A plenary session entitled “Building Alliances and Collaboration on Communication for Development” was held at the end of the Roundtable to define the elements of a joint Plan of Action in Communication for Development. A preliminary Plan of Action was discussed based on the outcomes of the Roundtable: the results of the Working Groups; the general recommendations of the Declaration and the presentations of ongoing initiatives. The discussion focused on identifying priority lines of action, concrete initiatives and mechanisms for improving dialogue and cooperation in Communication for Development among the participants. A general consensus was also reached about the need to further discuss, enrich and build effective partnerships around the proposed plan.
To this end, the first priority is to ensure consultative process and synergies around the proposed issues by establishing a working group (or task force) as well as an information sharing mechanism to further develop and operationalize the Plan of Action.
Prior to the session on “Building alliances”, the conclusions of the Working Groups and a draft final Declaration were discussed. The Declaration itself emanated from the emerging themes put forward by the groups. Within this framework, recommendations about how to proceed towards a Plan of Action were also agreed. Guiding points from the declaration were:
Five cross-cutting issues emerged as priorities for collaboration for the Plan of Action. These were:
Under each topic the participants were asked to provide information about their ongoing initiatives in order to identify potential partners. The following sections outline the beginnings of a Plan of Action for the five cross-cutting themes. The task now is to further develop these through discussions following the Roundtable.
The Roundtable agreed on the need to scale up Communication for Development initiatives ensuring that adequate attention and resources are devoted at the policy as well as at the field level. Communication for Development policies, resources and initiatives need to be properly promoted through advocacy. These should consider longer timescales.
Communication for Development advocates and practitioners should commit themselves to a deeper engagement with policy-makers to ensure that communications for development is recognized as a central component in all development initiatives. This will involve a systematic coordinated effort to establish a clear, accessible body of evidence drawn from current best practices and systematic research, monitoring and evaluation. Effective advocacy has to be done in order to promote and in other ways advance the field of Communication for Development at the policy and at the field level. Communication for Development policies should be promoted as part of the national development policies. Governments should implement a legal and supportive framework favouring the right to free expression and emergence of free and pluralistic information systems, including the recognition of the role of community media in facilitating communication for the rural population and especially for the isolated and marginalized groups.
Communication for Development is also an approach for advocacy that can be used for advocating the rights of the poorest to an equitable development. Within this framework, Participatory Development Communication approaches are relevant to advocacy work, and it is important to identify constraints that may limit its application.
Areas for collaboration/initiatives
We need a coordinated approach to Advocacy. Priority has been given to the establishment of a body of evidence to demonstrate the impact of communication. Advocacy initiatives are directly linked to the other components of the Plan of Action, especially the monitoring and evaluation, and information-sharing and networking. DFID is willing to work at the advocacy level in coordination with multilateral agencies. An important opportunity for advocacy at the policy level will be the World Congress on Communication for Development (WCCD) promoted by the World Bank. Other opportunities for joint advocacy work among UN and development agencies, universities and practitioners may be considered.
Potential partners: DFID; FAO; IDRC; World Bank
Learning and capacity-building initiatives should be promoted primarily in developing countries and build on existing experiences. Programs, materials and systems for learning in Communication for Development should be developed and shared. Furthermore, Participatory Development Communication should be integrated into existing curricula of development disciplines.
Training initiatives should focus on collaborative learning, encouraging experiential, value-based, and culturally sensitive training in Participatory Communication for Development, and fostering a community of practice across the regions. Experience such as the Isang Bagsak learning processes provide good examples from across Asia and Africa.
Emphasis needs to be placed on effective capacity-building and support to communication programme development at the field level. This may also imply establishing and or strengthening national communication and multimedia centres as well as establishing mechanisms which allow for the sharing of field experiences and resources.
Areas for collaboration/initiatives
There are several initiatives related to curriculum development, resource centres and the assembly of an anthology and training material inventories and Clearing House in Communication for Development at different level (universities, training centres and programmes, NGOs, etc.) which can be shared. Learning networks among developing countries (e.g. Isang Bagsak) are very promising.
Potential partners: AMARC; AMIC; CFSC; CTA; FAO; Isang Bagsak; IDRC; PANOS; Radio Ada; UNESCO; USAID.
Strategic alliances and partnerships have to be established to advance Communication for Development at the policy as well as the field level, overcoming differences and specificities. Alliances and partnerships can promote the scaling-up of Communication for Development practices at the policy level as well as enhanced opportunities for capacity building and investments.
There is a need for effective linkages and joint communication initiatives to give voices to the poorest and which have the ability to influence decision-making on sustainable development. To this end, special attention needs to be given to fostering national and regional Communication for Development strategies and initiatives.
There is a need to invite and involve major strategic partners that were not represented at the Roundtable, including especially the European Union, but also representatives from China, Japan and others. Separate proposals were also made to form an association of Communication for Development professionals, and to sustain the Isang Bagsak initiative.
Areas for collaboration/initiatives
CTA is willing to establish partnerships in the following areas: resource materials and communication tools; training; partnerships and funding initiatives.
Potential partners: AMARC; AMIC; CTA; DFID; FAO; IDRC; Isang Bagsak; UNICEF; World Bank.
Applied research needs to be fostered, as do Communication for Development monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methodologies. New tools and skills for evaluation and impact assessments have to be developed to build an evidentiary base to demonstrate how to achieve and sustain Communication for Development policies and projects. Evaluations and impact assessments should include participatory methods and communication needs assessments. They should involve national development agencies, local stakeholders and communities. The results should be used to provide feedback at policy level. Within this framework, the UN agencies agreed to work on evidence that demonstrates the value of Communication for Development in relation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to promote case studies that demonstrate how Communication for Development is pivotal to achieve specific MDGs. Research, monitoring and evaluation require a very well-defined and intense collaboration by the Roundtable participants.
Areas for collaboration/initiatives
Possible areas for collaboration are: compilation of research, monitoring and evaluation tools; collaborative mapping and data collection on of impact and evidences; and identification of best practices and beneficiaries in Communication for Development.
Potential partners: CFSC; DFID; FAO; JHU; Panos; UNICEF; USAID; World Bank.
Information sharing is a strategic element to achieve advocacy, building alliances, and supporting capacity building both at the global and field level. Many agencies and participating institutions recognized that they did not have time during the Roundtable to share the full range of activities that they are implementing and are happy to share them in future. An information mechanism focusing on the priority topics identified in the Plan of Action needs to be set up to facilitate consultation and concerted action in Communication for Development among UN agencies, as well as institutions, NGOs and other stakeholders. The mechanism should facilitate partnerships, and contribute to the definition of a common agenda in Communication for Development and implementation of joint initiatives at the global, regional and national level.
Areas for collaboration/initiatives
An open access web-based information mechanism utilizing already existing resources or mechanisms for sharing should be established.
Potential partners: Communication Initiative; FAO; UNESCO.
A collaborative framework
The Roundtable expressed the need to ensure follow-up to the Declaration and to foster partnerships in Communication for Development. To this end, specific recommendations towards the implementation of the Plan of Action were included in the final Declaration, as follows:
A working group/network to foster global partnerships on Communication for Development will be established.
The Plan of Action, to be further developed by the participants of the 9th UN Roundtable, should be facilitated and monitored through the mechanism of the working group.
FAO and UNESCO will accompany this follow-up process ensuring active participation of other partners.
Within this framework, a task force will be established by FAO and UNESCO to continue the dialogue among the participants. The UN agencies had already agreed that each would appoint focal points for continuity between Roundtables. At the same time, a proposal will be made to develop an information sharing mechanism in order to facilitate consultation and coordination regarding the suggested themes and initiatives. FAO will provide direct follow-up to these initiatives until the next Roundtable.
A road map for implementation
This proposal is a first step towards a concrete Plan of Action. Many participants and agencies are willing to continue the consultation process to refine it and to launch joint initiatives. The emerging challenge is to ensure ownership over the themes and recommendations and stimulate synergies through multiple means. One possible scenario is that, based on the expressions of interest and the initiatives identified under the five themes, five thematic Working Groups would emerge, consolidating a framework for collaboration. Each group could be facilitated by one or more leading institution/s. Other scenarios are possible, whereby the discussion and concrete proposals would redefine the boundaries of the work in ways that integrate more than one theme. In order to allow consultation and coordination, practical and participatory mechanisms and a clear road map have to be defined and agreed upon by all the interested parties.
Beginning in January 2005, information sharing will be facilitated by FAO in collaboration with other interested parties to define the road map and to launch the Plan of Action.
