Paolo Mefalopulos

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Academic background in Sociology (BA) and Communication for Social and Behavior Change (MA and PhD). Worked in Italy in private and state media sector for a few years then joined the UN with a range of experiences in various agencies and different parts of the world. Author and co-author of several publications and books on communication for development and participatory communication. From 2009 to 2014 have been the Chief of of the Communication for Development Program of the UNICEF India Country Office and after that I have been taking up senior management responsibilities as UNICEF Representative in Uruguay and currently in Chile.

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Florencia Enghel

Jönköping University

Jair Vega Casanova

Universidad del Norte - Barranquilla, Colombia

Nancy Muturi

Kansas State University

Daniel Martí

Universidade de Vigo

Valentina Baú

Western Sydney University

OLGA DEL RIO SANCHEZ

Universitat de Girona

Martin Potter

Deakin University

Ignacio Aguaded

Huelva University

Adilson Cabral

UFF - Universidade Federal Fluminense

Maria Isabel N O R E Ñ A Wiswell

Uniminuto (Bogotá, Colombia)

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Diseño Participativo Para Una Estrategia De Comunicación

AGRIS record. Record number, XF2008437207. Titles, Diseno participativo para una estrategia de co... more

Broadening the Boundaries of Communication

The history of development has included failures and disappointments, many of which have been asc... more The history of development has included failures and disappointments, many of which have been ascribed to two major intertwined factors: lack of participation and failure to use effective communication (Agunga 1997); Anyaegbunam, Mefalopulos, and Moetsabi 1998; Fraser and Restrepo-Estrada 1998; Mefalopulos 2003). The same point is emphasized by Servaes (2003: 20), who states, "the successes and failures of most development projects are often determined by two crucial factors: communication and people's involvement." No matter what kind of project-agriculture, infrastructure, water, governance, health-it is always valuable, and often essential, to establish dialog among relevant stakeholders. Dialog is the necessary ingredient in building trust, sharing knowledge and ensuring mutual understanding. Even a project that apparently enjoys a wide consensus, such as the construction of a bridge, can have hidden obstacles and opposition that the development communication specialist can help uncover, address, and mitigate. A number of studies have confirmed that a top-down management approach to development is less effective than a participatory one. Bagadion and Korten (1985), Shepherd (1998), Uphoff (1985), and the World Bank (1992) are among those providing data to support this perspective. Development communication supports the shift toward a more participatory approach, and its inclusion in development work 1.2.1 Adopting Two-Way Communication from Day One Communication interventions are often used in ongoing projects, but managers should be aware that their effectiveness is limited by factors that might have emerged since the inception, such as the perceived significance of project objectives, the lack of support by stakeholders, or a number of other potential misconceptions and obstacles that might limit the impact of communication interventions. That communication assessments and strategies can still help when adopted halfway through a project should not affect the recognition that communication initiatives are most effective when applied early in the project cycle. Even though many practitioners in the new participatory development paradigm advocate the active involvement of local stakeholders from the early stages of an initiative on moral grounds and from a rights-based perspective, participatory approaches have demonstrated their crucial role also in enhancing project design and results sustainability. Hence, participation can be considered a necessary ingredient for successful development, both from a political perspective (good governance and a rights-based approach) and from a technical perspective (long-term results and sustainability of initiatives). Successful communication interventions do not always need to rely on media to engage and inform audiences-they can also rely on more participatory and interpersonal methods, as in the case narrated by Santucci (2005) in box 1.1. Participation in a project can be conceived in a number of ways-from the most passive (for example, holding meetings to inform stakeholders) to the most active form (for example, collaboration in decision making). Frequently what is often referred to as "participation" in many cases is not, at least not in a significant way. Box 1.2 presents a typology of participation (Mefalopulos 2003) compatible with others, including one used by the World Bank that is presented in module 2. When not involved from the beginning, stakeholders tend to be more suspicious of project activities and less prone to support them. Conversely, when communication is used to involve them in the definition of an initiative, their motivation and commitment grow stronger. This applies not only in the development context but also in the private sector, as confirmed in a statement by a director of a major private corporation: 8 "It is incredibly irksome and terribly longwinded to get agreement to any action, but it does have enormous benefits-the meetings buy everybody in, and once they get behind the project they'll do anything they can to see it through." The involvement of stakeholders in defining development priorities has advantages other than just gaining their support. It gives outside experts and managers MODULE 1: The Value-Added of Development Communication 1

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