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Putting people first

This is what development must be all about. But how do we achieve it in the context of poverty, and specifically in the context of natural resource management? Promoting community self-organization is the only approach when the state does not have the necessary resources to assume all of its responsibilities regarding human basic needs and socio-economic development.

Participatory development communication

Participatory development communication is a powerful tool to facilitate this process, when it accompanies local development dynamics. It is about encouraging community participation with development initiatives through a strategic utilization of various communication strategies.

By "community participation," we mean facilitating the active involvement of different community groups, together with the other stakeholders involved, and the many development and research agents working with the community and decision makers.

This guide presents its concepts and methodology. It is intended for the members of research teams, their development partners working with communities, community members involved in research or development activities and for practitioners involved in this field.

It introduces participatory development communication; addresses topics related to the use of effective two-way communication with local communities and other stakeholders; and presents a methodology to plan, develop and evaluate effective communication strategies.

How can researchers and practitioners improve communication with local communities and other stakeholders? How can two-way communication enhance community participation in research and development initiatives and improve the capacity of communities to participate in the management of their natural resources? How can researchers, community members and development practitioners improve their ability to effectively reach policy makers and promote change?

Tackling development problems, and experimenting and implementing appropriate solutions cannot be done only by researchers, extension workers and development practitioners. The process must be based on the active participation of the end users and involve the other stakeholders working with the communities. This is the fundamental basis of participatory development communication.

Traditionally, in the context of natural resource management, many communication efforts have focused on the dissemination of information and adoption of technical packages. The transfer of messages from experts to farmers, in a top-down approach however, did not yield the expected results. Rather, experience teaches us that it is much more effective to use appropriate communication strategies to build capability within local communities: 

• To discuss natural resource management practices and problems;
• To identify, analyze and prioritize problems and needs;
• To identify and implement concrete initiatives to respond to those problems;
• To identify and acquire the knowledge required to implement such initiatives;
• To monitor and evaluate their efforts and plan for future action.

This communication process brings together all stakeholders – experts, farmers, extension workers, NGOs, technical services – in a dialogue and exchange of ideas on development needs, objectives and actions. It is a two-way horizontal process.

Using communication for facilitating community participation depends first and foremost on the abilities of the researchers and practitioners to strengthen the capacity of individuals and community groups in carrying out these five tasks. This guide offers an introduction to concepts and methodologies for making this process effective.

It is intended to help research teams, community groups, governmental services, and development organizations active in the field of environment and natural resource management to improve effective two-way communication with local communities and other stakeholders. It could also be useful to community media who want to strengthen their role in reinforcing local development initiatives. Finally, the guide is also meant for international agencies who support development research and initiatives in this field.

Originally intended as a reference document, it can also be used as a guide for training sessions. In fact it should be useful to anyone who is interested in the approach presented here and who wishes to adapt it to her own sector of intervention, outside the specific field of environment and natural resource management.

The methodology presented here, however, is to be considered as a starting point to the practice of participatory development communication, not as a recipe. It has to be adapted to each different context, by the main actors involved in the research or development activities.

The guide consists of three parts: Roles, Methodology and Tools.

The first part, roles, presents participatory development communication. It discusses the notions of development communication, development, participation and research-action, and defines the roles of research teams and practitioners in using communication to facilitate community participation.

The second part, methodology, introduces a methodological approach for planning communication strategies. This approach consists of ten steps: establishing a relationship with a local community; involving people in the identification of a development problem, its potential solution and an action to implement; identifying the people concerned with the problem and the action to carry out; identifying communication needs, objectives and activities; choosing communication tools; preparing and pre-testing communication content and materials; building partnership and collaboration; producing an implementation plan; planning monitoring, documentation and evaluation; planning the sharing and utilization of results.

The third part, tools, discusses conditions for the effective utilization of some communication tools within a participatory approach.

We invite individuals and organizations using this guide to send us their feedback and suggestions for improving future editions of the guide. Our address is indicated at the end of the publication.

Document(s) 2 of 8