Development communication

History
The practice of development communication began in the 1940s, but
widespread application came about after World War II. The advent
of communication sciences in the 1950s included recognition of the field
as an academic discipline, led by Daniel Lerner, Wilbur
Schramm and Everett Rogers. Both Childers and Quebral stressed that
DC includes all means of communication, ranging from mass media to
person to person.
According to Quebral (1975), the most important feature of Philippines-
style development communications is that the government is the "chief
designer and administrator of the master (development) plan wherein,
development communication, in this system then is purposive,
persuasive, goal-directed, audience-oriented, and interventionist by
nature.
Academic schools
Various schools of development communication arose in response to
challenges and opportunities in individual countries. Manyozo (2006)
broke the field into six schools. The "Bretton Woods" school was
originally dominant in international literature. The others were the Latin
American, Indian, African, Los Baños and participatory schools.[10]
Catholic social change
While not per se an academic school, the Church has been conducting
"development communication" for many decades. The Catholic Church's
social teachings and moral norms parallel those of social
development. Rerum novarum (On the New Things), for example, an
encyclical written in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII critiqued social ills and
promoted "the Catholic doctrine on work, the right to property, the
principle of collaboration instead of class struggle as the fundamental
means for social change, the rights of the weak, the dignity of the poor
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and the obligations of the rich, the perfecting of justice through charity,
on the right to form professional associations"In 1961, Pope John XXIII,
writing on the topic "Christianity and Social Progress", produced an
encyclical entitled Mater et magistra (Mother and Teacher), which
taught that the "Church is called in truth, justice and love to cooperate in
building with all men and women an authentic communion. In this way,
economic growth will not be limited to satisfying men's needs, but it will
also promote their dignity".[18] Then in 1967, Pope Paul
VI published Populorum Progressio(Progressive Development). In it the
Pope underscored the importance of justice, peace, and development by
declaring that "development is the new name of peace". Addressing
development workers, he said, "genuine progress does not consist in
wealth sought for personal comfort or for its own sake; rather it consists
in an economic order designed for the welfare of the human person,
where the daily bread that each man receives reflects the glow of
brotherly love and the helping hand of God".
Pope John VI wrote that the Church's very nature was missionary
(Lumen gentium – Light of the Nations), and its deepest identity
(Evangelii nuntiandi – Sharing the Gospel) embracing the entire life of
the Church (Redemptoris missio – Mission of the Redeemer). The
content communicated through mission is transformative and liberating
—manifested in the message to the poor, setting the captives free, giving
sight to the blind (Luke 4:18), defending the interest of ordinary laborers
and the value of work (Laborem exercens – Through Work), promoting
the welfare of the widows and the orphans and protecting the rights of
children and infants (Pacem in terris – Peace on Earth).
The importance of engagement for social transformation and
development is also asserted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
which states that, "as far as possible citizens should take an active part in
public life; the manner of this participation may vary from one country
or culture to another... as with any ethical obligation, the participation of
all in realizing the common good calls for a continually renewed
conversion of the social partners" (pp. 1915–1916). Moreover, Gaudium
et spes (Joy and Hope), commonly referred to as the Magna Carta of the

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Catholic Church's teaching on human dignity, states, "to satisfy the
demands of justice and equity, strenuous efforts must be made, without
disregarding the rights of persons or the natural qualities of each
country, to remove as quickly as possible the immense economic
inequalities which now exist and in many cases are growing and which
are connected with individual and social discrimination".
The involvement of many organizations and individual members of the
Catholic Church in highlighting the plight of the needy and reaching out
to the disadvantaged through works in education, health, livelihood
projects, among others, serves as a concrete example of a Church that
communicates a transformative and life-changing message.
The Church advocates "establishing new relationships in human society,
under the mastery and guidance of truth, justice, charity and freedom—
relations between individual citizens, between citizens and their
respective States, between States, and finally between individuals,
families, intermediate associations and States on the one hand, and the
world community on the other". Pope John Paul II, touching in part on
Quebral's (2007) thought on 'development communication in a
borderless world' instructed Christian communicators to "interpret
modern cultural needs, committing themselves to approaching the
communications age not as a time of alienation and confusion, but as a
valuable time for the quest for the truth and for developing communion
between persons and peoples".
Bretton Woods
The Bretton Woods school of development communication paralleled
the economic strategies outlined in the Marshall Plan, the Bretton
Woods system and of the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund in 1944. The little-used name served to differentiate the original
paradigm from other schools that evolved later. Leading theorists
included Daniel Lerner, Wilbur Schramm and Everett Rogers. Due to his
pioneering influence, Rogers was referred to as "one of the founding
fathers of development communication."

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This approach to development communication was criticized by Latin
American researchers such as Luis Ramiro Beltan and Alfonso Gumucio
Dagron, because it emphasized problems in the developing nation rather
than its unequal relation with developed countries. They claimed that it
proposed industrial capitalism as a universal solution and that many
projects failed to address obstacles such as lack of access to land,
agricultural credits, and fair market prices.]
Failed projects in the 1960s led to revisions.] Manyozo found that the
school had been the most dynamic in testing and adopting new
approaches and methodologies.
Institutions associated with the Bretton Woods school of development
communication include: United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) Rockefeller Foundation Department for
International Development, United Kingdom Ford Foundation
Latin America
The Latin American school of development communication predates the
Bretton Woods school, emerging in the 1940s with the efforts of
Colombia's Radio Sutatenza and Bolivia's Radios Mineras. They
pioneered participatory and educational approaches to empowering the
marginalised. In effect, they served as the earliest models
for participatory broadcasting efforts around the world.[citation needed]
In the 1960s Paolo Freire's theories of critical pedagogy and Miguel
Sabido's enter-educate method became important elements of the Latin
American development communication school.[31][32]
Other influential theorists include Juan Diaz Bordenave, Luis Ramiro
Beltran, and Alfonso Gumucio Dagron (Manyozo 2006, Manyozo,
2005).
In the 1990s, technological advances facilitated social change and
development: new media outlets emerged, cable TV reached more
regions, and the growth of local communication firms paralleled the
growth of major media corporations.

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India]
Organized development communication in India began with rural radio
broadcasts in the 1940s. Broadcasts adopted indigenous languages to
reach larger audience.
Organized efforts in India started with community development projects
in the 1950s. The government, guided by socialist ideals and politicians,
started many development programs. Field publicity was employed for
person-to-person communication. The radio played an important role in
reaching the masses because literacy was low. Educational institutions –
especially agricultural universities, through their extension networks –
and international organizations under the United Nations umbrella
experimented with development communication.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) relied on close inter-personal
relations among communicators.
Communication from the government was more generic and
unidirectional. So-called Public Information Campaigns were
government-sponsored public fairs in remote areas that presented
entertainment along with information on social and developmental
schemes. Villagers engaged in competitions to attract attendees. Public
and private organizations sponsored stalls in the main exhibition area.
Development agencies and service/goods providers also attended. Some
state governments employed this model.
Community radio was used in rural India. NGOs and educational
institutions created local stations to broadcast information, advisories
and messages on development. Local participation was encouraged.
Community radio provided a platform for villagers to publicize local
issues, offering the potential to elicit action from local officials.
The widespread adoption of mobile telephony in India created new
channels for reaching the masses.
Africa
The African school of development communication sprang from the
continent's post-colonial and communist movements in the late 1960s

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and early 1970s. Anglophone Africa employed radio and theatre for
community education, adult literacy, health and agricultural education
(Kamlongera, 1983, Mlama, 1971).
In 1994, the FAO project "Communication for Development in Southern
Africa" was a pioneer in supporting and enhancing development projects
and programs through the use of participatory communication. The FAO
project, placed under SADC, developed an innovative methodology
known as Participatory Rural Communication Appraisal (PRCA), which
combined participatory tools and techniques with a strong
communication focus needed to enhance projects results and
sustainability. FAO and SADC published a handbook on PRCA that was
used in projects around the world.
The radio maintained a strong presence in research and practice into the
21st century. Radio was especially important in rural areas, as the work
of the non-governmental organization Farm Radio International and its
members across sub-Saharan Africa demonstrated. Knowledge exchange
between development partners such as agricultural scientists and farmers
were mediated through rural radio (Hambly Odame, 2003).
Philippines]
Systematic study and practice began at the University of the Philippines
Los Baños in the 1970s, through the establishment of the Department of
Development Communication in the College of Agriculture,[35] which
offered undergraduate and master's degrees.[
Quebral coined the term "development communication" while at the
university's Office of Extension and Publications, now the College of
Development Communication (CDC). According to Felix Librero, the
term was first used by Quebral in her 1971 paper, "Development
Communication in the Agricultural Context," presented in at a
symposium at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. In her paper,
Quebral argued that development communication had become a science,
requiring the tasks associated with communicating development-
oriented issues be based on scientific inquiry. At the time the field was
limited to agricultural and rural development.

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At the time the term 'development support communication' was used
in UNDP programmes under Erskine Childers, with coauthor and wife,
Malicca Vajrathron. This area of research focused on the functions of
communication in promoting UN agricultural and development
programmes. Development communication at Los Baños became an
academic field rather than a techniques program. Quebral cited Seers's
definition of development in arguing for the term, as opposed to
Childer's 'development support communication', which was used in
public and in the scientific literature for the first time. Librero recounted
that colleagues in agricultural communications in Los Baños agreed with
Quebral, but colleagues from the field of mass communication in
the University of the Philippines Diliman, and from countries in North
America, did not initially agree, although they ultimately relented.
In 1993, in the Institute of Development Communication's faculty papers
series, Alexander Flor proposed expanding the definition of
development communication to include the perspective
of cybernetics and general systems theory:
If information counters entropy and societal breakdown is a type of
entropy, then there must be a specific type of information that counters
societal entropy. The exchange of such information – be it at the
individual, group, or societal level – is called development
communication.
Thailand]
In Thailand, development communication is presently overseen by
Kasetsart University through its International Center for Development
Communication (ICDC). The Center's vision is to be a leading centre of
excellence in development training, communication and consultancy
services. As an extension arm of Kasetsart University its international
service mission includes building and maintaining quality services to
support organizations in their efforts for sustainable development in
social and economic sectors
Participatory development communication

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The evolution of the participatory development communication school
involved collaboration between First World and Third World
development communication organizations. It focused on community
involvement in development efforts and was influenced
by Freirean critical pedagogy and the Los Baños school (Besette, 2004).
World Bank
The World Bank actively promotes this field through its Development
Communication division and published the Development
Communication Sourcebook in 2008, a resource addressing the history,
concepts and practical applications of this discipline.
Development Communication or Communication for Development
World Bank tends to espouse and promote the title "Development
Communication" while UNICEF uses "Communication for
Development". The difference seems to be a matter of semantics and not
ideology since the end goals of these global organizations are almost
identical to each other.
UNICEF explains:
Communication for Development (C4D) goes beyond providing
information. It involves understanding people, their beliefs and values,
the social and cultural norms that shape their lives. It includes engaging
communities and listening to adults and children as they identify
problems, propose solutions and act upon them. Communication for
development is seen as a two-way process for sharing ideas and
knowledge using a range of communication tools and approaches that
empower individuals and communities to take actions to improve their
lives.
World Bank defines Development Communication "as an
interdisciplinary field, is based on empirical research that helps to build
consensus while it facilitates the sharing of knowledge to achieve a
positive change in the development initiative. It is not only about
effective dissemination of information but also about using empirical

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research and two-way communications among stakeholders".
(Development Communication division, the World Bank).
Examples]
One of the first examples of development communication was Farm
Radio Forums in Canada. From 1941 to 1965 farmers met weekly to
listen to radio programs, supplemented by printed materials and
prepared questions to encourage discussion. At first, this was a response
to the Great Depression and the need for increased food production in
World War II. Later the Forums dealt with social and economic issues.
This model of adult education or distance education was later adopted in
India and Ghana. Radio DZLBwas the community broadcasting station
of UPLB College of Development Communication. It was a forerunner
of the school-on-air (SOA) concept that provided informal education for
farmers. DZLB hosted SOAs on nutrition, pest management and
cooperatives. DZLB aired educational programming for farmers and
cooperatives. Established in 2009, Global South Development
Magazine has been a recent example of development communication in
practice. Instructional television was used in El Salvador during the
1970s to improve primary education. One problem was a lack of trained
teachers. Teaching materials were improved to make them more
relevant. More children attended school and graduation rates
increased. In the 1970s in Korea the Planned Parenthood
Federation succeed in lowering birth rates and improving life in villages
such as Oryu Li. It mainly used interpersonal communication in
women's clubs. Oryu Li's success did not recur in all villages. The initial
effort had the advantage of a remarkable local leader and visits from the
provincial governor. A social marketing project in Bolivia in the 1980s
tried to get women in the Cochabamba Valley to use soybeans in their
cooking. This was an attempt to deal with chronic malnourishment
among children. The project used cooking demonstrations, posters and
broadcasts on local commercial radio stations. Some people tried
soybeans but the outcome of the project was unclear.[citation needed] In 1999
the US and DC Comics planned to distribute 600,000 comic books to
children affected by the Kosovo War. The books were in Albanian and
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featured Superman and Wonder Woman. The aim was to teach children
what to do when they find an unexploded land mine left over
from Kosovo's civil war. The comic books instruct children not to touch
and not to move, but instead to call an adult for help. Since
2002, Journalists for Human Rights, a Canadian NGO, has operated
projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. JHR works directly with journalists, providing monthly
workshops, student sessions, on the job training and additional programs
on a country by country basis. Cuban Media and Education – In 1961,
the year of education, the well known literacy campaign was initiated.
Television and radio played a complementary role in the dissemination
of literacy training programs. Live coverage of literacy worker and
students was used to dramatise and this was reinforced on radio and in
newspapers.
Policy
Development communication policy covers formal and informal
processes where interests are defined, expressed and negotiated by
actors with different levels of power and with the goal of influencing
policy decisions.
Alexander G. Flor, Ph.D., a noted development communicator and
professor at the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) and
University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), posits that
development communication and the policy sciences are linked
inextricably albeit distinct and mutually exclusive disciplines. "Policy
sciences", he states in a nutshell, is the scientific study of policies and
policy-making while "policy" is the set of decisions with specific
objectives and target audience.
Development communication is intended to build consensus and
facilitate knowledge sharing to achieve positive change in development
initiatives. It disseminates information and employs empirical research,
two-way communication and dialogue among stakeholders. It is a
management tool to help assess socio-political risks and opportunities.
By using communication to bridge differences and take action towards

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change, development communication can lead to successful and
sustainable results.
Development communication is a response to historic, social and
economic factors that limit access to information and citizen
participation. These include poverty and unemployment, limited access
to basic services, remote settlement patterns, lack of access to
technology, lack of information, inadequate health services, lack of
education and skills and lack of infrastructure.
FAO asserted that communication can play a decisive role in promoting
human development. Democracy, decentralization and the market
economy empower individuals and communities to control their own
destinies. Stimulating awareness, participation, and capabilities are vital.
Policies must encourage effective planning and implementation of
communication programs.
Lee advocated that communication policies and practices require joint
action among leaders in social, economic, scientific, educational and
foreign affairs and that success requires constant contact and
consultation with communicators and citizens.
UNESCO conducted studies on communication policies as part of the
resolutions adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO during its
16th session in 1970. Its objective was to promote awareness of
communication policies at the governmental, institutional and
professional levels of selected member states. The selected countries
were Ireland, Sweden, Hungary, Yugoslavia, West Germany, and
Brazil. Two years later, a UNESCO meeting of experts on
communication policies and planning defined communication policy as
a set of norms established to guide the behavior of communication
media. According to these experts, the scope of communication policies
comprises: The values that determine the structure of communication
systems and guide their operation The systems of communication, their
structures, and operation The output of these systems and their impact
and social functions

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The Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) was
commissioned by UNESCO to do a feasibility study on "Training in
Communication Planning in Asia" in 1974 It organized the first AMIC
Regional Conference on Development Communication Policies and
Planning in Manila, Philippines in May 1977. Attended by delegates
from ten countries, it drew up basic recommendations including the
organization of national development communication councils by each
country's governmental, educational and media groups
According to Habermann and De Fontgalland, the difficulties in the
adoption of a viable development communication policy have to be
simultaneously analyzed horizontally and vertically. Horizontally
government agencies, semi-governmental offices (e.g., rural extension
service), independent development organizations and private media
outlets must coordinate policy. Vertically, information must flow in both
directions between the population base and decision-making bodies.
This involves local and supra-local administrations that are active in
handing out directives and reporting back to the government.
Commonly, default policies do not encourage/require such institutions to
feed information from the populace to policymakers, with the exception
of government extension bureaus.
In 1986 Quebral stressed the importance of equally recognizing
systematic practice along with formal research as a legitimate basis for
decisions. According to her, research must precede and become the
foundation of policy.
Stakeholder analysis]
The design and implementation of policies is becoming more complex,
and the number and type of actors involved in policy implementation
more diverse; hence, the policy process is evolving towards multi-actor
and multi-goal situations. "Stakeholder" has been variously defined
according to the goal of the analysis, the analytic approach or the policy
area. Where several groups of stakeholders are involved in the policy
process, a stakeholder analysis can provide a useful resource.

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Stakeholder analysis can help analyze the behavior, intentions,
interrelations, agendas, interests and the resources of stakeholders in the
policy processes. Crosby described stakeholder analysis as offering
methods and approaches to analyze the interests and roles of key
players. Hannan and Freeman include groups or individual who can
affect or be affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives,
while others exclude those who cannot influence the outcome. For
instance, Brugha and Varvasovszky defined stakeholder as "individuals,
groups, and organizations who have an interest (stake) and the potential
to influence the actions and aims of an organization, project, or policy
direction." According to Flor, a stakeholder analysis of communication
policy would reveal the interplay of the following sectors: Government –
Enacts all communication policies, making it the most powerful
stakeholder. Education sector – Conducts research that underlies
subsequent policies. Communication industry – Influences
communication policies. May adopt self-regulation to avoid/delay
government regulation. For example, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster
sa Pilipinas and the Philippine Press Institute institute ethics codes.
Private sector – Avoid policies that limit content and to protect
themselves from opponents. Religious sector – Traditionally opposes
policies that allow obscenity, violence and profanity to be distributed.
Foreign interests – e.g., international lending agencies may demand the
end of monopolies—including state media entities—as a condition for
financial aid. Consumers – Traditionally not consulted, but more
recently claiming to protect the public interest.
The United Nations has recognised the importance of "the need to
support two-way communication systems that enable dialogue and that
allow communities to express their aspirations and concerns and
participate in decisions...." Such two-way interactions can help expose
local reality. Keune and Sinha claim that community involvement in
development communication policy is important, as they are the
"ultimate and perhaps the most important beneficiaries of development
communication policies and planning".
Historical perspectives

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Cuilenburg and McQuail (2003) identify three main phases of
communications policy-making:

Emerging Communications Industry Policy (until the Second World

War)—during this era, communications policy mainly supported state
and corporate benefits. Policy-covered telegraph, telephony and wireless
and later, cinema. Policies were ad hoc measures designed to facilitate a
series of technical innovations.

Public Service Media Policy (1945–1980)—After the Second World

War, policy was dominated by sociopolitical rather than economic and
national strategic concerns. This phase began after the Second World
War. Policy expanded from addressing technical matters to the content
of communications and to cover the traditional press. New
Communications Policy Paradigm (1980 to present)—Technological,
economic and social trends fundamentally changed media policy from
1980 onward. Technological convergence became an agenda item when
the US Office of Technology Assessment published its pioneering
study, Critical Connections (OTA, 1990) followed by the European
Union (CEC, 1997). "Convergence" meant that the boundaries between
information technologies blurred: computer and telecommunications
converged to telematics; personal computers and television become
more similar; and formerly separated networks become interconnected.
Regulation of mass media became increasingly linked to
telecommunications regulation. Globalization and the permeability of
national frontiers by multinational media limited the impact of policy in
most countries.

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