funding from elsewhere, or get target audiences to pay for services/tools)
Practical Guide - Outline
Chapter 1: Project Managers and Communication
The Project Manager should
- (Clarify benefit and) obtain buy-in from the regional partners to contribute in developing communication strategy
- It should be done by Project Manager or else communication specialist
- Develop TOR for communications specialist, including capacity-building among partners
- Initially identify stakeholders and partners
- Allocate resources for the strategy and its implementation
- Review and provide feedback on the strategy, ensure it is designed to realizeproject objectives
- Monitor and Evaluate progress in and impact of implementing the strategy
- (Facilitate inter-partner communications, so that benefits can extend beyond the project lifecycle)
Chapter 2: Project Objectives and Communication
Chapter 3: Efficient Use of Resources – Target Audience Analysis
Chapter 4: Critical Paths – Selecting Your Activities
Chapter 5: The Communication Toolkit
Chapter 6: Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation
(Setting objectives and indicators right)
Chapter 7: Communcation Stategies
Appendix
Case studies
Exercises
Templates
Template for Public Participation Strategy
Other Resources, References, Links
Categories: How-To | Article | Workspace
