A: How is Everett M. Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovation related to change?

ANSWER

DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY

Diffusion of Innovation (DO!) Theory, developed by E.M. Rogers in 1962, is one of the oldest social science
theories. It originated in communication to explain how, over time, an idea or product gains momentum and
diffuses (or spreads) through a specific population or social system. The end result of this diffusion is that
people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or product. Adoption means that a person does
something differently than what they had previously (Le., purchase or use a new product, acquire and perform a
new behavior, etc.). The key to adoption is that the person must perceive the idea, behavior, or product as new
or innovative. It is through this that diffusion is possible.

Adoption of a new idea, behavior, or product (.e., "innovation") does not happen simultaneously in a social
system: rather it is a process whereby some people are more apt to adopt the innovation than others.
Researchers have found that people who adopt an innovation early have different characteristics than people
who adopt an innovation later. When promoting an innovation to a target population, it is important to
understand the characteristics of the target population that will help or hinder adoption of the innovation. There
are five established adopter categories, and while the majority of the general population tends to fall in the
middle categories, itis still necessary to understand the characteristics of the target population. When promoting
an innovation, there are different strategies used to appeal to the different adopter categories.

1. Innovators - These are people who want to be the first to try the innovation. They are venturesome and
interested in new ideas. These people are very willing to take risks, and are often the first to develop new ideas.
Very little, if anything, needs to be done to appeal to this population.

2. Early Adopters - These are people who represent opinion leaders. They enjoy leadership roles, and embrace
change opportunities. They are already aware of the need to change and so are very comfortable adopting new
ideas. Strategies to appeal to this population include how-to manuals and information sheets on implementation.
They do not need information to convince them to change.

3. Early Majority - These people are rarely leaders, but they do adopt new ideas before the average person.
That said, they typically need to see evidence that the innovation works before they are willing to adopt it.
Strategies to appeal to this population include success stories and evidence of the innovation's effectiveness.
4. Late Majority - These people are skeptical of change, and will only adopt an innovation after it has been
tried by the majority. Strategies to appeal to this population include information on how many other people have
tried the innovation and have adopted it successfully.

5. Laggards - These people are bound by tradition and very conservative. They are very Skeptical of change
and are the hardest group to bring on board. Strategies to appeal to this population include statistics, fear
appeals, and pressure from people in the other adopter groups.

LIMITATIONS OF DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION THEORY

There are several limitations of Diffusion of Innovation Theory, which include the following:

 Much of the evidence for this theory, including the adopter categories, did not originate in public health
and it was not developed to explicitly apply to adoption of new behaviors or health innovations.
 It does not foster a participatory approach to adoption of a public health program.
 It works better with adoption of behaviors rather than cessation or prevention of behaviors
It doesn’t take into account an individual's resources or social support to adopt the new behavior (or
innovation).

B: How does it relate to advancements in health care and health care professionals using advancing
technology?
RELATE TO ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH CARE AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
USING ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY

ATTRIBUTES OF INNOVATIONS

This theory has been used successfully in many fields including communication, agriculture, public health,
criminal justice, social work, and marketing. In public health, Diffusion of Innovation Theory is used to
accelerate the adoption of important public health programs that typically aim to change the behavior of a social
system. For example, an intervention to address a public health problem is developed, and the intervention is
promoted to people in a social system with the goal of adoption (based on Diffusion of Innovation Theory). The
most successful adoption of a public health program results from understanding the target population and the
factors influencing their rate of adoption.

1. Relative Advantage: The perceived relative advantage of an innovation is the degree to which it is
perceived as improving on a previous innovation. This can manifest itself as higher profitability or an increase
in social status, for example. Preventive innovations — those whose effects may not be immediately visible, or
may never materialize because their purpose is to prevent an undesirable event — are perceived to have a very
low relative advantage. Incentives (eg: money or free samples) can be used to increase the perceived relative
advantage of an innovation. However, adoptions motivated by incentives may be less sustainable, with adopters
possibly rejecting the innovation when the incentive ceases to be available. Relative advantage is positively
slated to an innovation’s rate of adoption.

2. Compatibility: The perceived compatibility of an innovation describes how consistent it is with regard to an
individual's values, experiences, and needs. The degree of compatibility determines the change in behavior
required to adopt an innovation. Thus, instead of introducing an incompatible innovation into a social system,
adoption can be easier when the innovation is broken up into several more compatible innovations that can be
adopted in sequence — each requiring only a minor behavior change. Compatibility is positively cleated to an
innovation’s sate of adoption.

3. Complexity: The perceived complexity of an innovation describes how difficult it seems to comprehend and
use the innovation. A high degree of complexity can be a strong barrier against adoption. Complexity is
negatively related to an innovation’s rate of adoption.
4. Trialability: The perceived trialability of an innovation is the degree to which it can be tried on a
probationary basis (yup, as far as I know Rogers made that word up). A personal trial of an innovation is an
effective way to seduce uncertainty about an innovation. As such, trialability is positively related to an
innovation’s sate of adoption.

5. Observability: The perceived observability of an innovation is the degree to which others can observe the
results of an innovation. Observing a peer can be a proxy fora trial of an innovation. Observability is positively
related to an innovation’ rate of adoption. These five attributes have been found to determine about half of the
variance of adoption rates.

DIFFUSION NETWORKS

The adoption rate is also influenced by the social system in which an innovation diffuses. Rogers mentions
weak ties, opinion leaders, social learning, and critical mass as important concepts that help understand the
diffusion of innovations through social networks.

As has been alluded to in the section on adopter categories, many individuals are influenced by peers when
deciding whether or not to adopt an innovation. Peers from distant social networks introduce innovators to new
ideas. This gatekeeping process gives the relatively locally oriented early adopters access to these innovations.
Acting as opinion leaders, they demonstrate the advantages of an innovation to the early majority. Through peer
pressure and out of economic necessity, the late majority and laggards. finally also adopt the innovation. The
diffusion process of an innovation is driven by interpersonal communication.

WEAK TIES

Research has shown that with high probability, an individual's close ties are similar to the individual
(“homophily”). These peers, in turn, are peers to one another as well. This gives rise to mostly isolated, close-
knit cliques. Consequently, new ideas are unlikely to enter such a social system.

However, some individuals in such groups will have ties to individuals from other communities. Because they
belong to other peer groups, such connections are often weaker. Yet, these weal ties provide the means for
seeding peer networks with innovations. They act as brokers that bridge communities and allow new ideas to
flow from one peer group to another.
Thus, while most ties between individuals have a low potential for the exchange of new ideas, the rare and
distant weak ties can act as impactful channels in the diffusion of innovations. Close, strong ties are more
important when it comes to interpersonal influence. Interestingly, other studies have shown that the most
successful people oscillate between close collaboration with local groups and brokering between groups,
The observability of an innovation is an important attribute in this regard, as, demonstrations by opinion leaders
can be impressive “trials by proxy” for a potential adopter,

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Bandura introduced social learning theory to explain how individuals learn from each other's behavior by
observations

This process is called social modeling: based on observing peers, individuals enact similar — not identical —
behavior. Instead of imitating others, they adapt an observed behavior to their own situation. If the original
behavior leads to an observable reward for the original performer, others can take this as a cue to start modeling
their own behavior after the original Social modeling can happen through interpersonal networks as well as
through public displays, for example through mass media.

The steps Bandura regards as necessary for social learning to happen include attention (the ability to observe a
behavior), retention (remembering a behavior), reproduction, ability to perform a behavior), and motive Social
learning and the diffusion of innovations are distinct theories focusing on Giff cent things. Vet, they are related
in that they both provide a model of behavior change based on communication with others. Both theories regard
information exchange an essential factor in behavior change, and both acknowledge ties between, individuals as
an important facilitator of such exchanges

CRITICAL MASS

Critical mass for an innovation is the point at which its diffusion becomes self- sustaining and does not need to
be supported by change agents or similar forces anymore. It is especially important for interactive innovations:
Rogers defines these as innovations through which an exchange between individuals is facilitated, and which,
allow individuals to switch roles.
Examples are many communications technologies, like the telephone, fax, email, or social Media sites. They
have in common that with each additional adoption, the ‘value of adopting the innovation increases for all past
and future adopters.
‘Since potential adopters are often aware of the fact that the innovation will be maze ‘useful f others adopt it,
they monitor the adoption behavior of others. Individuals will be more likely to adopt if they perceive that
critical mas:
Reddit who faked a busy community until it was busy). Related, opinion leaders are often part of the critical
mass, as they are been reached, as this the innovations value (cf. WI watched by their followers.
Conversely, if an individual believes that others are discontinuing their adoption of an interactive innovation,
they will also be more likely to stop using it: discontinuance for such an innovation is equivalent to a decrease
in value. This can create cascades of is continuance that will eventually lead to the innovation becoming
abandoned.

Rogers proposes four strategies to support an innovation in reaching critical mass: targeting highly-respected
individual ( Overflow and GitHub alto did this); shaping the perceptions of whether critical mass will be
reached
soon or has been reached; introducing the innovation fist to especially innovative groups, such as R&D
departments; and providing incentives for early, adoption until critical mass reached.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION

The Organizational Innovation Process So far, we mostly talked about individuals and how they adopt new
ideas. However, individuals are often members of organizations and will adopt innovations in such a context.

THE INNOVATION PROCESS FOR ORGANIZATIONS ACCORDING TO ROGERS.

 Figure 2: The innovation process for organizations according to Rogers.
1. Agenda-Setting: The organization identifies and prioritizes needs and problems that could be addressed by
adopting an innovation.

2.Matching: The problem identified in the previous stage is matched with an innovation that could solve it.

3. Redefining / Restructuring: The organization customizes the innovation according to its own structure,
culture, and needs.

4. Clarifying: Use of the innovation is starting to diffuse in the organization. The meaning of the innovation
becomes clearer for the organization's members, and they start forming a common understanding of it

5. Routinizing: The innovation loses its distinct quality: itis now pact of the organization Its interesting to go
through this process has adopted.
something that one’s own organization Understanding this process also helps one build innovations for other
organizations.

SUMMARY

During the process of diffusion, an innovation is communicated through communication channels among the
members of a social system. The innovation- decision process describes the stages an individual can go through
while contemplating the adoption of an innovation: after having gained knowledge about it, the individual forms
an opinion about the innovation and decides whether or not to adopt it. The individual then starts using the
innovation and further reduces the remaining uncertainty by practice and learning. When the innovation has
been adopted, the individual continues to monitor whether adoption still makes sense for her. Adopters as well
as attributes of innovations can be divided into categories established by diffusion research. Their
characteristics can provide an estimate of the probability of adoption in a given situation. Social networks have
a large influence on the adoption process.
SECTION B

S. No Questions Marks CLO

1. Explain the Social media’s role in development activities. 15 2

EXPLAIN THE SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.

Role of Social Media In The Society

Social media can be called a web-based platform of interaction through which people communicate among
themselves, exchange information and modify the content created in the meantime, Provide feedback,
communicate and delete information when necessary. Media is a medium to bring information, education and
entertainment to the masses. It is a simple and efficient means of communication. In an era where knowledge
and facts are tools for economic, political and cultural exchange, the presence of creative media is important in
meeting the diverse needs of the whole society,
small and large businesses and various research organizations, private sectors and government sectors. In the
21st century , print media such as newspapers, magazines, journals and other publications and electronic media
such as radio, television and internet etc. do the work of awakening in the society. After technological activism,
now ‘social media activism’ has become a synonym for today’s generation. Today, about two out of three
Indians spend their time online on different social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
Pinterest, etc. About 100 million Indians, who are more than the population of Germany, are busy with social
media related work every day.
Objective:
To provide an overview of how social media is being used and how it is changing everyday life.
Social media is an ingredient, not an entree. - Jay Baer
According to the UNDP, the issues and themes currently considered most central to human development
include:
• Social progress – greater access to knowledge, better nutrition and health services.
• Economics – the importance of economic growth as a means to reduce inequality and improve levels of
human development.
• Efficiency – in terms of resource use and availability. Human development is pro-growth and productivity as
long as such growth directly benefits the poor, women and other marginalized groups.
• Equity – in terms of economic growth and other human development parameters.
• Participation and freedom – particularly empowerment, democratic governance, gender equality, civil and
political rights, and cultural liberty, particularly for marginalized groups defined by urban-rural, sex, age,
religion, ethnicity, physical/mental parameters, etc.
• Sustainability – for future generations in ecological, economic and social terms.
• Human security – security in daily life against such chronic threats as hunger and abrupt disruptions including
joblessness, famine, conflict, etc.
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA
One way of defining social media is to discuss on its “essential” elements. For Anthony Mayfield, these
elements are:
• Participation – Social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested. It blurs
the line between media and audience.
• Openness – Most social media services are open to feedback and participation. They encourage voting,
comments and the sharing of information. There are rarely any barriers to accessing and making use of content
– password-protected content is frowned on.
• Conversation – Whereas traditional media is about “broadcast” (content transmitted or distributed to an
audience), social media is better seen as a two-way conversation.
• Community – Social media allows communities to form quickly and communicate effectively. Communities
share common interests, such as a love of photography, a political issue or a favorite TV show.
• Connectedness – Most kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of links to other sites,
resources and people. Social media is a form of “many-to-many communications”. This means that when
people use it:
• They can input and receive information to and from the Internet;
• They will be able to connect and communicate dynamically within a flexibly formed scope;
• There will Web no artificial boundary between information and communication tools; and
• The definition of “many” goes well beyond people to include entities such as organizations, products,
processes, events, concepts and so on.
We can also understand social media better by comparing with other media. Unlike other media, social media
have the following characteristics:
1. Internet-based. Most social media is a web-site based application on the internet.
2. Mobility and Ubiquity. Many social media offer mobile-compatible platforms, so that the sites can easily
get accessed by users that possess only a mobile phone.
3. Focus on Users. Users can create content by themselves, if they have a basic writing skills and understanding
of social media tools. They can also disseminate their own contents, express their opinions, or report what has
actually happened, without influence by authorities.
4. Multi-way Group Communications. With (the) scalable N-to-N communication pattern (not one-way, not
1-to-1, not 1-to-N communication) people in multiple places, even across borders, can access and contribute to
the contents.
5. Large-scale and Flexible Interactive Participation. Interactive participation is encouraged on a massive
scale. Social media sites are usually accessed on an occasional participation basis, but simultaneous
participation is possible on some specific forms.
6. Co-creation. Though the interactive participation, people can brig, share, learn, and distribute ideas and
thoughts, sometimes even remotely tapping global expertise.
7. Low Cost. As long as users have Internet access and Internet-accessible devices, signing up for and using
social media is mostly free. In addition, from the contents production viewpoint, it is far less costly, since
contents are usually generated by people.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Social Media Types
Another way of looking at social media is identifying its various types or categories.
There are more than one way to categorize the various social media apps that exist. One
way is by classifying them into seven types:32
• Social network sites or social networking sites,
• Blogs,
• Wikis,
• Podcasts,
• Forums,
• Content communities, and
• Microblogging
EXAMPLE:
Wikis for Students
Wikis have been especially popular with students, and a number of specialized wikis have been developed
specifically with students’ needs in mind, including NoteMesh, stud.icio.us, and PBwiki. Wikis are a great way
to keep, organize, and instantly access class notes and other school-related information. Wikis offer students:
• Legibility: No more squinting over class notes taken while half-asleep, bored stiff, or hung over!
• Durability: Wikis can be developed over the entire 4 (or 5, or 6, or…) years of a student’s education,
allowing him or her to access notes taken years earlier if necessary Searching: Wikis can be searched, in the
page and across the entire collection of pages, allowing immediate access to their contents.
• Links: Students can link to other pages within their wikis as well as toother sites on the Web, bringing new
bodies of information together in one place.
• Collaboration: Several people can collaborate on the same wiki, allowing you to benefit from the strengths of
your classmates.
• Affordability: Wikis are still closely tied to the open-source movement, so many wiki programs and services
are free.
Social Media and Social Progress
Social media spark a revelation that we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content
and ideas we can once again unite around common passioWns, inspire movements, and ignite change”. - Brian
Solis, Author of Engage.
Social progress is equated with “greater access to knowledge, better nutrition and health services”.107 In this
chapter, we will explore how social media is used to promote rural
development, education and public health.
Rural Development The International Labor Organization believes that the “world-wide goals of sustainable
growth, jobs, poverty reduction and equitable development cannot be achieved unless
directly tackled at the rural level”. While it may seem counter-intuitive to some, Information and
Communications Technology (ICT)
has been recognized as playing a “catalytic” role in developing rural areas. I
• Decision-making processes,
• Gauging market outlook,
• Empowering rural communities,
• Targeting marginalized groups, and
• Creating employment.
Social media also has a role in rural development. In the United States, social media is being promoted as a tool
for “Agvocacy” or agriculture
Social Media and Economic Growth
advocacy. The following are cited by the Animal Agriculture Alliance as successful examples of “agvocacy”:
• Farming and I Grow It – a YouTube video which showcases the younger generation’s ingenuity and creativity
through a positive depiction of farm life;
• Agriculture Proud Farm Blog – an example of how one rancher can have a large impact on the public’s
perception of agricultural practices;
• Keeping It Real: Through the Lens of a Farm Girl – an FB page that showcases farm values through pictures
and words.
Aside from given them a voice, social media is also “providing invaluable networking opportunities for
continuous two-way communication” to farmers and rural businesses. For instance, E-Agriculture – a global
Community of Practice with over 12,000 members from countries and territories – uses social media to ensure
that its members “stay updated with the latest information, highlight their work through video, exchange
information and resources, and expand their global network of colleagues by connecting with others in the field
of ICTs for agricultural and rural development”. Agricultural researchers in developing countries also believe
that social media and other digital communications platforms are important tools to disseminate their findings.
Facebook is the preferred social media for Nigerian agriculturists for networking and learning the latest skills
and knowledge in their profession. In Ghana and Kenya, agriculture researchers use social media “in identifying
research opportunities and finding potential collaborators for research projects” but not as much in
disseminating research results.
India, provides interesting cases on the use of social media in agriculture. The first case is Agropedia – an
online agricultural knowledge repository, which is described below The second case is the FarmerBook project
of Digital Green ‒ a digitally enabled peer-topeer knowledge sharing to increase agricultural productivity,
Another interesting initiative of Digital Green a social game called Wonder Village. In this game, accessible
through Facebook, “(p)layers are placed in a resource-constrained setting
and pursue quests like setting up small farms of paddy and maize and supplying raw materials to farmers’
markets”. The use of social media in rural development could be more widespread. Unfortunately, the “lack of
workplace incentives” prevents more researchers from using social media in their work. Other challenges for
agricultural scientists include unreliable Internet connectivity
and lack of skills to make effective use of social media.

Social Media Future

(Social media) is moving from passively sitting back and watching what other people are doing
to actively becoming more engaged, active, and interesting through new social applications that encourage
people to think bigger then learn and
act together. ----- Gina Bianchini,
Founder & CEO of Mightybell, Co-founder of Ning
Social media allows us to “organize and enhance human energies and productive resources to meet challenges
and opportunities”. Social media also allows us to understand ourselves better.
Everyone using social media create databases about themselves. According to one estimate: “social media alone
generates more information in a short period of time than existed in the entire world just several generations
ago”. Even more remarkable is that for the first time. we have data from “ordinary folks” and not only “big
people”. The implication of being able to analyze all the data that we create is significant: Digital data can now
show us how we fight, how we love, how we age, who we are, and how we’re changing. All we have to do is
look: from just a very slight remove, the data reveals: how people behave when they think no one is watching.
Unfortunately, this ability to write a ‘history from below’ using digital data is still limited by the digital divide.
According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) “most countries currently have an ICT
infrastructure deficit. Given the demonstrated importance of broadband to a country’s development, this deficit
is a major public policy issue”. The ITU also reports that “two-thirds of the world’s population, and more than
three quarters of the population in developing countries, are not yet online, and of those that are, many do not
have access to high-speed, high-quality Internet services.” But there is hope. The star in the ICT development
drama is mobile technology.
S. No Questions Marks CLO

2. Delineate four stages of Development Support Communication (DSC) 15 2

campaign plan.

DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION: DSC

The practice of Development Support Communication, DSC, is a multi-sectoral process of information sharing
about development agendas and planned actions. It links planners, beneficiaries and implementers of
development action, including the donor community. It obligates planners and implementers to provide clear,
explicit and intelligible data and information about their goals and roles in development, and explicitly provides
opportunities for beneficiaries to participate in shaping development outcomes. It ensures that the donor
community is kept constantly aware of the achievements and constraints of development efforts in the field.
Development Support Communication makes use of all available structures and means of information sharing.
Therefore it is not limited to mass media alone. It also uses both formal group and non-formal channels of
communication, such as women’s and youth associations, as well as places where people gather.... markets,
churches, festivals, and meetings. But its contribution is in using these in a systemic, continuous, co-ordinated
and planned manner, to perform linkage and enabling functions. It requires analysis of the communication
environment, of the available and needed communication competencies and resources (hardware, software,
financial and human), and clearly indicates expected results from specific resource inputs, so as to maintain
accountability.

In short, DSC is a legitimate function of development planning and implementation. DSC therefore needs to be
examined as a valuable «technology» for using the social communication process to foster and strengthen
sustainable development at local and national levels. It should be taken more seriously in programs of social
change, and should be reflected explicitly in development policy and strategy. One way of doing so is through
the enunciation of a national information and communication policy, which can be explicitly integrated into
national development thinking and practice.
SOME ISSUES REQUIRING POLICY ACTION
 Media development: regulation and deregulation
 Enhancing communication professions and institutions
  Cultural development and social integration
 Human resources development and training
 Communications technologies: old, new and emerging
 Development Support Communication
 Regional and international cooperation
 Commercialization and Privatization
 Resource Mobilization and Allocation.
Because of the multi-sectoral and comprehensive nature of national development needs and objectives, a
national strategy on information and communication for sustainable development must be seen also as a multi-
sectoral, multi-dimensional issue, around which different development stakeholders can find a rallying point,
and to which they can make invaluable constructive contributions. Previous attempts in some countries to deal
with information and communication policy issues, because they lacked an over-arching development-oriented
framework and justification, have tended to be ad hoc, and overly politicized.
By focusing almost exclusively and without much negotiating margins, on particular sectoral interests or
thematic considerations (e.g. commercialization, privatization, public service, monopoly, freedom of
expression, minority rights, etc.), they tended to exacerbate areas of tension and disagreement, instead of
promoting opportunities for constructive dialogue. The development and management of a national information
and communication policy can be seen as a mechanism for ensuring widespread public education and informed
public participation in decision-making on the future directions of development in African society.
CONSTRAINTS
The process of developing and implementing a national policy on any issue probably goes through several
steps, among them:
1. Development
Is Africa developing? Is your country developing? Whether your answer is: «yes», «no» or «maybe», how can
information and communication enhance development in your country. Specifically, how can a policy approach
to information and communication enhance development in your country.
In that connection, what are the goals of development in your country. Are you concerned about economic
growth? Are you concerned about reducing the level of poverty. Are you concerned about the quality of life of
your people? Are you concerned about the people’s right and freedom to speak out? How can a policy approach
to information and communication enhance development in your country.
2. Politics
Policies are about politics.
Politics is about power; power to choose, power to decide. Who has the power to decide in Africa today.
The challenge is political will. Where lies the political will in Africa.
Governments are obviously important; but civil society and the individual citizen are becoming important as
well.
How can the process of designing and implementing national communication policies affect the «balance of
power» in African countries.

3. Democracy
African governments and citizens are expressing a commitment to democracy, even though it is often not clear
if democracy means more than holding periodic elections. Remember what the late Claude Ake said: «In much
of Africa, people are voting without choosing».
Whatever it means, democracy must include the notion of participation by the majority in discussing issues of
national importance. How can the design and implementation of a national information and communication
policy enhance democracy.
4. Culture
Culture is about adjustment to the physical and metaphysical environment.
Culture is about identity, about defining who we are, what our values are, how we see ourselves, how we want
others to see us.
How can a national information and communication policy contribute to cultural development. In the 21st
century can we still speak about national cultures in Africa? Are we not becoming part of a global society? Who
defines how that global society should communicate, and about what. What is the contribution of Africans to a
global cultural environment? How can this be articulated in national communication policies.
Culture is also about institutions, such as religion. What provisions need to be made in a national information
and communication policies with reference to religion.
In much of Africa, culture is about diversity; because many African nations are multi-ethnic, with several
cultural backgrounds. How can a national information and communication policy make provisions for cultural
diversity as well as the national cultural uniformation, which is much desired
5. Language
Communication is centred on language; and the language of communication can either exclude or include
individuals and groups. The language policy of a national communication policy is an important aspect of its
acceptability and impact.
6. Freedoms
The right to communicate, to speak and to be spoken to has become a universal right. A national
communication policy should recognize the right to communicate and ensure that it is respected legally and
practically.
7. Access
There is a wide gap between individual and among groups in their ability to access the media or other channels
of public communication. A national communication policy seeks to enhance access and reduce factors that
inhibit access.
8. Technology
As the 1972 UNESCO report states: «The rapid development of communication technology makes it especially
important for potential users to keep up to date». What was technically or economically untenable yesterday
may be possible today and quite attractive tomorrow. “A national communication policy will seek to balance
the needs of the day after tomorrow with the realities of today”.
9. Economics
Should information and communication policies deal only with what is affordable? Should the nation’s
resources alone guide what is examined and proposed in the policy.
10. The institutional framework
Who should be responsible for initiating and managing a policy on information and communication?
In some countries, the initiative has come from the government department charged with public information or
telecommunications. A re-baptized Ministry of Communications has led the management of a communication
policy often. Earlier international discussions suggested a National Communication Council as an independent
entity, responsible to Parliament or some non-partisan framework. What actually happens in any given country
will be a matter for negotiation among the competing interests and social forces in the development context.
However, the existence of strategic communication actions in support of programs or projects in development
sectors may also influence the choices made in the directions that a national communication for development
policy takes. For example, many countries have a communication support system or project in agriculture,
involving agricultural extension and agricultural information, combining interpersonal and mass media
communication strategies. Many countries have also developed health promotion and health education
programs or projects. In yet other countries, population communication is often based on a sectoral strategy for
promoting reproductive health, or adolescent behavior change. Similarly, the communication activities in
support of HIV/AIDS prevention in many countries are based around multi-media, multi-sectoral strategies. All
of these actions on the ground are building blocks for the implementation of a national communication for
development policy. Civil society, including the legal profession, journalists, advertising and marketing groups,
women’s societies, human rights activists and NGOs have been actively involved in pushing one or more areas
of communication policy to suit their particular political or economic agenda. These also can contribute
perspectives and actions in dealing with the basic challenge, which is: To develop or to not develop, how can
information and communication play a role.
11. Policy Design and Implementation
Preliminary considerations in the design of a policy
Some preliminary considerations in the design of a policy involve questions such as: Who needs it? The need
for a communication policy is often felt at the level of public or private institutions or of civil society. Whatever
the source of concern, information/communication policy provisions will impact on various groups or
individuals. Therefore, the design and formulation of the policy should be seen as a «public good», of potential
interest to a wide spectrum in society. The process should therefore be transparent, and should seek to be
inclusive of diverse interests. While information and communication technicians and professionals should be
involved, other groups should also be represented, so as to make the ownership of the process and the product
truly «national».
Another question concerns the challenge and vision, in other words: Why is it needed? Experience has shown
that the increasing global influence of information and communication technologies and organisations is felt at
various levels in Africa. Similarly, changes in the political arena, with democratization and more involvement in
governance by civil society create tensions, which require changes in the management of public goods and
services, including those related to communication. Therefore such issues as the control and ownership of
telecommunications and media organs, as well as freedom of expression, and access to media by political
parties during elections have become prominent in the national discourse of many countries. In addition, the
need for individuals and communities to participate in development activities makes communication for
building trust and consensus on the development agenda an important goal of governments and society at large.
The emergence of new technologies, including computers, the Internet and related adaptations, is creating
situations, which require concerted action within national and regional space. These are some of the reasons
which usually make a policy necessary; to deal in a clear and public manner with technical and cultural issues.
But solving today’s problems is not the only goal of policy. A good policy should be able to provide signposts
for the next decade or so. It is true that the communication sector is changing rapidly worldwide, so the policy
environment may be more dynamic, even in the short term. For this reason, it is important that policies be
forward-looking, and that they meet the future expectations of the people who will implement them and be
influenced by them. One concrete way of ensuring this is through visioning; that is getting the collective ideas
of a cross-section of society about the kind of future environment in which they would like to live, and to see
what role information and communication would play in those future scenarios. This would then be part of the
environment to which a communication policy should respond. Joint visioning is a tool for social management,
which should be incorporated in the process of designing the policy.
Yet another question: What are the Development Challenges on the ground? What do we know? What do we
need to know.
A situation analysis is the first step in the policy design process. It attempts to «scan» the policy environment. It
should help to define the need for a policy by identifying the development problems that a policy on
information and communication can help to solve. In this connection, relevant questions include: What is the
current situation of the communication system, looking at various components and sub-sectors? What are its
strengths and weaknesses? The situation analysis should evaluate the potential of the system for change in the
short to medium term, considering the opportunities and constraints, which may confront the system.
Among the preliminary concerns are objectives, goals and principles. A policy should have goals and
objectives. These represent answers to the long term and medium term development needs that the policy
should address. A policy should also be based on certain norms or principles, which will guide its orientation
and content. These are usually derived from national development goals or constitutional provisions, which may
in turn have been derived from internationally agreed ideas.

A sample of underlying principles includes:

Democratization
Popular participation
Equity/Access to information and communication
Freedom of expression and reception
Social integration
Cultural promotion and preservation
Responsibility in public communication
Communication rights
Coherence with other social/sectoral policies.

3. Discuss the process of developing and implementing a national 15 3

communication policy.

DIMENSIONS OF AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION POLICY

For a national communication policy to be effective, it must attempt to be comprehensive, covering the issues
that are considered relevant for the particular society. It should embrace various fields and sectors of human
communication, including: traditional and indigenous cultural forms, print media, electronic/broadcast media,
film, cinema, video, theatre, advertising, language development, training and technologies. These are the areas
of major action, as well as possible conflict of interest that are of concern to development actors and partners at
different levels. Given the various socio-economic-cultural problems facing the continent, public information
and communication in Africa should increasingly become development-oriented, directed at promoting the
health, and economic and social well-being of the people, educating them on their civic rights and
responsibilities, as well as empowering them to understand and implement solutions to national and community
problems related to food, water, economic and entrepreneurial activities, population, environment, civic
education etc. Therefore, one of the major policy issues in the development agenda of Africa, as we move
forwards in the twenty-first century, must be: how to use information and communication to support
development initiatives at national and local levels. One possible answer is through a national communication
policy.
In view of the foregoing considerations, a national policy on information and
communication for sustainable development in African countries may have the
following objectives:
• To support national development initiatives and programs, and to improve the quality of life of the people, by
facilitating systematic and effective use and coordination of communication and information strategies and
activities;
• To rationalize multi-sectoral investments in information and communication hardware and software through
their consolidation and appropriate integration in national development plans and planning structures;
• To enhance access to information and communication infrastructures and new technologies, especially in rural
communities;
• To promote national dialogue on development issues by all citizens, consistent with the emerging democratic
culture and national constitutional provisions;
• To preserve national cultural identity, promote the national cultural patrimony and enhance the development
of cultural and artistic capabilities and institutions, while enabling productive regional and international
interchange;
• To ensure the timely, orderly and effective growth of information and communication institutions and
professions through standards setting, capacity-building and human resources development.
STEPS IN THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
OF A NATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
The following steps seem to be necessary in the process of designing and implementing a national
communication for development policy.
DESIGN PHASE
1. Expressed national willingness to design a national communication policy in support of development
programs.
2. Establishment of a National Committee to provide strategic guidance to the design effort.
3. Identification and selection of themes and sectors to be involved in the situation analyses and background
studies, in the context of national possibilities.
4. Preparation of a summary document outlining the major development thrusts, and the socio-cultural-
economic challenges and realities of the country. This will serve as a reference/guide for national experts
preparing sectoral and other studies.
5. Organisation of a national training and consensus building workshop for national experts and others involved
in the design process, to facilitate common understandings and set common values and goals.
6. Undertaking of desk and field research in the identified areas, using a common methodology and especially
participatory approaches.
7. Organisation of regional/provincial consultations to assess information and communication needs at these
levels, and to involve the views and ideas of frontline development workers and grassroots communities in
policy the design process.
8. Preparation of a summary document of the results of field research and information collected at national and
regional levels, as a background paper and stimulus for national dialogue.
9. Organisation of a national workshop to design a national communication for development policy, involving a
broad spectrum of stakeholders from government, civil society, private sector, NGOs and community based
organisations. Inputs to the workshop include the conclusions and recom17 mendations of the
regional/provincial workshops, which are then discussed, noted and actioned as necessary.
10. Report back consultations to stakeholders especially at regional/provincial levels.
11. Design of a national communication for development program with short, medium and long-term action
plans, sectoral programs and budgets.
IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
1. Reaffirmation of the national will to commit to the implementation of the adopted policy. This should involve
government, civil society and all actors in national development.
2. Establishment of a credible, independent, flexible institutional framework for the implementation and
management of the policy. This should include both a policy-level organ and a technical secretariat of qualified
experts.
3. Identification and allocation of human and financial resources for the national coordinating mechanism.
4. Promotion of the national communication for development policy to obtain support from development
partners and national stakeholders, including grassroots communities.
5. Organisation of donors’ round table and other actions for resource mobilization.
6. Monitoring and evaluation of the national communication for development policy. These steps while not
meant to be followed mechanically should be thoroughly examined in each national exercise, to ensure that the
most suitable design and implementation process has been followed, so that the resultant policy and its
implementation will add value to national development.

4. Analyse the four theoretical approaches to Development 15 3

Communication.
DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION
This entry includes three articles, each dealing with a different aspect of the subject:
1. History and Theories
2. Alternative Systems
The first and third cover predominantly the Western (especially the U.S.) approach; the second raises some
criticisms directed at both the theoretical and the practical limitations of the Western perspective and presents
alternative views.
1. HISTORY AND THEORIES
A common way to discuss development is as purposive changes undertaken in a society to achieve what may
be regarded generally as a different ("improved") state of social and economic affairs. The concept has been
used to describe Western (particularly European) economic growth since the MIDDLE AGES, as well as to
explain the process through which all societies are expected to achieve certain economic, political, social,
cultural, and other goals. Thus the notion of development is often seen as a derivation of the much older idea
of progress, which has roots going back to ancient Greece. Change· in human society is widely considered
inevitable. Whether it is (or should be) slow and gradual (evolutionary) or fast and radical (revolutionary) is a
matter of dispute. Throughout much of its history humanity did not seem to be overly concerned with the
direction of progress, for the most part assuming that all change-and therefore progress-was good. In the
Western world the Industrial Revolution, along with major political events that introduced important changes in
social organization and life-style (e.g., the French and American revolutions), supported the view that secular
development and not just progress (as guaranteed by religious ideas on the perfectibility of humankind) was not
only possible but desirable and achievable as well. The emergence of Europe since the fifteenth century as the
major force in the EXPLORATION and COLONIZATION of the globe established patterns of economic
relations among nations, or between nations and their colonies, that have had an enduring
impact. Economic "development" was seen as emanating from the benefits of trade and the possession of
colonies that provided abundant raw materials,
cheap labor, and outlets for the manufacturing industries of the metropolis. Throughout the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries European powers
attached great importance to the possession of colonies and the advantages derived from them. Nations without
such colonies felt they were at a disadvantage (e.g., by not being able to trade in their own currency) and
defined themselves as the "have-nots" in opposition to the "have" countries with colonies. It would not be until
well into the twentieth century that Europe would come to realize that the true "have-nots" were the colonies
themselves.
The Twentieth Century If the United States emerged from World War I as the preeminent economic power, the
outcome of World War II established the United States as the foremost political power as well. The
reconstruction of Europe and the establishment of a functioning world economy became the principal
objectives of U.S. foreign policy. At a political level the increasing differences with the Soviet Union, its
wartime ally, and the perceived threat to U.S. national security from Soviet intentions toward Europe and the
rest of the world led U.S. President Harry S. Truman to redefine his country's foreign policy from an
isolationist stance to one of active leadership. Rather than "sit back and do nothing" or respond militarily to the
postwar situation, the United States decided on a program of financial and economic assistance to Europe. And
rather than implement this program
through heavy-handed intervention in the affairs of the recipient countries or channel aid through newly
created multilateral organizations-mainly the United Nations and the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development-the United States offered the Marshall Plan, which extended financial and economic assistance in
a multilateral framework of consultation and cooperation between donor and recipient
countries. See INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. The Marshall Plan was successful both in rebuilding
the economies of the participating European countries and in achieving its major political goal:
the "containment" of the spread of communism. This goal was first advanced with the declaration of the
Truman Doctrine in March 1947 and was reaffirmed in the Point Four Program of 1949, in which Truman
offered the world "the benefits of our [U.S.] scientific advance and industrial progress . . . for the improvement
and growth of underdeveloped areas."
Whether one chooses to interpret U.S. actions as derived from humanitarian concerns, economic self interest,
or larger political considerations (i.e., confrontation with the Soviets), the offer of technical
assistance and economic and financial aid was unprecedented and raised a series of formidable problems, not
the least of which was how to approach the whole enterprise. Because of its very limited experience in
(government-sponsored) foreign aid and development administration the U.S. government turned to the
academic establishment for help. Contemporary historians and social scientists tried to distill the lessons of
Western "development" into a model appropriate to different states and regions. Around the late 1950s the
model that began to emerge might be summarized as follows:
• Industry is the prime mover of the economy. Therefore, a major part of investment must go into industry and
what is necessary to fuel it, including raw materials, transportation, and training.
• Modem society requires more specialists rather than generalists, with each sector (e.g., industry, health)
expected to have its own special skills and responsibilities.
• Public EDUCATION is needed to raise the abilities of the entire work force and of the proportion able to
participate in government. Health care and family planning are needed to increase the well-being of the
population and curtail demand for jobs, housing, and the like.
• In situations in which rapid development is desired, necessary information can be diffused and
PERSUASION can occur through the mass media with the aid of an extension service (see DIFFUSION;
 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION). Adoption of promising innovations should be encouraged, along
with increases in productivity.
• The profits from centrally owned and managed industry, trade, and sale of manufactured goods
would be expected to "trickle down" from the center of the system to the periphery, from the industries and
central markets to the farms, from the cities to the villages. This outline represents the core ideas of
"development planning." More specific theories focusing on economic, political, psychological, sociological,
and other factors were also advanced.
Economic theories.
During the 1950s economic analysts rejected wealth distribution from rich to
poor countries as the source of economic progress in favor of the notion of growth. Walt Rostow's The Stages
of Economic Growth (1960) was very influential through the early 1960s. His approach described development

as consisting of five successive stages:

(1) traditional society,
(2) preconditions for "takeoff,"
(3) "takeoff,"
(4) "drive toward maturity," and
(5) self-sustained growth,
in which it is possible for the country to move on without further help from the outside. Rostow claimed to
have derived his scheme from the experience of the West, and he provided guidelines about the time periods
involved in each stage as well as several specific economic measures associated with each (e.g., Gross National
Product per capita, rate of savings and investment). Rostow's scheme provided for the classification of countries
according to the stage of development they were judged to be in, thus allowing certain decisions concerning the
type and amount of aid to be made on a more "rational" basis.

Rostow's and other stage theories faced substantial criticisms almost from the start. The traditional/modem
dichotomy was challenged on the grounds that "traditional" was only defined negatively as what is not
"modem," the latter taken to be self-evident. Whether the West had actually "developed" by passing through the
five stages was also questioned: when had the West (particularly western Europe) been a "traditional" society?
The mechanisms or factors moving societies from one stage to the next were not explicit, and the assumption
that all countries were going to develop as the Western ones had or not develop at all raised many eyebrows.
Yet many of these problems were overlooked by people who found the imagery of the theory compelling.
Other economic theories of development were less ambitious and concentrated on purely economic factors,
usually to their detriment. Frederick Frey, in a comprehensive review published in 1973, argued that
economic theories had paid little or no attention to communication factors even though several were clearly
implicit in their assumptions and formulations
for action. By emphasizing organization and economies of scale, for example, these theories ignored relevant
social, political, cultural, and other noneconomic factors that influence development. However flawed, Rostow's
theory included a recognition
of those noneconomic elements that can promote or derail efforts at social change. Development was
acknowledged to mean more than just economic growth, opening the field to other social sciences.
Psychological theories. Although economists commonly interpreted development to mean broad changes in the
social and economic structure of a country,
psychologists approached the problem at the level of the individual, taking development to be a problem of
"modernization" of the people and not just of
abstract macrosocial or macroeconomic structures. The work of two U.S. scholars was very influential
in the early 1960s: David C. McClelland's The Achieving Society (1961) and Everett E. Hagen's On the
Theory of Social Change (1962). Both emphasized individual characteristics as determinants of
social structure and change. Hagen argued that social structure is a function of personality, and he paired
traditional society with a "traditional personality" and modem society with a creative, innovative personality.

COMMUNICATION THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT.

Another group of social scientists addressed development from a different perspective. Rather than considering
communication as one factor affecting a central process deemed to be social, psychological, political, or of
any other nature, they took communication to be at the center of the development process, incorporating
all other aspects in one form or another. Sociologists, anthropologists, communication researchers, and other
specialists working from this perspective in the early 1960s also assumed the problem to be one of transforming
"traditional" societies and peoples into "modern" ones. Those taking an anthropological view looked at the
problem as one of individual modernization, a consequence of cultural and social factors and the specific
characteristics of the innovations being promoted. Power relations
between "donor" and "recipient" cultures, the content of the "message" implicit in the innovations,
and the resistance to change at both the cultural and the individual level were analyzed. The common
stages of the innovation-adoption process were identified, but it would be up to sociologists to provide
a more complete picture. The details that sociologists filled in identified
adopter and nonadopter groups, the patterns of social communication within each (see NETWORK
ANALYSIS), and elaboration of the "stages" of the adoption process to include the following five:
awareness, interest, evaluation of the innovation, trial, and acceptance (or rejection). Groups studied included
farmers (e.g., adoption of new attitudes, seed types, or farming practices), women of childbearing age (e.g.,
adoption of family planning), and doctors (e.g., adoption of new drugs). Many valuable
lessons on the ways in which social groups assimilate (or reject) innovations wer~ learned, but the theoretical
and practical limitations of the approach also

DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION-ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS

became evident, among them a tendency to rely on survey methods even when they were inadequate for the
cultural and historical context or for the specific problem under study. At a more general level, one of the most
influential theories that assigned a very important role to communication was proposed by U.S. scholar Daniel
Lerner. In The Passing of Traditional Society (1958) Lerner identified four critical variables that he said
summarized the development process: urbanization, leading to increased literacy, which in turn affects
mass media exposure, resulting in greater economic and political participation in society. This simple,
linear scheme was initially modified by Lerner himself to allow for reciprocal influences between literacy
and mass media exposure. Several other researchers tested many other models, using the same four variables on
different data sets and later including other variables to create more complex models. At the individual level,
Lerner's most important hypothesis has to do with the nature of the "modern individual," characterized by an
ability to accommodate to change plus a high degree of empathy-the ability to imagine oneself in the role or
with the responsibilities of someone else. Lerner argued that the primary step
toward individual modernization was the acquisition of this capacity for empathy as well as the willingness to
hold opinions on a wide variety of issues and questions not usually familiar to "traditional"
peoples (who may not even have knowledge of those issues owing to lack of access to mass media sources
of information). Frey synthesized into two variables, which he labeled "exposure to change" and "cognitive
flexibility," what he considered to be the most important features required for the process of individual
modernization. By the mid-1970s the ideas embodied in the "dominant paradigm" of the previous two or three
decades were called into question. The role of communication
as the central "mover" in the development process was acknowledged to be substantially limited by political,
economic, cultural, and other factors, leading practitioners to the recognition that communication was perhaps
best conceptualized as a complement to development. This overview has dealt with only a few of the
multitude of development theories advanced since the 1950s, namely, those that most often provided
the conceptual background for the impressively large number of development assistance projects carried
out or sponsored by Western governments and scientists. Some of the projects having to do explicitly
with communications are covered in section 3, below; section 2 presents an assessment of that experience from
a