Chapter Four

Chapter Four
Development communication
Introductions
• Development and communication are both intertwined. Communication is extremely
essential in any developmental project for long-term results. Both the terms are loaded
with different conceptions and richness of uses and functions because of their theoretical
foundation. This article will be looking at four main questions: What is development
communication? What are the differences among other ways of communication? Why is
it needed in developmental work in today’s perspective? And what is development
communication, the emerging participatory paradigm?
• Development communication supports sustainable change in development operations by

engaging key stakeholders in the development process. Development communication
tries to establish two-way flows to share knowledge, opinions and perceptions among the
stakeholders. This type of communication also tries to establish conducive environments
for assessing risk and opportunities to disseminate information, and induce behaviour and
social change.
• The role of development communication has become important and relevant now more
than ever after the continuous failure of the one-way vertical communication model:
sender – message - channel - receiver (SMCR). Worldwide, the development focus has
shifted from economic growth to include other social dimensions; hence, its approach to
communication of the processes. Sustainability and people’s participation have become
key elements of this new vision, as also acknowledged by the World Bank. According to
the World Bank, ‘Internationally, emphasis is being placed on the challenges of
sustainable development, and participation is increasingly recognised as a necessary part
of sustainable development strategies.’
Without communication, participation cannot occur in a large scale or vice verse. Participation
needs to be based on two-way communication principles and practices.
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Definition of Development Communication
1. 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 research and two-way
communications among stakeholders (Development Communication division, the World
Bank )
2. It is a social process based on dialogue using a broad range of tools and methods. It is
also about seeking change at different levels, including listening, building trust, sharing
knowledge and skill-building policies, debating and learning for sustained meaningful
change. It is not public relation or corporate communication (Rome Consensus of World
Bank 2006)
• There are five keywords in development communication: dialogue, stakeholders,

sharing knowledge and mutual understanding. The first keyword associated with
development communication is dialogue. No matter what kind of project, it is always
valuable and essential to establish dialogue among the stakeholders. Dialogue is
necessary ingredient in building trust, sharing knowledge and ensures mutual
understanding.
• Development communication has two modes of application: monologic mode and

dialogic mode. The participatory model mainly deals with dialogic communication. The
monologic mode is broadly equivalent to the diffusion perspective and is based on the
transmission model. It adopts one-way communication to send messages, disseminate
information, and awareness generation for changing behaviour. The dialogic mode is
closely associated with the participation perspective and uses two-way communication
methods to build trust, exchange knowledge and perception, achieve mutual
understanding and asses the risk and opportunities. Dialogic approaches guarantee that
relevant stakeholders have their voice to be heard.
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• In socio-development initiatives, inclusion of dialogic development communication often
results in the reduction of political risks, the improvements of the project design and
performance, increased transparency and enhanced people’s voice and participation. For
example, many development projects initiated by the Government fail because from the
beginning of the development project, key stakeholders were not involved in the
preparatory and planning phases. The lack of proper communication at the initial stage
generates suspicions among stakeholders and leads to misunderstanding and negative
attitude towards the projects. The cause of these problems, and ultimately of the project
failure, is the lack of two-way communication.
Participation ladder of stakeholders in development communication
Sustainable Civil Society Initiative – Shubh kal
• Climate change is happening. The science is compelling and the longer we wait, the
harder the problem will be to solve
• Shubh Kal, an initiative of Development Alternatives and the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation is a pilot project and supports measures that eventually
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lead to better income, improved resource management, lower carbon footprint and overall
reduction in climate vulnerability of the population. This project has three target groups:
farmers, artisans and women who are trying to improve their livelihood conditions in the
drought-affected Bundelkhand region. The project area has been facing constant drought
for the last few years; few livelihood options and low literacy level are major problems
and, hence, the initiative has been trying to improve the lives of these three target groups
by devising micro projects that are relevant to climate change adaptation. Due to the
context, some complexities in the content and to the need for capacity building, here the
communication strategy relies mostly on interpersonal and group methods like focus
group discussion, knowledge mapping, exposure visits to other relevant project areas, etc.
The key stakeholders have been associated with the process from the beginning so that no
misunder-standing may take root in their mind. We are hopeful that the initiative will
lead to the expected projects results within the timeframe.
The Emerging Participatory Paradigm
• The participatory model of communication for social change is mainly a new look at the
newly emerging paradigm in development since it emphasises the importance of two-way
horizontal communication and need to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in each
step for empowerment. ‘Change is now expected to be defined with the people and not
for the people, making communication for social change closely aligned with the
participatory communication perspective’ (World Bank).
• This model favours people’s active and direct interaction through consultation and
dialogue. It shifts the emphasis from information dissemination to situation analysis,
from persuasion to participation.
• Participatory approaches are gaining worldwide importance in development programmes

because they offer enough opportunities to any individual right from passive recipients to
active agents of development efforts. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and
Participatory Action Research (PAR) are the two main approaches of development
communication. PRA facilitates people’s involvement in the problem analysis process,
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while PAR aims at placing communities and local stakeholders in the driving seat of
development efforts. Till such time as we do not include communication in a systematic
and dialogic manner, any approach of communication will not be successful in the large
scale. Participatory development communi-cation or the horizontal model of
communication opens up new space for dialogue among stakeholders and facilitates the
exchange of knowledge, empowering people to participate actively in the process
affecting their own lives.
• In the participatory approach, engagement of stakeholders is essential for assessing risks,

identifying opportunities, preventing problems and identifying the needed change. This is
the model communication to asses and to empower are its key focal points. In this model,
the media is no longer the central element of communication. It can be used as one of the
tools to be used according to the situation. The SMCR model has given way to the two-
way model which is more appreciated, where the sender is at the same time the receiver
and vice verse. The combination of these elements in emerging development paradigm is
shifting its focus from media to people, and from persuasion to participation
Participatory Development Communication

There are many arguments about the meaning of participation. Participatory communication is
under rural development as a shift from the dominant paradigm of top-down to self-development
wherein villagers and urban poor are the primary stakeholder. Self-reliance and building on
local resources are also emphasized in the process. Participation is the exchange of information
from both parties the people and organization. In this process, the people or grassroots identifies
the problem and the solutions to those problems. The people are given the opportunity in the
decision-making. In interactive participation stakeholders take part in the analysis, which result
in action plans and formation of new institutions of existing ones.
Stakeholders get the chance to have practices and take control over local decisions. The last type
of participation is self- mobilization. It is characterized by being independent of external
institutions. This process allows the development of external contracts for resources which gives
technical advice and construct how resources are used. Accordingly, Aycrigg (1998) divided
level of participatory communication to four levels using the following:
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1) Information Sharing, one way communication basically, people are included by
informing them about what is being done;
2) Consultation, primarily one way communication with a stronger emphasis on feedback.
Stakeholders provide their input but do not have a significant say in the decision making
process;
3) Collaboration, two way communication supporting open interaction in decision making-
input in decision making is balanced; and
4) Empowerment, transfer of control over decisions and resources. Two way
communications ensures shared decision making

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Chapter Four

• Development communication supports sustainable change in development operations by

1. Development communication, as an interdisciplinary field, is based on empirical

• There are five keywords in development communication: dialogue, stakeholders,

• Development communication has two modes of application: monologic mode and

Participation ladder of stakeholders in development communication

Sustainable Civil Society Initiative – Shubh kal

The Emerging Participatory Paradigm

• Participatory approaches are gaining worldwide importance in development programmes

• In the participatory approach, engagement of stakeholders is essential for assessing risks,

Participatory Development Communication

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