CAT 1

STUDENT NAME:

STUDENT ID:

QUESTIONS

1. Define the following?

i. Development communication
Development communication refers to a process of strategic intervention toward social
change, initiated and engaged by organizations and communities. Development itself
encompasses participatory and intentional strategies designed to benefit the public good,
whether in terms of material, political, or social needs. Development
communication techniques include information dissemination and education, behavior
change, social marketing, social mobilization, media advocacy, communication for social
change and community participation.
ii. Social marketing
Social marketing is an approach used to develop activities aimed at changing or maintaining
people’s behavior for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole.  It is the marketing
designed to create social change, not to directly benefit a brand. It raises awareness of a given
problem or cause, and aims to convince an audience to change their behaviors. So, instead of
selling a product, social marketing “sells” a behavior or lifestyle that benefits society, in order
to create the desired change. This benefit to the public good is always the primary focus. And
instead of showing how a product is better than competing products, social marketing
“competes” against undesirable thoughts, behaviors, or actions.
2. What is the role of communication in development? Discuss with relevant examples
Below are the roles of communication in development;
Conscientisation of Members of Participating Communities.
Communication, indeed, has great potential to conscientise members of the participating communities
to really understand that they have the capabilities to identify their problems, community needs and
prioritize them appropriately. The encouragement of local community initiatives in identifying
community problems and proffering appropriate possible solutions, and subsequent prioritization of
community needs is based on using communication effectively to stimulate awareness creation
among members of the participating communities.
Provision of Relevant Information
The provision of relevant information is another role of communication in community development
in the participating communities. Without provision of relevant information in communication,
people will not be stimulated to take action in community development that will improve the living
conditions of members of the participating communities in the society.
Provision of Opportunities for Dialogue and Discussion
Additionally, the provision of opportunities for dialogue and discussion with relevant stakeholders in
community development is an important role of communication in community development process.
It is obvious that people in various participating communities cannot be engaged in dialogue and
discussion with a view to facilitating the resolution of community development issues without
communication between members of the participating communities and groups working to stimulate
community development in the communities, between corporate organizations’ community
development workers and members of the host communities of the concerned companies, between
funding agencies and field workers who work with project participants in various participating
communities
Provision of Opportunities for Sharing Information and Ideas
The provision of an opportunity for sharing information and ideas among people of various
communities remains an important role of communication which people receive to facilitate people-
oriented community development projects. Community development depends greatly on
communication, especially in sharing relevant information and ideas necessary enough to enhance
community development activities in the participating communities.
Communication as a Unifying Factor in Development Activities.
Communication is an important unifying factor in community development activities in various
communities in human environment. Communication is a unifier of community development
activities in various communities in the society. There is no community development without
communication in human environment. Through communication the following are achieved in
development in various communities:
 Conscientisation of members of various participating communities.
 Attitudinal change
 (Re-orientation
 Social mobilization for promotion of community development
 Ideas are communicated or made available for promotion of community development
Information is made available to people for use
 Promotion of achievement of community development objectives and goals.
3. What are the elements of development communication?
 It is responsive:
it does not provide ‘useless’ information - that which people did not want to know, but which central
planners deemed as crucial. People understand their own needs better and through this approach
communication becomes a tool in the planning and development process, not a mechanism to
persuade communities once unpalatable decisions have been made.
 It hinges on feedback:
It is not a one-way process but involves dialogue mechanisms about the information which was
transferred. It is also fundamentally about consultative processes being managed at community level.
 Innovation and creativity:
The message must not be dull and boring but show clearly how the information transmitted will make
a difference in the life of the recipient - it must not instill doubt or disbelief, but trust and confidence.
 Independent validation:
It is not about ‘government speak’. This approach builds participatory mechanisms and functional
networks involving NGOs, Traditional Leadership structures while also encouraging links with
networks from across the country and indeed all over the world. These can either prove or disprove
the validity of the information transmitted.
 It’s about sustainability and continuity:
It is not about dumping information in a community and never going back for months.
It’s about establishing common ground with communities who are to be the recipients of the
information/message: The standards, norms, values, habits of the community are paramount.
 It’s about community participation:
A primary emphasis of this approach is to plan with communities, create structures which offer
communities and developers equal power, and use communication methods which are fundamentally
participatory in nature.
 It’s about the use of simple and relevant language
Where concepts are packaged in the experiences of communities, in their own language and where
communities themselves have played a major role in the development of material for development
communication programs.
4. Discuss in detail the approaches to development communication

Below are some of the approaches to development communication;

 Diffusion/ extension Approach to Development Communication:

The main focus of this approach is the adoption of technological and social innovations through
diffusion of new ideas, services and products.  Diffusion of both material and social innovations is
necessary for development.  Material innovations refer to economic and technological innovations
and social innovations pertain to social needs and structure.  The process of diffusion starts with the
need of individual and community decisions for acceptance and rejection of innovations depend
primarily on the needs of the adopters.  The resultant consequences of diffusion can be direct/indirect,
latent/manifest, and functional/dysfunctional.  The early models of diffusion focused only on material
growth.  But it was soon realized that social growth along with material growth was necessary for
diffusion of products, ideas and services.  Therefore, diffusion decisions have to handle the economic,
technological and social constraints. There are four elements in any analysis of the diffusion process:

 Innovation (any idea considered new by recipient)

 Communication (the individual to another through certain channels).
 Social system (among members of society)
 Time taken (from the stage of innovation to the stage of adoption).

 Development support communication: 

In the development context, communication strives not only to inform and educate but also to
motivate people and secure public participation in the growth and change process.  A widespread
understanding of development plans is an essential stage in the public cooperation for national
development.  

 Planned Strategy for Development Communication:

The success of development communication depends on team approach, i.e. the coordination between
the communication agencies (extension workers, radio, TV, Press, etc.) and development agencies.  

 Institutional approach focuses on education for development.

The emphasis is on literacy-universal education, adult education, formal and non-formal education.
There is emphasis on need-based training and development – oriented programs conducive to
development.
  Mass Media Approach Development Communication:  

A well-defined developed mass media and interpersonal communication infrastructure is necessary

for development communication. It is necessary that these infrastructures should be accessible to the
people, both physically and socially. The content of the messages should be balanced.  The content
should be both rural and urban oriented and addressed to masses in both sectors. The messages should
be need-based and they should appeal to the audience.

 The integrated approach to development communication 

Emphasizes the need to avoid duplication and waste in development efforts. The balance in the spread
of information facilities must be maintained both for rural and urban, backward and prosperous areas.

 Localized Approach

This approach advocates that information transmitted through media must be locally and functionally
relevant to the audience is called localized approach. The development programs must be local to
meet the local needs which vary widely in different regions and sub-regions in a large country like
India due to the diversity of climate, cultures and languages.

Localized approach would enable communicators to design messages which will be relevant in terms
of utility, timeliness, applicability, specificity, etc.

5. Write short notes on the following

a. Individual behavior

Individual behavior can be defined as a mix of responses to external and internal stimuli. It is the way
a person reacts in different situations and the way someone expresses different emotions like anger,
happiness, love, etc. Various factors affecting the individual behavior can be classified into following
categories:-

 Personal Factors e.g. Age, Gender, Religion, Marital status, personality, Values, Perceptions.
 Environmental Factors e.g. employment level, wages rate, political factors
 Organizational Factors e.g. physical facilities, reward system.

b. Interpersonal behavior

Interpersonal behavior refers to the interaction between two or more persons. It is imperative to
building and maintaining any type of relationship in the social world. It is the behavior and actions
that are present in human relationships. The way in which people communicate, and all that this
entails, is considered interpersonal behavior. Interpersonal behavior may include both verbal
communication and nonverbal cues, such as body language or facial expressions. Verbal interpersonal
behavior consists of joking, relating to one another via the art of storytelling, and taking or following
orders. Interpersonal skills are highly desirable in many situations, specifically careers that rely on
personal relationships such as the health care industry or sales. Interpersonal Behavior is basically
how two people interact in any setting. It is extremely important in organizations or even schools and
other education institutions to strengthen interpersonal relationships.

6. Define advocacy communication and outline the different strategies for action in
advocacy communication?

Advocacy is about influencing and persuading individuals or institutions to change, and advocacy
communication is any planned communication that seeks to achieve the communication goals: to
inform, to persuade and move to action. For example, we can advocate for change of policies or laws
that affect society, but this may not go smoothly if we cannot communicate the ideas and proposals
effectively.

Through advocacy communication, we translate our advocacy goal into a concise and compelling
case for action to policy makers. Instead of just informing them that there is an issue you are
advocating, advocacy communication will make them pay more attention through the prepared
activities and materials
Explained below are some of the different strategies for action in advocacy communication;

Mobilizing a network of activists and organizations

An advocacy network is a group of individuals and/or organizations working together with a common
goal of achieving changes in policies, laws, or programs for an advocacy issue. One way to think
about it is like an ecosystem-different actors work together - some more closely than others. In short,
a network consists of multiple actors with multiple objectives.

Creating a buzz on Public Media

Media advocacy involves the use of any form of media to help promote a cause. The media’s reach to
many people offers a powerful tool to inform and build support around an issue or to make
responsible, informed choices. Besides reaching out to large numbers of people they influence public
attitudes and opinions on important public matters. It helps to create a reliable consistent awareness of
the issue and activities. There are several tools that can be used to influence the media, including:

 press releases, events, and press conference, letters to the editor, television interviews,
newsletters and briefs, seminars, workshops, and debates, articles and news items, personal
interest stories and success stories.
The messages need to have solid content, framed to draw media attention.

Bringing in charismatic advocacy champions

They are usually high profile and eminent individuals who adopt an issue and publicly advocate for it.
Usually, such individuals are highly driven, are passionate for the cause, and exhibit a high degree of
solidarity rooted in a shared set of beliefs, values, and visions. These advocacy champions or opinion
leaders are those persons whose statements are influential with the media, decision-makers, and the
public. Reporters are more likely to quote such eminent persons in covering a story than ordinary
citizens.

Creating identity through collective slogans, campaign logo, common objectives, advocacy
demands

The identity is what people think and feel about the advocacy campaign and the core issue it deals
with. In the commercial sector, this would be equivalent to the brand. Branding matters for advocacy
purposes, because if there is a strong identity that is communicated in a clear and consistent manner,
it can be more effective in advancing the advocacy goal.

Slogans are messages that people can identify with and understand. A slogan or tagline is the
catchphrase or group of words that are put together to identify a cause or issue. It could be a one-
sentence slogan as brevity is the key to memorability. Messages should be persuasive and crisp
statements about the advocacy issue - what is to be achieved and why this is important.

Advocacy and awareness events – public hearings, conferences, seminars

Advocacy and awareness events are a gathering of core mission representatives to raise awareness for
the cause. They assist in networking a range of stakeholders to discuss a variety of views and lead to
new ideas, tactics, and goals. There are various kinds of advocacy events that can be held, one of
them being conferences. These will help to get your message out, galvanize support for your
campaign and hold decision-makers to account. Invite those who are directly affected by the issues,
the wider community, service providers and representatives of concerned government departments
and your local representatives.

Disrupting and creating awareness by demonstrations, non-violent protest, and public

disobedience
These are forms of public expression or “community presence” that have been used by various
advocacy movement. There are different forms of non-violent protests that include demonstrations,
rallies, marches, vigils, sit-ins, hunger strikes, and other forms of mass meetings. They all aim to
achieve goals such as social change while being non-violent. This type of action highlights the desires
of a group of people that feels that something needs to change to improve the current condition. They
help in publicizing issues, getting attention so that other people become aware and support the cause
as well.