title: Development communication

text: 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 from people to people.


title: Development communication

text: 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".


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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 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". 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".


title: Development communication

text: 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 (), 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).


title: Development communication

text: 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 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".


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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".


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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."


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: Other influential theorists include Juan Diaz Bordenave, Luis Ramiro Beltran, and Alfonso Gumucio Dagron (Manyozo 2006, Manyozo, 2005).


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: Organized development communication in India began with rural radio broadcasts in the 1940s. Broadcasts adopted indigenous languages to reach larger audiences.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: The African school of development communication sprang from the continent's post-colonial and communist movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Anglophone Africa employed radio and theatre for community education, adult literacy, health and agricultural education (Kamlongera, 1983, Mlama, 1971).


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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).


title: Development communication

text: 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, which offered undergraduate and master's degrees.<ref name="doi10.1177/001654928202900101"></ref>


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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:


title: Development communication

text: "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."


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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).


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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 research and two-way communications among stakeholders". (Development Communication division, the World Bank).


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: Radio DZLB was 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.


title: Development communication

text: Established in 2009, Global South Development Magazine has been a recent example of development communication in practice.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: Alexander G. Flor, PhD, 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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 change, development communication can lead to successful and sustainable results.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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:


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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:


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: Religious sector – Traditionally opposes policies that allow obscenity, violence and profanity to be distributed.


title: Development communication

text: Foreign interests – e.g., international lending agencies may demand the end of monopolies—including state media entities—as a condition for financial aid.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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".


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: 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.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication policy as a field experienced persistent conflict. Debates operated within the discourse of each period: autonomous vs. dependent in the 1950s; unequal North–South communication flows in the 60s and 70s; transnational corporations and non-governmental actors in the 80s; the converged global information society and the market-based media structure in the 90s; and online media and the digital divide in the 2000s.


title: Development communication

text: Hamelink and Nordenstreng called for multistakeholder participation in information and communications technology (ICT) governance and for formal and informal policy development mechanisms to enable state and non-state actors to shape the media and communication industries.


title: Development communication

text: Manyozo advocated a rethinking of communication for development policies, perceiving a failure by communication policy makers to identify funding institutions that encourage cultural imperialism and unequal power relations between Western and local organizations. He attributed this to the absence in communication policy debates of a political economy discourse. In reviewing the different approaches to communication for development policies—media, participation and community dialogue—Manyozo criticizes groups that emphasizes one over the others.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication and the policy sciences provide a distinct role of development communication that is apart from traditional mass communication, its purposive nature (Flor, 1991). With this, communication strategies deemed at sustainable development are hereby presented (Servaes & Malikhao (2007):


title: Development communication

text: Flor (1991) argues the importance of application of knowledge in social sciences where most of policy principles are drawn from. In the conduct of developmental activities, the role of communication is critical as it influences participation of individuals given that relevant information is well-disseminated. For instance, communication media are critical in creating awareness, generating public interest and demand, and placing the issue on the public agenda and building social support (Servaes, 2008).


title: Development communication

text: Development communication policy science take off from development theory that which it says that policy recommendation becomes an engine to the process of social change (Servaes, 1986). The concept of development communication policy science has reference to the following:


title: Development communication

text: a) Diffusion model which enunciates that 'that the role of communication was (1) to transfer technological innovations from development agencies to their clients, and (2) to create an appetite for change through raising a 'climate for modernization' among the members of the public'.


title: Development communication

text: b) The participatory model which incorporates the concept of multiplicity development through democratization and participation at all levels – international, national, local and individual but values the cultural identity of local communities.


title: Development communication

text: A typology of Participation in Development Initiatives illustrates a participation ladder (Mefalopulos, 2018) starting from the lowest form which is merely a form of token participation, to the highest form, where local stakeholders share equal weight in decision making with external stakeholders. The participation ladder consists of the following: (a) Passive participation. Stakeholders participate by being informed about what is going to happen or has already happened. People's feedback is minimal or nonexistent, and individual participation is assessed mainly through head-counting and occasionally through their participation in the discussion. (b) Participation by consultation Stakeholders participate by providing feedback to questions posed by outside researchers or experts. Because their input is not limited to meetings, it can be provided at different points in time. In the final analysis, however, this consultative process keeps all the decision-making power in the hands of external professionals who are under no obligation to incorporate stakeholders' input. (c) Functional participation. Stakeholders take part in discussions and analysis of pre-determined objectives set by the project. This kind of participation, while it does not usually result in dramatic changes on "what" objectives are to be achieved, does provide valuable inputs on "how" to achieve them. Functional participation implies the use of horizontal communication among stakeholders. (d) Empowered participation. Stakeholders are willing and able to be part of the process and participate in joint analysis, which leads to joint decision making about what should be achieved and how. While the role of outsiders is that of equal partners in the initiative, local stakeholders are equal partners with a decisive say in decisions concerning their lives.


title: Development communication

text: Flor recognizes the affinity of Development Communication and Policy Science; hence coined "Development Communication Policy Science". In his writings, this concept can be deduced to mean creating guidelines that "stems from the need for actively applying knowledge from and principles of the social sciences in solving large-scale societal problems under conditions of social change" and of which in the process communication is a critical variable.


title: Development communication

text: UNESCO posits that in order to effect positive developmental change, there is a need to form people and processes that facilitate the creation of knowledge. For development to happen, a two-way horizontal model which allow direct participation of those most affected by the development issue(s) can be adopted. In this model, the stakeholder's participation are in a form of defining and implementing solutions and identifying development directions. Engaging in dialogue with stakeholders for purposes of understanding their perceptions, perspectives, values, attitudes and practices are essential inputs to the design and implementation of development initiatives.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication policy science is a thriving and a contemporary field in social sciences. It is the application of the policy sciences to improve policy development, implementation and evaluation in the development communication context. According to Flor (1991), development communication and policy sciences are regarded as distinct and mutually exclusive areas of study but are inextricably linked. He added that development communication and the policy sciences, although different in scope, stem from the same rationale: the need for actively applying knowledge from the principles of social sciences in solving large-scale societal problems under conditions of social change. Separately, development communication is a purposive, pragmatic, and value-laden development intervention while the policy sciences are the scientific study of policies and policy-making for the social good. Both endorse a normative or prescriptive role for the social sciences, work to alleviate societal problems and recognize communication's important function (Ongkiko & Flor, 2006). As an academic discipline, development communication policy science is the study of the use of the art and the science of policy in the development communication context.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication's ultimate goal is to catalyze local development activities, local development planning and implementation, and local communication to smoothen the path to development. It is the science which uses communication to educate, change and motivate people's attitudes and values leading to developmental goals Policy is a term which frames the action rather than simply describing it (Colebatch, 2002). Thus, it labels what we see so that we can make sense of it in a particular way. Understanding policy means understanding the way in which practitioners use it to shape action. It leads us to ask who is involved in what setting, how the action is framed and what significance in this process of the idea of authorized purpose, and not simply an outcome. Indeed, the "approach of the policy science is forward-looking and anticipatory".


title: Development communication

text: Thus, development communication comprises the utilization of strategic communication to address the pressing issues and problems in the society. It is an area of study where the roles of media to aid in the social transformation is considered an utmost importance. According to Melkotea and Steeves (2015), while communication has been referred to as shared meaning, development is considered as empowerment in the development communication, where it seeks to understand the social issues at all levels.


title: Development communication

text: The two fields are undoubtedly different. However, Flor accurately stated that "both stem from the same rationale: the need for actively applying knowledge and principles of the social sciences in solving large-scale societal problems under conditions of social change". The connection between the two fields will be apparent once the question, 'what is the policy for?' is answered. Since policy is the pursuit of goals and the effect they have on the action; and development communication aims to facilitate social change, the two processes are represented as a sequence of stages in the development, beginning with the thought and the intention (policy), moving through action brought about by communication, and ending with the solution (action). To reiterate, unless the policy decision could shape the action, there would be no point in making it.


title: Development communication

text: When policy sciences and development communication have been firmly established in an organization or community, the instruments of policy analysis will provide "unprecedented versatility and effectiveness" (Lasswell, 1969). Specifically, the practice and application of social marketing strategies to influence the stakeholders in making decisions to create not only an individual but also social change.


title: Development communication

text: It is important to know and understand that the stakeholders are not only the decision makers alone. Flor (1991) identified seven sectors as stakeholders: the government, the education sector, the communication, industry, the private sector, the church, foreign vested interests and the consumers. Flor discussed the different concerns of each sectors such as the education sector for its involvement in communication aspect; the church, in fulfillment of its outreach activities; and the private sectors concerning how policies would affect how they do business. But among the enumerated sectors, the government still serves as the most powerful sector as it has a direct hand in implementing policies. While the government is the most powerful, the most important stakeholder, but apparently the least involved in development of a policy, is actually the consumer or the regular citizens. While the government may impose a policy or a regulation, the success of it falls on the adoption and cooperation of the consumers.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication is a contemporary field in social science. It uses scientific methods to enrich its own field through research where theories and principles can be derived and applied to development problems. It is defined as the interaction of two social processes- development and communication-in any given environment, and in 1971, the definition changed to the art and science of human communication applied to the speedy transformation of a country and the mass of its people from poverty to a dynamic state of economic growth that makes possible greater social equality and the larger fulfillment of the human potential. Its domain is best described by the phrase 'communication and development'. This suggests that both mediated and non-mediated forms of communication are relevant to the development issue. This compromise is especially useful with the growing importance for development of the new information and communication technologies. The main scope and functions of development communication are not exclusively about communicating information and messages, but it also involves engaging stakeholders and assessing the situation. Communication is not only about "selling ideas." Such a conception could have been appropriate in the past, currently, the scope of development communication has broadened to include an analytical aspect as well as a dialogical one—intended to open public spaces where perceptions, opinions, and knowledge of relevant stakeholders can be aired and assessed. It is applied to engage stakeholders, assess the situation, and devise effective strategies leading to better and more sustainable development initiatives. It is more than transmitting information. It is about using communication to generate new knowledge and consensus in order to facilitate change. Between the two social processes, Communication is the vehicle that carries development onward. Quebral (2012) mentioned in the definition of Development Communication the art and science of human communication. The science of communication is a research-driven consultative process involving planning, design and implementation of strategic interventions. It provides relevant information and adequate motivation to impact on attitudes and behaviors of individuals or groups of people. The artistic side of communication involves designing creative messages and products, and identifying effective interpersonal, group and mass-media channels based on the sound knowledge of the participants we seek to reach. Communication for Development 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 skills, building policies, debating and learning for sustained and meaningful change.


title: Development communication

text: Development Communication and Policy Sciences are inextricably linked. Policy Sciences grew out of a multidisciplinary effort within the social sciences, based initially at the University of Chicago and later at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), to develop theories and methods of integrating insights from multiple disciplines in the interest of providing a distinct integrative framework for understanding and addressing complex social problems. The University of Chicago and SSRC developments were themselves an outgrowth of earlier efforts that dated to at least the middle of the 19th century.). It is a new set of paradigm which is oriented towards the needs of applying structured rationality, systematic knowledge and organized creativity to the directed development of humanity. The main concern of Policy Sciences is with understanding and improvement of macro control systems, which is, policy making systems. Policy making is not about its substantive content but rather with the improved methods, knowledge, and systems for better policy making. In 1971, Lasswell's identified two separate approaches to the policy sciences: one emphasizing in knowledge of the policy process and another emphasizing knowledge for use in the policy process. Lasswell's chosen phrase was "the policy sciences of democracy". To stress "sciences" resulted in a vision of rational analysis, while to stress 'democracy; led to a vision of politicizes governmental processes. The distinction is important in drawing attention to policy analysis as an academic activity concerned primarily with advancing understanding; and policy analysis as applied activity concerned mainly with contributing to the solution of social problems. This vision of scientific method and democratic humanism, however, proved operationally difficult as the policy sciences moved to realize status and recognition during the 1960 and 1970's. These two approaches- process and content strengthened their respective identities, each claiming some sort of conceptual superiority. Operationally the two approaches are: POLICY ANALYSIS is concerned with knowledge in and for policy process, while, POLICY PROCESS is concerned with knowledge about the formation and implementation of public policy. Policy analysis and Policy process focus on real-world problems and require application of both normative and behavioral sciences. The underlying disciplines of policy sciences are the management sciences (operations research, cost-effective analysis, systems analysis, economics and more) and the behavioral sciences (political science, sociology, social psychology, organization theory, behavioral theory of the firm, psychology of judgment and more). The management sciences can be viewed as sciences of normative knowledge- what one should do with the application of their methodologies involving optimization of some objective function.


title: Development communication

text: Policy Sciences has long been at the forefront of development issues. while, Development Communication's chief purpose is about social transformation and development, the fulfillment of basic needs. Both fields, development communication and policy sciences are concerned with scientific methods, and choosing and evaluating the relevance of available knowledge for the solution of particular problems that will enrich humanity. In essence, development communication is the sharing of knowledge aimed at reaching a consensus for action that takes into account the interests, needs and capacities of all concerned. It is thus a social process. While, Policy Sciences hold forth the hope of improving the most backward of all human institutions and habits, which is policy making and decision making. It constitutes a major attempt to assert and achieve a central role for rationality and intellectualism in human affairs and to increase by jumps the capacity of humanity to direct its future.


title: Development communication

text: Policy sciences provide an integrated approach in solving various problems in local, national, regional and international level. Coined by Harold D. Lasswell, policy sciences draw knowledge from various disciplines where recommendations are formulated, hence, its integrated approach. Because of its integrative nature, policy sciences follow a systems approach such that elements are interrelated and forms a 'generality principle'.


title: Development communication

text: Following its interdisciplinary nature is the idea that policy sciences encourage diversity of perspectives from various disciplines. This instigates consultative communication from various individuals in the principle of common interest.


title: Development communication

text: In the pursuit of knowledge, policy scientists need to be careful in deciphering relevance of particular knowledge given the impact of various knowledge sources that are trying to influence policy decisions. In this regard, informed decisions are drawn from critiquing, careful analysis and recommendations that will be beneficial to many rather than a few individuals.


title: Development communication

text: Lasswell (1970: 3) defines policy sciences as "knowledge of the policy process as well as knowledge in this process". Torgerson (1985) states that Lasswell proposed the development of policy science-or policy sciences-as an interdisciplinary field to embrace all the social sciences and to produce knowledge applicable to public problems. The term "policy sciences" in its plural form, therefore, emphasizes its interdisciplinary nature (Flor, 1991). According to Hale (2011), the central aim of policy sciences is to resolve problems [in the service of human dignity] and the diverse human, historical, and contextual element in public policy-making. This is a reiteration of the Lasswellian maxim on public policy in the following key elements: "contextual"; "problem-oriented"; "multi-method inquiry" or diverse empirical methods, "political", "normative, welfare-oriented" in the case of social policy goals; and posing "interdisciplinarity" or moving between humanities and social sciences. Indeed, Lasswell's original goal of the policy sciences was to provide, "intelligence pertinent to the integration of values realized by and embodied by interpersonal relations [such as] human dignity and the realization of human capacities" (Lasswell and Kaplan, 1950: p. xii). The "policy sciences" therefore adopts an approach to understanding and solving problems that draw on and contribute to all fields of knowledge (Quebral, 2006) and sets out procedures in an integrated and comprehensive form to help clarify and secure common interests.


title: Development communication

text: According to Harold Lasswell (1971), the policy sciences are concerned with the knowledge "of" and "in" the decision processes of the public and civic order. Knowledge of decision processes points to the empirical and scientific understanding of how policies are made and executed. At one moment, the analyst regards his subject-matter as an objective phenomenon, but this phase alternates with another in which the analyst comes to view himself as actively involved in the phenomenon which he investigates. Inquiry displays both tension and interplay between these moments; they are distinct yet interwoven, complementary in the ongoing development and refinement of contextual orientation (Togerson, 1985). Empirical knowledge pertains to those generated through scientific inquiry and observation as applied to decision processes. As such, the notion of the policy sciences is construed in various shades since it was introduced in the 1940s and over the years, Lasswell and his colleagues refined the concept, through practice and peer review, as the intellectual tools needed to support problem-oriented, contextual, and multi-method inquiry in the service of human dignity for all. The policy sciences is a forward-looking body of knowledge, with the plural form emphasizing its interdisciplinary and holistic nature. It recognizes the multiplicity of factors affecting certain problems and multi-dimensions of certain phenomena that are subject to decision processes. According to Laswell (1971, p. 39), an adequate strategy of problem solving in policy sciences encompasses five intellectual tasks performed at varying levels of insight and understanding namely: goal clarification; trend description; analysis of conditions; projection of developments; and invention, evaluation, and selection of alternatives. As such, the emphasis of policy sciences is on applying scientific or empirical evidences in understanding problems so that more realistic, responsive and effective interventions are identified and implemented. Since a problem is multidimensional, various scientific disciplines are needed to form a comprehensive analysis of a certain phenomenon. The trend toward a policy sciences viewpoint is a move away from fragmentation and the fragmented "worm's eye view" of policy matters.


title: Development communication

text: According to Yehezkel Dror in his article entitled, "Approaches to Policy Sciences," two of the main features of policy sciences can be summarized as follows:


title: Development communication

text: 1) Policy sciences, as with all applied scientific knowledge, are, in principle, instrumental-normative in the sense of being concerned with means and intermediate goals rather than absolute values. But policy sciences are sensitive to the difficulties of achieving "value free sciences" and try to contribute to value choice by exploring value implications, value consistencies, value costs, and the behavioral foundations of value commitments.


title: Development communication

text: 2) Policy sciences emphasize meta-policies (that is, policies on policies), including modes of policy-making, policy analysis, policy-making systems, and policy strategies. While the main test of policy sciences is better achievement of considered goals through more effective and efficient policies, policy sciences as such do not deal with discrete policy problems, but do provide improved methods and knowledge for doing so. Furthermore, he mentioned that the main foci of concern for policy sciences include, for example, (i) policy analysis, which provides heuristic methods for identification of preferable policy alternatives; (ii) policy strategies, which provide guidelines for postures, assumptions, and main guidelines to be followed by specific policies (for example, with respect to incrementalism versus innovation, attitudes to risk and time, comprehensive versus shock policies, and goal-oriented versus capacity oriented policies); (iii) evaluation and feedback, including, for instance, social indicators, social experimentation, and organizational learning; and (iv) improvement of the system for policymaking-by redesign and sometimes nova design (designing anew), including changes in input, personnel, structure, equipment, external demands, and so forth.


title: Development communication

text: As defined by Laswell (1970), the policy sciences may be conceived as knowledge of the policy process and of the relevance of knowledge in the process. Its approach is anticipatory which aims to improve policymaking in order to provide as much lead time as necessary in the solution of societal problems. However, it should be considered that since it is a science, the knowledge that can be acquired in the process should be based on the concept of scientific evidence. Therefore, one issue that may arise along the way is how to regard societal problems and issues scientifically. However, according to Lasswell and McDougal (1992), while the problems are addressed scientifically, there is also a need for considering the contextual and normative approach to solving problems. The reason is that the knowledge produced is not only universalizable but ethical and empirico-analytical. Through this, policy science is thought not only problem-oriented but also multidisciplinary and contextual.


title: Development communication

text: Generally, the relationship between development communication and the policy sciences can be described as inextricable although both fields of study have different concentration, scope, and limitations. Furthermore, both development communication and the policy sciences share the same practice: the need for actively applying knowledge from and principles of the social sciences in solving large-scale societal problems under conditions of social change. In today's society where it is being described as troubled and problematic, there is no better way to confront the societal issues but to have a strong knowledge and a better understanding of communication policy.


title: Development communication

text: The policy sciences provide an integrated and comprehensive approach for addressing issues and problems at all levels in ways that help clarify and secure the common interest. Policy sciences are concerned with helping people make better decisions toward fostering human dignity for all. Since we are living in a "turbulent field" environment, policy science is necessary to address issues before it will get bigger. The approach of policy sciences, as cited by Flor in his article, is forward-looking or anticipatory. Policy sciences tell us what we need to do and prepare before certain issues or problems occur. Using an allegorical definition, Dror (1971), as cited by Ongkiko and Flor (2006), explains that ""one should not leave the problem of crossing a river until the river is reached; rather, one should survey the territory in advance, identify rivers flowing through it, decide whether it is at all necessary to cross the river—and if so, where and how to cross it—then prepare in advance the materials for crossing the river and design a logistics network so that the material is ready when the river is reached."" Furthermore, given its interdisciplinary and holistic nature, policy sciences does consider several variables (education, communication, money, culture) in coming up with a decision. These variables are important factors in coming up with a sound and relevant policy.


title: Development communication

text: In the context of communication policy development, the policy sciences are necessary to make more purposeful, responsive, and effective communication policies. Profoundly influenced by Freud and Marx, Lasswell emphasized the importance of the contextual orientation of policy analysts, both individually and collectively (Lasswell, 1965). When he first articulated this principle of contextuality, Lasswell indeed referred explicitly to the "exposition of the dialectical method" (1965) in Lukacs's "History and Class Consciousness", adding that the insights of psychoanalysis provided a complement to the Marxian dialectic which would aid in understanding "the symbolic aspects of historical development" (Laswell, 1965, p. 19). Here Lasswell proposed a mode of contextual-configurative analysis whereby, through "an act of creative orientation" (Laasswell, 1965, p. 13), the inquirer could locate himself in an 'all-encompassing totality" (Lasswell, 1965, p. 12). In this regard, Lasswell considered such contextual orientation indispensable to the conduct of rational inquiry, and urged the use of contextual-configurative analysis in the development of a policy science profession. Hale (2011, p. 221) contends that Lasswell saw that robust policy solutions could only be obtained by insisting upon a commitment to contextuality, problem orientation, and methodological diversity. All for good reasons: first, no decision can adequately be understood apart from the larger social process in which it is itself apart. Thus contextuality is a key element in the policy sciences. As a reliance on ideology, principle, and grand historical projects cannot, given the complexity and contextuality of policy problems, serve with reliable solution, a discipline geared to resolve problems should expressly orient itself on those problems and should be purposeful. Thus problem orientation is the second key element in the policy sciences. Finally, due to the multidimensionality and complexity of many of these problems it stands to reason that the policy scientist should draw from a diversity of methodologies. Thus methodological diversity is the third key element in the policy sciences. It is Lasswell's sincere belief that understanding the policy formation and decision-making process will eventually also be beneficial in the creation of public policy (Hale, 2011).


title: Development communication

text: Hepp, A., Roitsch, C., & Berg, M. (2016) introduces the approach of contextualised communication network analysis as a qualitative procedure for researching communicative relationships realised through the media. It combines qualitative interviews on media appropriation, egocentric network maps, and media diaries. Through the triangulation of these methods of data collection, it is possible to gain a differentiated insight into the specific meanings, structures and processes of communication networks across a variety of media. The approach is illustrated using a recent study dealing with the mediatisation of community building among young people. In this context, the qualitative communication network analysis has been applied to distinguish "localists" from "centrists", "multilocalists", and "pluralists". These different "horizons of mediatised communitisation" are connected to distinct communication networks. Since this involves today a variety of different media, the contextual analysis of communication networks necessarily has to imply a cross-media perspective.


title: Development communication

text: Oancea, A., Florez Petour, T., and Atkinson, J. (2017) noted a particular advantage of qualitative network analysis tools approach in its fit to the study of cultural value and impact in different disciplinary and institutional settings.


title: Development communication

text: Sciences are policy sciences when they clarify the process of policy-making in society or supply data for the making of rational judgments on policy questions" Lasswell (1975). The 'art' of policy sciences, therefore, seek to improve decision-making by reinforcing and supporting human dignity to elide the blinders of instrumental reason by addressing the manifold of human experience (Hale, 2001). The personalities who significantly play vital roles in this field are the policy scientists and analysts who are involved in the scientific design, formulation, analysis, and evaluation of policies in particular and are concerned with the study of the policy-making process in general (Flor, 1991). Lasswell and McDougal called on "policy scientists to aid decision makers in clarifying goals, identifying trends relative to goals, analyzing the factors causing or contributing to specific trends, projecting the future, and inventing and evaluating policy proposals—alternative actions that may be taken related to the desired results." To ensure that policy scientists would be adequately equipped for these intellectual tasks, Lasswell and McDougal proposed educational training programs devoted to the knowledge and skills needed for better policy (decision) making: contextual thinking, problem orientation, and mastery of diverse methods.


title: Development communication

text: To guide communication policy-makers in addressing challenges, Picard and Pickard (2017) proposed policy principles that aim to guide contemporary media and communications policymaking in democratic countries so the contributions of these operations and systems to society may be improved. They maintain that "Media and communications policies are central to many of the social and political issues that societies face today." However, existing policies are often unable to respond to rapid technological, economic, political, and social developments because they address only particular media and communication challenges at a particular time. On the other hand, fundamental principles are constant, thus providing guidance on how to respond to new concerns and challenges and making appropriate policies.


title: Development communication

text: Picard and Pickard (2017) note that "policy principles are coherent statements based on underlying norms and values that help policymakers and organisations respond to issues and take part in legislative and regulatory activities". In practice, principles are articulated and then used to set policy objectives and determine the means to achieve them. The latter two stages opine Picard and Pickard (2017), are subjected to "political" processes that determine the final policy outcome.


title: Development communication

text: Picard and Pickard (2017) therefore came up with the following rubric list of potential principles that they believe are crucial in crafting a much reflective communication policy:


title: Development communication

text: Principles are therefore not neutral, because they are normative, reflecting specific values that are subject to contestation. In choosing among policy principles, Picard and Pickard (2017) assert that policymakers should optimally be concerned about "effects of policy on all stakeholders", giving primacy to fundamental communication "needs" of society and seeking to "balance" social and economic benefit.


title: Development communication

text: "Communication and Culture, Conflict and Cohesion" is a book edited by Alexander G. Flor (2002), an expert on Knowledge Management for Development, which discusses the need for convergence in society through inter-cultural communication, using case studies in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It also examines environmental conflicts, indigenous peoples, and the official development assistance in the Philippines. In the book, Flor noted that communication and culture are "inextricably linked". Societal conflict in this age of informatization is a "function of culture caused by a dysfunction of societal communication". The quality and degree of societal communication – the mass media and education—determine the ways that cultures are exposed to others. The higher the quality and degree of inter-cultural communication, the lower the propensity for conflict, and vice versa. He observed that many of the world's contemporary wars – in Rwanda, Basque, Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Aceh, East Timor—are not being waged by national political struggles "but by cultures". For example, Catholic bishops and Islam ulama agree that the conflict in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines is triggered by "opposing value systems (on the use of natural resources), opposing social structures (feudal vs. oligarchic), and opposing worldviews (materialistic vs. idealistic)" – all of which, Flor noted, are components of culture. One of the first steps to help repair the situation is for communication policy scientists to "begin with tolerance as a short-term solution, and understanding as a long-term solution". Tolerance and understanding require "good communication" from both ends of the spectrum that are striving to achieve "mutual understanding" – the goal of Kincaid (1979) for communication in his Convergence Model. The concept of convergence looks at the communication process as cyclical between source and receiver, and interactive between their message and feedback. "With convergence comes cohesion." Mutual understanding achieved through communication helps preclude conflicts, and encourages cohesion among the world's cultures.


title: Development communication

text: The policy sciences since Lasswell (1971 in Cairney & Weible, 2017), at its heart, still offers some inspiration, but it has not kept pace with new models of human choice and theories of the policy process. This problem has resulted partly from the unintended consequence of Lasswell's distinction between 'knowledge of' and 'knowledge in' the policy process. In others words, there is a major gap between the ways in the development and use of policy process theories and policy analysis tools. Consequently, policy analysis research is often conducted with an insufficient appreciation of basic science, and policy process research is often esoteric and detached from practice (Cairney & Weible, 2017).


title: Development communication

text: A new policy sciences updates the language of the old to focus more on choice and contexts and embrace applied and basic science in conducting policy analysis and policy process research. The new policy sciences highlights 1.) knowing your policymaker audience and the context in which they operate. For example, policymaker's attention is fleeting and they engage emotionally with information, which limits the impact of a lengthy evidence-based analysis and puts the onus on policy analysts to tell a simple persuasive story. Further, given the changing landscape and the multitude of choices facing people engaged in the policy process, single-shot solutions will not work. Therefore, the best strategy as policy scholars is to offer people ways to think critically to help them learn and adapt while making choices and navigating the policy process taking note of its ultimate goal "to achieve a greater realization of human dignity and political equality (Cairney & Weible, 2017)."


title: Development communication

text: The best way to structure the policy sciences is to direct the basic and applied science towards realistic depictions of choice in complex contexts. One cannot make people more rational, but one can establish choices from a mix of rationality and irrationality to help people adapt accordingly. One cannot make the context simpler, but one can offer multiple theoretical descriptions of its complexity and explanations of its key dynamics (Cairney & Weible, 2017).


title: Development communication

text: The biggest contribution of the new policy sciences is to encourage critical thinking. Scholars can help actors in the policy process to ask better questions, identify assumptions and cognitive filters and biases, see the world through different viewpoints, recognize the strengths and limitations of information searches and networks, and better specify the source of successes and failures (Cairney & Weible, 2017).


title: Development communication

text: Above all else, dispense with the idea of comparing real-world policymaking with the myth of comprehensively rational action, to advise people not to give up their bounded and irrational minds but to look for opportunities to learn and adapt their strategies to better achieve their goals. To make it happen, one needs to recognize the combined value of basic and applied science (Cairney & Weible, 2017).


title: Development communication

text: The new policy sciences has one simple motto: "know your audience and their context." At the level of the individual, knowing what makes people tick, to identify their ways in which they engage emotionally with information and combine facts and emotions to make decisions. At the context level, although all audiences are embedded in decision-making venues, policy subsystems, and political systems, policy theories are used to make sense of complexity and that each theory only captures one piece of the puzzle. Therefore, a new agenda is highlighted but also recognized where there is insufficient knowledge to ensure complete success (Cairney & Weible, 2017).


title: Development communication

text: In the end, the "new policy sciences can help policy makers, policy scholars, policy scientists, policy advocates, and development communication practitioners who are in to policy-making by using: (1) psychology and cognitive science to describe the art of choice, in which people use reliable short cuts to gather information to make good enough decisions and (2) multiple policy process theories to describe a policy context's ever-changing complexity. The best way to do this is to (3) combine applied and basic science in the field (Cairney & Weible, 2017).


title: Development communication

text: In a changing world communication about development challenges and advocacy for change have become increasingly complex. Navigating these challenges by offering insights and suggestions and new tools such as the rapid increase in the use of new and social media contrasted with the opportunities and risks it poses for development communication is helpful for various stakeholders such as policy makers.


title: Development communication

text: Various literature suggest new methods for policy sciences and development communication. Sudeep Uprety's (2016) article entitled "Engaging Policy Audiences - The dynamics of development communications," talks about visibility in the current digital era. Development organizations must now have cameras along with other essentials. The project teams, along with the researchers, engineers, medics and logistics personnel, also now have people carrying camera, pen and paper. In other words, communication has become an integral component in the world of development.


title: Development communication

text: Also, creativity is essential in development communications. Development organizations need to come up with unique ways of engaging audiences. Reaching the right audience- finding the engagement community (and communities) who will find your information useful is very critical. Acknowledging the limitations of diverse and sometimes hard-to-reach audiences, development organizations often engage communications and give them creative and artistic freedom, allowing them to come up with content that generates interest across a range of audiences – beyond the circle of those working in the field of development. Organizations aim to engage wider audiences with strong messages – linking local voices to the entire globe. Communications experts nowadays, apply the age-old art of story-telling, making their messages more visually interesting and exciting to hear about (Uprety, 2016).


title: Development communication

text: Moreover, social media and online communications tools such as infographics and Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) videos have provided a great platform in terms of reaching out and engaging with a wide variety of audiences. This is useful for development communications practitioners to understand the extent of audience engagement with their content – be it a blog, a report, a video or an infographic- and mold their content and style of presentation accordingly (Uprety, 2016).


title: Development communication

text: Furthermore, Development organizations are now focusing on the science of evidence uptake and knowledge management to synthesize project findings into user-friendly formats so that they are widely read with interest by various stakeholders. Simply put, the delivery of the right kind of message to the intended audience in the right manner, is required. These user-friendly evidence summaries and briefs are of particular importance for policy makers to give them a "trailer" (to use a movie-based analogy) of what the research/project is about (Uprety, 2016).


title: Development communication

text: With the changing dynamics of internet and communications, the world of development is developing, therefore delivering key messages is also constantly evolving and adapting. In this continuous evolution, the core of any successful communication strategy is still the resonance and relevance of the message itself and, essentially, its ability to touch hearts and lives.


title: Development communication

text: Taeihagh (2017) discussed crowdsourcing as rapidly evolving and applied in situations where ideas, labor, opinion or expertise of large groups of people is used. Crowdsourcing is now used in various policy-making initiatives such as in open collaboration platforms and specific stages of the policy process (agenda-setting and policy evaluations). Crowdsourcing is a considered a new tool for policy-making and the nuances of the technology and its use and implications for different stages of the policy process is explored. The study highlights the role of crowdsourcing, its impact as a policy tool or as a technological enabler and the current trends and future directions of crowdsourcing.


title: Development communication

text: Kerschberg (2012) also talks about the power of crowdsourcing in developing regions. There is optimism in a nascent paradigm shift of the realities of a poverty-stricken community. Data flow has the power to effect change, not only politically and socially, but on more fundamental levels such as living standards and sheer survival. Most enjoy the benefits of digital technology to share and collate data. For years, Google flu trends allow people to prepare for flu outbreaks, either in the home or in the emergency room. When those services are placed in those areas that need them most, the potential is overwhelming. By supplying someone in a developing region with the physical means to access data, one not only automatically brings them into the loop of communication, but also introduces them into a whole new business infrastructure powered by crowdsourcing methodologies.


title: Development communication

text: With all these new literature on policy sciences, now is a great time to work on more policy engagements in development communication and achieving development goals.


title: Development communication

text: The atmosphere of participation created by recent administrations has brought about a more significant role for the development communication specialist/ policy scientist. His involvement in communication policymaking is facilitated by the so-called institutionalization of people power. His expertise may be directly tapped by the most important stakeholder, the media consumer. The participation of information users and media consumers in policy making may be realized by the formation of a nationwide media consumer's organization or a federation of local organizations of this nature in which policy analysts play a significant role. This proposed organization could initiate media education in the formal and non-formal modes. Media education at the formal level may be facilitated by lobbying for the inclusion of such in existing secondary and tertiary curricula. Non-formal education may be conducted through media consumer sponsored awareness campaigns. This organization could also conduct its own audience related studies and policy research. It could establish a nationwide network involving the church, academic communities, grassroots organizations and cause-oriented groups. Communication policy scientists may also serve as part of the staff of our legislators in the Congress and Senate. In their private capacities, they can form research and development outfits or "think tanks" whose services may be availed of by government agencies. Indeed, now is a fortuitous time for policy engagement in development communication.


title: Development communication

text: Culture, politics, economics and technology have an impact on policy decisions. In order to investigate the factors that influence communications policy, one has to go beyond conventional views of media and communication and should combine these with policy studies.


title: Development communication

text: According to experts, communication policy science would be understood if the public just had access to the right scientific information. Coyle, in his article "Theory of Development Communication", articulates that people have options to change their ways of life through communication. People improve their lives and ways of thinking through communication, sharing their perspectives and understanding what is going on in their surroundings. As highlighted by Flor, communication development has something to do with policy science as these are anchored for improving policy making.


title: Development communication

text: As stipulated in Walt Rostow's theory in Boado's article, societies progress through specific stages of development on their way to modernity. Policy makers and scientists can communicate directly with the public through social media and blogging. By using social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook, policymakers and scientists can serve as critical mediators in disseminating scientific information by sharing advancements directly with society.


title: Development communication

text: Citing an article, "Dimensions of an Information and Communication Policy": "for a national policy to be effective, it must attempt to be comprehensive, covering issues that are considered relevant for that particular society". Because it involves communication, the use of many forms is deemed important, such as traditional and indigenous cultural forms, print media, electronic/broadcast media, film, cinema among others. Such communication policy must be centered on development, in transforming the lives of marginalized people. Development encompasses economic benefits, health improvement, education and other transformative agents. The process involves people empowerment in identifying goals, needs, and solutions to various challenges. Thus, communication policy that is national in scope has broad objective dimensions as well as specific areas where community needs are addressed. Intervention of communication strategies such as dissemination of information both mediated and personal where the latter constitutes participatory communication is deemed important.


title: Development communication

text: John A.R. Lee, author of "Towards Realistic Communication Policies: Recent Trends and Ideas Compiled and Analysed", published by The Unesco Press, shares that every state or nation carries communication policies. These policies are stated/embedded in "legislation, conditions, codes of conduct, rules and proceedings" or implied/suggested "in accepted practices." He adds that they are present "at the national, institutional and professional levels."


title: Development communication

text: By citing a Unesco report made by experts on communication and planning, Lee defines communication policies as "sets of principles and norms established to guide the behaviour of communication systems."


title: Development communication

text: He adds that the dimensions of communication policies as well as communication planning encompass the communication system, its components and structures; the functions of the system; the "clients" or audience using the system; the types of information carried by the system and its components; the values and qualities of the information content; and a variety of considerations about the system, its functions, audience, types of information and qualities. Members of the audience are classified based on such characteristics as age, sex, occupations, socio-economic strata, urban-rural (locations) and persuasions. Types of information refer to the conversation, cultural forms, data, education, entertainment, general information, music, news and opinion. Meanwhile, truth, objectivity, relevance, educational effectiveness, violence, humour, sex, libel are examples of values and qualities of the information content.


title: Development communication

text: According to Lee, the "consideration, identification and determination" of the scope of specific communication systems and societal principles and norms are needed in formulating communication policies.


title: Development communication

text: In his paper, Lee also discusses participation in the formulation of communication policies by asking, "Who is involved?" and identifying the stakeholders. They are government executive, legislative bodies, authorities in charge of social and economic planning, individual ministries and their planning boards, communication enterprises, professional organizations, the citizen, the social scientist and the economist.


title: Development communication

text: E. Lloyd Sommerland, UNESCO Regional Communication Adviser for Asia, points out the difference between communication policies and communication planning by saying that the former provides "the principles, rules and guidelines on which the communication system is built," while the latter is concerned with the policy implementation.


title: Development communication

text: He shares that every country engages in development planning that touches different sectors of a society like "agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, education, health, transport and communication, social and community services." At the heart of these plans for development is communication. "Communication is part and parcel of this whole process of development and needs its own infrastructure," said Summerland. The word "communication" in this particular context includes telecommunications, mass media (print and broadcast), face-to-face communication and traditional channels and these are resources tapped by a society "to enable information to flow within it", he adds.


title: Development communication

text: Sommerland also underlines that communication policies are not the ends and they provide a framework for action. He makes a reference to what a UNESCO expert group has said that behind these policies is strategic planning.


title: Development communication

text: "(It) determines the alternative ways to achieve long-range goals and sets the frame of reference for shorter-range operational planning. Strategic planning translates into quantified targets and systematic approaches, the general objectives of communication policies," he says.


title: Development communication

text: Sommerland also supports some claims of Lee that communication policies are either embedded or implied in the existing policies of a nation.


title: Development communication

text: "For a country to try and formulate a coherent national communication policy does not, of course, imply that no policies in this area already exist," the former says. "...Because communication is interdisciplinary and because it is the thread which binds a nation together, communication policies even if incomplete and implicit, are to be found in many different parts of a political and social system.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication and policy sciences exhibits mutuality as catalysts of change in this fluid environment. Both are geared towards effecting change in society. Will these two sciences be robustly beneficial if converged in one developmental framework? Allen (as cited in Flor, 1991) postulates that policy is a science of decision-making based on empirical data gathered from observation. One important characteristic of policies is, it is created to facilitate civic order, an agent to development process. How does it relate to development communication? Although a relatively young science, Development Communication has now been recognized and adopted by various agencies: the government and private sector as a means to institute effective changes using bottom-up approach. In the same vein, policy sciences grew out of this need to reorient actively the social sciences to the resolution of policy issues. Recognizing that every human being is a value-shaper and sharer in the social process, interaction as whole has been considered systemically by both sciences. A policy science is anchored on its "intelligence" function, followed by mobilization and bureaucratic reforms where mobilization is a key component of development communication. Development communication practitioners are well-equipped when it comes to understanding social phenomena which can aid in the "intelligence function" of policy scientists. The development agenda of both sciences are anchored on "contextuality," meaning both recognizes the human's social values and institutions in drafting interventions, plans and policies to achieve an "enlightened society".


title: Development communication

text: These policies are products of Development Communication initiatives that can influence decision makers or the government in enacting pertinent laws for the benefit of the publics. Development communication's process is akin to policy science as both recognizes the context or the environment where humans socially interact. Both are using social science procedures in solving large-scale problems and further acknowledges communication as an integral part of the process. Hence one can surmise that policy decision-making is dependent on communication.


title: Development communication

text: In an era of rapid development, each field should not be viewed as dialectically superior against the other, rather both development communication and policy sciences should mutually work to advance for the social change. The thrusts and goals of Development communication can be sustainable if it is backed by certain policies.


title: Development communication

text: Following Quebral's definition of Development communication "the "art" and "science" of "human communication" applied to "speedy transformation" of a country and the mass of its people from "poverty" to "dynamic state of economic growth" that makes possible "greater social equality" and the "larger fulfillment of human potential"", Flor and Ongkiko explained each aspect of this definition for better understanding on why development communication was defined this way.


title: Development communication

text: In relaying a message, creativity is needed to attract the attention of its audience. It does not focus only on beautifying the message or the image but the art of communicating with people that would help them understand and adapt to the changes that will happen to them.


title: Development communication

text: As Flor and Ongkiko emphasize, development communication is a social science. At the same time, it is both theory and practices. The theory is backed-up with science in order to understand a situation, then the application or execution of plans towards development is the practice. A systematic approach which mostly based on the methods of science is followed in order to address a situation. The most commonly used method is identifying the problem, gathering data about the problem and develop communication processes that will be useful in able to address the situation and helped the community for development.


title: Development communication

text: This is an important aspect for development communication because it is people-centred. The people need to communicate with one another for their own development. The people behind the development is reaching out to the people who need development. That is human communication.


title: Development communication

text: This represents the social change that will happen to the community. All the researches made in able to identify the problem must put into action for the transformation of the lives of the people in the community.


title: Development communication

text: The greatest challenge in development communication is poverty. Even in the Millennium Development Goals of United Nations, poverty is at the top of the list that needs to address with the hope of eradicating it in the future. Because of poverty, many people are experiencing malnutrition, unemployment and illiteracy which adds to the burden of the people.


title: Development communication

text: Since the goal is for development, this is a continuous process. The aim is to help the people with their economic, social, and environmental goals.


title: Development communication

text: Noticeably, everything that was mentioned in the explanation of the definition of development communication has something to do with goals, progress, theory, research, problem identification, and practices. Thomas L. McPhail, also describes development communication as a process of change using education or media as long as it is for the purpose of positive social change.


title: Development communication

text: This coincides with Harold Lasswell's vision that policy sciences bring together social sciences and practical policymaking to solve public problems, formalizing the link between the two.


title: Development communication

text: As mentioned, development communication is backed with science through theories by identifying the problems needed to address. Lasswell identified policy science as problem-solving, with the idea of when addressing the problems, it should focus on human dignity or the fulfilment of human potential as Quebral said on her definition of development communication.


title: Development communication

text: According to Jaime B. Ramirez (2011), members of the development media have considered economic and social development as one of the significant and vital signs of national development. Admittedly, he said, development communication cam always bridge gaps between the traditional and modern changing society, as it can raise the full aspirations of the people under the new society in the overall strategy for change. Development communication accordingly, can enforce social norms. In terms of policy sciences, development communication Ramirez adds, can broaden the policy dialogue by providing the two-way flow of information and opinion required for development as a nation. It, therefore, plays a potent and major role to economic and social development as well as political power. Without sacrificing its freedom, the development media can contribute to the growth of democratic institutions and to political stability, essential to national development.


title: Development communication

text: In the aim to address and solve the myriad of societal problems of various contexts, the policy sciences are important to be able to have a more structured operational and strategic plan. In view of this, the role of social marketing and social mobilization are deemed necessary to achieve the goal of the policy sciences by purposively crafting and implementing target-specific plans and programs for positive societal change.


title: Development communication

text: Social marketing (soc mar) and social mobilization (soc mob) are utilized to facilitate development (Velasco, Cadiz, and Lumanta, 1999). Development, as defined by Gonzales (n.d.), is "a quest for an improved quality of life for all." Moreover, Gonzales (n.d.) describes development as multidimensional (possesses political, economic, social, cultural, institutional, and environmental dimensions), multidisciplinary (draws from various disciplines), interdisciplinary (derives comprehensive, strategic, and operational plans for implementation from relationships between and among disciplines), and integrative (unifies diverse orientation to allow inter-penetration among disciplines).


title: Development communication

text: Therefore, the mobilization of people and resources is essential in the quest for development. "True development is people oriented and participatory, bringing about people empowerment. It uses technology in harmony with the environment. It aims to be relevant, responsive, effective, efficient, economical, equitable, and sustainable" (Gonzales in Velasco, Cadiz, and Lumanta, 1999).


title: Development communication

text: Social marketing uses different strategies to market social ideas and values that aim to create a change in behavior. Whereas, social mobilization has a much broader scope and it encompasses social marketing and communication. Social mobilization aims to bring together individuals and groups in spreading awareness about a certain cause using social marketing strategies. Social marketing is implemented when an advocacy/cause/message needs to be crafted in a way that it will effectively reach certain groups of people or target markets.


title: Development communication

text: Kotler and Zaltman (in McKee, 1992) define social marketing as "the design, implementation, and control of program calculated to influence the acceptability of social ideas, involving considerations of product, pricing, communications, and market research." On the other hand, McKee (1992) described social mobilization as "the process of bringing together all feasible and practical inter-sectoral and social allies to raise people's awareness of the demand for a particular development program, to assist in the delivery of resources and services, and to strengthen community participation for sustainability and self reliance."


title: Development communication

text: Social marketing and social mobilization combined creates a more powerful movement as both elements strengthen each other. Social mobilization prompts the use of social marketing strategies to attain the main objectives of a program. Likewise, social marketing intensifies social mobilization as it upholds a people-centered approach in putting together activities through the use of different media, in achieving the development goal. As an illustration, the interplay of social marketing and social mobilization is manifested in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of different organizations.


title: Development communication

text: "Communication is a key factor to begin and keep a proper Sustainable Development strategy" (Bucur and Petra, 2011). Development Communication can be defined as a "dialogue-based process entailing the strategic application of communication approaches, methods and/or technologies for social change". This definition highlights the three important features of development communication – process, analytical activity based on dialogue, and aims to achieve change. Strategic Communication is essential in encouraging public participation and achieving effective policy making. It affects goal setting, decision making, development and implementation, and impact assessment. However, communication as a strategic tool remains deficient in development programs creating the need to establish an Interest Group on Strategic Communication for Sustainable Development. Strategic communication "aims at the innovative and sustainable change of practices, behaviors and lifestyles, guides communication processes and media interventions within and among social groups".


title: Development communication

text: An effective strategy for sustainable development integrates the vision and action plan of the government, civil society and the private sector. The World Bank views development communication as the "integration of strategic communication in development projects" based on a clear understanding of indigenous realities. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency is now recognizing the value of implementing strategic communication to support development initiatives. This is aligned with the long tradition of strategic communication initiatives used in development projects related to human rights, democracy, poverty alleviation and health aimed at generating awareness, promoting behavioral changes, affording mobilization, and creating partnerships to reach common goals.


title: Development communication

text: Development communication efforts, along with other development strategies, have failed to improve the conditions of women on a global scale, and when compared with men, women are disproportionately subject to poverty, illiteracy, domestic violence, discrimination, and barriers to senior professional positions, even in development organizations (Harbour & Twist, 1996). As a group that is marginalized from global, national, and community power structures, Wilkins (1999) contends that women tend to constitute a target more often than a participant in the production of development communication. Moore (1995) estimated that "gender" made its "first discursive appearance" in development institutions during the 1960s (p. 43). However, it was not until 1975 that women's contributions to the development process were formally acknowledged by the United Nations (UN). The mid-1970s marked a shift in attention to women in development, along with other critical transitions in the field of development communication (Rogers, 1976; Schramm & Lerner, 1976). A WID strategy advocated including women as an explicit focus in order to achieve development goals (Dagenais & Piché, 1994). In 1975, WID was placed on a global agenda when the UN sponsored a conference in Mexico City to launch the Year of Women. This facilitated the designation of the Decade for the Advancement of Women (1976 until 1985). As a discourse, WID served to organize principles for the production of knowledge about women by states, institutions, and communities (Escobar, 1995, p. 210). WID construed women as actively contributing to society through their economic production and human reproduction (Staudt, 1985). WID also pointed to a need to improve women's access to education, employment, and political participation (Valdivia, 1996), conditions considered in earlier models of modernization that tended to privilege male constituents. Throughout the Decade for the Advancement of Women however, several scholars recognized limits to using media to promote social change, such as problematic stereotypes of women in media texts, a lack of women's employment in positions of power in media industries, and poor access to mediated technologies as a source of information, particularly among rural women.