Overall
presentation of course content
Communication for development: internal and
external communication strategies for project based social organizations
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The content of the course is divided in
the following sections:
Varieties of Communication
Communication Skill
Tasks,
tools and elements of communication
Project Communication
Management
Planning and
executing an awareness campaign
Communication for Participatory
Approach and Transparency to Development Actions and Policies
Educational
Communication
Subdivision criteria:
If we look at communication as a
human relationship, we can classify different varieties of communication according to
different relationship modalities.
If look at communication as the art of
generating consensus in order to achieve our objectives, we will analyse
the factors pertaining to communication
skills.
If we look at how communication works, we will
classify the different tasks, tools and elements of
communication.
As organisations and institutions become "project
based" there is ever greater need to plan communication in a manner that supports and
facilitates project management. Project Communication
Management is becoming an essential factor for the performance of organizations.
Sustainable development is
possible only with the active participation of the beneficiary populations. Whenever
communication serves development activities it should be be designed, implemented and
evaluated through a participatory
approach. Participation is possible only where communication is successfully managed.
There are however sections of population who do not have
sufficent awareness to become actors of social and economic development; awareness campaigns
are communication actions aimed at enabling wider participation.
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The knowledge resources presented here intend to facilitate
project and managers in:
- promoting better communication within their organisations or
institutions,
- managing succesfully the communication elements of
development activities,
- involving all stakeholders in development projects;
- build the capacity of marginalized sections of society to
participate to development processes.
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Definition
of Communication
Varieties of Communication
Tasks, tools and elements of communication
Communication
is the process through which social ties are established
There is no community (or society)
without group identity: this identity is formed when communication achieves its objective
The objective of communication is
achieved when a group of "I"s accept to identify themselves as a "we".
This collective identity is the psychological base of a community (or society).
In the professional world, communication is the process of generating
professional partnership with stakeholders, by expressing specific organisational needs
and scopes. Communication skill in today’s
professional environment is increasingly important due to the ever-growing volume and
value of information in a constantly changing social set up. Efficient organisations
successfully integrate new information technologies and learn how to communicate
effectively with both internal and external stakeholders.
To lead to successful results, communicational messages must be carefully
thought out before they are presented to the intended audience, to make sure that they
adequately reflect organisational needs, wants, goals, and desires; in other words
the organisation’s mission and vision.
Section 1: Varieties of
Communication
Different varieties of communication, according to
different human relationship modalities
Section 2: Communication Skill
In the professional world, communication is the
process of expressing specific organizatinal needs, wants, goals, and desires, and doing
so in a number of different ways. Communication skill in today’s professional
environment is increasingly important due to the ever-growing volume and value of
information in a constantly changing social set up. Organizations that not only survive,
but also thrive, in the information/technology age successfully integrate new
technologies, manage information efficiently, and learn how to communicate effectively
with both internal and external stakeholders.
For communication to lead to successful results,
the messages that are sent must be carefully thought out before they are presented to make
sure that they actually reflect organizational needs, wants, goals, and desires; in other
words the organization’s mission and vision.
Underlying
effective communication skills are seven important elements that are crucial for promoting
excellence:
creative insight,
sensitivity,
vision,
versatility,
focus,
patience.
These elements
collectively include the following:
the ability to ask
the right questions
incorporating
employees and other stakeholders into important organizational decision making
providing employees
with a sense of efficacy and respect
the ability not
only to see, but also to create the future
the capacity to
anticipate and adapt to change, (which is particularly important for Organization in this
time of transition)
facing unforeseen
challenges
to both welcome and
implement change efficiently and effectively to cope with difficult times and enjoy long
term success
to have the insight
to understand that no project/programme purpose in today’s world operates strictly locally.
We live in an
international marketplace where managing projects worldwide is part of our everyday
routine. By learning how to communicate effectively with others we can enhance our
ability to think globally, yet act locally.
Module One Communicating with
Internal and External Stakeholders begins with a discussion of the
nature organizational culture and its various components. Next it looks at how you
can help to create a productive and supportive communication and organizational climate in
your own organization. It will also examine various leadership issues, especially
how a leader’s effectiveness relates to communication skills.
Module Two Employee Alignment and
Education (Communicating with Internal Stakeholders looks at how
change leaders can motivate people by fostering a positive communication climate through
communicating trust and openness among the organization’s internal stakeholders. This
includes a discussion of how to maintain an ethical approach. This module will also
provide practical advice on how to listen effectively and provide appropriate feedback to
encourage effective two-way communication within the organization, how to minimize message
distortion and limit rumors in the organization, and how to best use communication
channels. We will also look at how to manage the conflicts that invariably arise
when people interact with one another, especially during times of change. Finally,
we will close the module with some suggestions for dealing with resistance from within the
organization, including the belief that change will fail and the belief that change has
been handled improperly.
The last module, Community Communications
(Communicating to External Stakeholders), focuses on developing
communication with external stakeholders through both oral presentations and written
communication. This section will take you through some of the foundations of both written
and oral communication principles as well as a more detailed examination of the specific
skills used to make successful presentations.
. Communicating with Internal and External
Stakeholders
Organizational Culture
A. Elements of Organizational
Culture
1.
Elements of a Strong
and Healthy Culture
2.
Organizational Culture
and Values
C. How to Show Values Through
Action
D. Ho to set a performance standard
Organizational/Communication
Climate
A. Characteristics of a
Positive Communication Climate
1. Encouraging Openness
2. Communicating Credibility
3. Building a Climate of Trust
4. Behaviors that Endanger
Trust
5. Encouraging Openness
6. Ethics of Leadership
2. Employee Alignment and
Education (Communicating with Internal Stakeholders)
NGOs
and Employee Alignment and Education
A Listening and Feeback
Effective and Poor Listening
Becoming a Better Listener
Guidelines for Providing
Feedback
B. Conflict
Introduction
Four Basic Steps for
Resolving Conflict
Timing and Other Hints
Guidelines for Effective
Listening During a Conflict
C. Addressing Resitance
Identifying resitance
Case Study: Managers as the Enemy
Addressing the Belief that
Change has been Handled Improperly
Addressing the Belief
that Change will fail
Section 3: Tasks, tools and elements of communication
1 How communication works
2 Communication Instruments
3 Image
4 Internal Information
Networks
5 Meetings, Problem Solving and Decision
Making
6 Internal Information and
Outside Stakeholders
7 Training as a
Communication Strategy
8 . Communicating
Financial Information
9 Communicating to External
Stakeholders
10
Communication
and Global Cultures
Section 4: Output Oriented Project Communication
Management
Communication management is concerned with the tasks that
will be performed to meet the communication requirements of project stakeholders.
Project management demands a free flow of
communication with and among project team members, and internal and external project
stakeholders. The project team needs frequent information from each of its team members to
complete and improve the project and to understand the needs and expectations of the
project's beneficiaries.
Communication management is one of the
essential functions that can dramatically affect the outcome of a project. Project
managers must create and effectively use a communication plan that performs two principle
functions: collect the right data and disseminate appropriate information in a timely
manner.
To do this effectively, project teams are
under an obligation to identify the appropriate audiences, develop appropriate
communication media, establish a communication schedule, and manage the flow of
information in and out of the project team.
This section focuses on the tools and
techniques that project teams can use to build an effective communication plan.
You will need to identify the stakeholders, as well as
identify their differing communication requirements.
For example, the development team will need to have
efficient ways of ensuring that all team members are aware of all team activities, project
progress and problems and the whereabouts of team members from day to day. The team
members will also need to nominate someone to take and distribute meeting notes, and
someone to make progress reports to the Project Manager.
The beneficiary will also need progress reports and
will need to be given efficient ways to communicate with the development team (possibly
through the project manager or project co-ordinator). The beneficiary must have ways of
checking the project from time to time, reporting concerns and ways to request corrections
or changes.
Once all the communication requirements have been
identified, you may need to develop a plan which shows how these are to take place. The
plan could include such items as: the type of communication (written report, email, form
to be completed, phone calls etc) the correct process to follow the frequency of the
communication (for example, how often are such reports expected) and the expected quality
(for example, email communication is usually far less formal than written reports).
Project communication management involves
project communication planning, information distribution, reporting performance and formal
project close-out.
Project communications are a make-or-break proposition for
most projects. Communicate well, and the project will succeed. Communicate poorly, and
even the most efficient efforts may be misperceived, misunderstood and poorly valued.
What Is Project Communication
Management?
Table showing management
communication actions
Phases and Methods of Project Management
Project communication planning
Information distribution
Tools and Methods Tools and
Methods
Reporting performance
Formal project close-out.
Section 5: Planing and executing an
awareness campaign
We
have see that communication is an essential element of project management, as it is
required to generate internal team co-operation and external consensus to all project phases.
There
are however some kind of activities or projects where communication is given a higher
consideration and becomes central to the scope of the whole action. This
is peculiarly the case when the scope of the action is to increase knowledge and awareness
in the counterpart, and formal communication is identifies as the main means to such a
scope. Usually to these kind of actions is given the name of
"campaigns".
The
concept of "campaign" is borrowed from the military field. "Campaign"
is the terrain of physical confrontation in warfare. In communication is the actual
execution “in the field” of a communication strategy.
It
would not proper to call “campaign” an information service. “campaign”
conveys the idea of something extempore, that has a specific end and can result in
“success” or “defeat”. It has to overcome some resistance on the
counterpart.
According
the two other modalities of human relationship we can have the:
“propaganda
campaign”, aimed at generating persuasion, that will utilised the method that we have defined as
“rhetoric”; the purpose is "to win
over" the target population and defeat their psychological defences.
the
“awareness creation campaign” aimed at educating the target
audience and contrasting ignorance or isolation.
It
is fundamentally this idea of “contrasting ignorance”, along with its
non-continuous character, that gives a sort of “warfare” connotation
to the "awareness campaign" that is otherwise a typical educational
activity.
Through
a specifically planned communication action, along a strategic approach, an awareness
campaign aims at improving the life quality of the audience, that is also the community
expected to gain from it.
The
methodology of the awareness campaign is therefore characterised by the fact that :
-
it is aimed at improving the life of the
beneficiary;
-
the beneficiary (before the campaign) is
not fully aware of the benefices that may receive from the campaign results.
-
It uses “communication” as the
main means to generate the expected results.
Section 5: Communication for
Participatory Approach and Transparency to Development Actions and Policies
What is participation
Identifying Stakeholders
Who Is a Stakeholder?
How to Identify Stakeholders
Involving Stakeholders
Introduction
Building Trust
Involving Directly Affected
Stakeholders
Seeking Feedback
Involving the Voiceless
Involving the Opposition
Participatory Planning and
Decisionmaking
Introduction
What Do Participatory Techniques
Achieve?
Creating a Learning Mood
What Does the Learning Mood
Produce?
Strategic Planning
Tactical Planning
Building Community Capacity
Introduction
Understanding Community
Organizations
Building the
Capacity of Community Organizations