Module 5.

Social Mobilization and Networking

Introduction

Mobilizing the necessary resources, disseminating information tailored to targeted

audiences, generating intersectoral support and fostering cross-professional alliances are also
part of the process. While the components of the process may be everyday practice in many
development programs, they tend to be taken up in isolation of each other. Social mobilization in
total aims at a continuum of activities in a broad strategic framework. The process encompasses
dialogue and partnership with a wide spectrum of societal elements. At the policy level, the
outcomes should be a supportive framework for decision making and resource allocation to
empower communities to act at the grassroots level. The outcomes should be people's active
involvement ranging from identifying a need to implementation in achieving the development
objective and evaluation effort. The solidarity of bureaucrats and technocrats and a broad
alliance of partners among various non-governmental groups are equally critical for the
attainment of any change-oriented development goal. Simply stated, social mobilization calls for
a journey among partners and results in the successful transformation of development goals into
societal action.
Though circumstances differ from one place and often from one part of a place to
another, programs depend upon the collaboration of other sectors. For a program or project to
succeed, the sector needs not just a helping hand from others, but a genuine partnership
whereby ownership of the programs is shared and the stakes of other sectors are clearly
recognized.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the meaning of social mobilization and networking;

2. Know the advantages of networking in order to achieve a desired goal; and
3. Identify the persons involved as partners in achieving specific development goal.

I. What is Social Mobilization?

Is a process of generating and sustaining the active and coordinated participation all
sectors at various levels to facilitate and accelerate the improvement of the situation of
children, women, and other vulnerable and marginalized group.

Social Mobilization, as defined by UNICEF, is a broad scale movement to engage people's

participation in achieving a specific development goal through self-reliant efforts. It involves all
relevant segments of society: decision and policy makers, opinion leaders, bureaucrats and

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technocrats, professional groups, religious associations, commerce and industry, communities
and individuals. It is a planned decentralized process that seeks to facilitate change for
development through a range of players engaged in interrelated and complementary efforts. It
takes into account the felt needs of the people, embraces the critical principle of community
involvement, and seeks to empower individuals and groups for action.

The societal mobilization strategy calls for partnership with all stake holders, which are illustrated
in the diagram:

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a. Political - policy makers
The extreme left column names some types of policy makers. Advocacy with and
among leaders in this group helps foster the commitment that will clear the way for
action. The goal here is to build consensus with sound data, to create a knowledgeable
and supportive environment for decision-making, including the allocation of adequate
resources.

b. Bureaucratic/Technocratic – government workers and technical experts

Policy makers depend on the technocrats, bureaucrats, and service professionals
to provide the rationale for decisions as well as to plan and implement programs. This
sector includes disparate groups, each with its own agenda, conflicting interests and
concerns. Harmonizing the disparate units in this sector is probably one of the greatest
challenges in development, because development specialists have hitherto failed to
recognize how difficult it is to foster unity among government units and technical groups.

c. Non-governmental sector
This covers a multitude of interests. Nongovernmental organizations for special
purposes, social institutions and associations that represent organized support, religious
groups with their ideological bends, commerce and industry that operate on a for-profit
basis, and professional groups that exist to advance their interests are here. Though
difficult to mobilize, they do not hide their positions. If their stakes are given recognition,
they are important partners and allies to mobilize the civil society for various health
objectives.

d. Community Groups
Community leaders, schools, churches, mosques and grassroots groups are critical
to get communities involved. They help transform development goals into action.
Unfortunately, they are often not given a voice in identifying problems and designing
solutions. Popular participation takes place here.

e. Households and Individuals

Individual actions are the ultimate pay-off of the health program. In the
household, where such behavioral actions take place, key individuals in traditional society
often hold sway. There needs to be deliberate action to inform and educate individuals in
the household so that they can make informed choices

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2. Networking

according to Leothiny Clavel, “In the context of Social Mobilization, organizational

networking is the process by which one links up diverse individuals or groups bringing about their
mutual agreement to share each other’s resources and competencies as a way of serving mutual
interests”.

Its Uses:
 It ensures resources sharing or exchange thereby partly, if not totally solving the
perennial problem of limited resources.
 It sharpens the sense of community people. It promotes increased activities
among members of the network.
 It encourages people’s participation in programs. Instead to merely being a
government program.
 It makes easy continuous learning among members through exchanges of ideas
and information.

ACTIVITY

1. Define Social mobilization.

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2. List down individuals and institutions/organizations who are potential collaborative partners.
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