Writing a Communication Strategy for Development Programmes

From the Preface: "UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] Bangladesh Programme Communication Coordination Team has prepared this Guideline, Writing a Communication Strategy for Development Programmes, as a ...manual for development professionals. The Team has developed this tool to guide the actual writing of a communication strategy for a programme or a project - a strategy that supports a programme to achieve its development goals, especially its social and behavioural objectives. This tool guides the writer of the strategy to use results of research and various analyses to shape communication approaches into a strategy document. Although the Guideline focuses on the writer of the strategy, this does not suggest a top-down approach to strategy development. Indeed, all the steps in strategy development, from doing the analyses and the planning to monitoring activities and outcomes, should always involve an appropriate mix of programme participants and development partners....

This Guideline is designed to accommodate any of the analytical models currently being used such as ACADA [Assessment, Communication Analysis, Design, Action], the P-process, or COMBI [Communication for Behavioural Impact]....

The Guideline is divided into two main parts: doing the analysis and developing the strategy. It begins with advice on the analyses needed for strategy development: the development issue, the programme to be supported, the participants and their behaviours, and the communication channels. The second part addresses the actual development of the strategy-taking the results of analyses to develop communication objectives and shape advocacy, social mobilization and behaviour change communication accordingly. Practical advice is given to develop, design and write the strategy, ensuring participation of primary participants and the community itself. In the section on last steps, three important aspects of successful communication are included: monitoring outcomes, funding and going from the strategy to implementation. While these are not directly related to strategy development, they are integral to communication strategy implementation, so are included in the document.”