Development Communication

Development Communication External Affairs Vice PresidencyThe World Bank

From CAS to Project LoanFrom ESW to Actual Reforms • Change • Social transformation Development is about: which needs to be sustainable and accepted by societies and people

The New Development Process • Increased democratization of the development process • Demand for transparency • A holistic approach: economic, social, political, institutional, cultural and environmental issues to be considered • Demand for increased people’s participation in decision making

The Process Demands • Listening • Public Awareness and Understanding • Consensus • Partnership • Social Ownership

Sound technical & financial policy (Project, ESW) Desired Outcome Input from political economy, social, cultural context Implementation Ownership

Things Didn’t Go Right in the Past, OED Reports… • “Throughout the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Program in Lao PDR, the government was hindered by a lack of consensus among groups, some of whom found the market-oriented reforms culturally alien.” - Performance Audit Report: “Lao PDR: SAC I & SAC II”, 1995 • “The OED study finds that though the Bank’s policy advice was sound, little privatization had taken place by 1992. One of the major obstacles has been distrust of the benefits of the privatization measures on the part of the population.” - “Industrial Sector Reorientation in East Africa”, 1994

OED Also Reports… • “Poland’s Economic Transformation Program has shown that building up and maintaining political support for reforms is essential to the success of any economic transformation program. Although the Polish economic team had a clear vision, it did not succeed in sharing that vision with the public at large. Mass demonstrations and widening divisions within the coalition led to erosion of parliamentary support and eventual change in government, making further enactment of reforms difficult.” - Performance Audit Report: “Poland: Structural Adjustment Loan”, 1995 • “In terms of Bank assistance, the recommendations are: Making better use of ESW. More resources need to be allocated to dissemination and constituency building.” - “Kingdom of Morocco Country Assistance Review”, 1997

Assessing Aid findings • Projects that sought beneficiaries’ involvement achieved 68% success, those which didn’t, achieved 10% success • Compelling case studies that suggest stimulating public debate leads to reform and better performance

Public Understanding % of Respondents Rating Impediment as Serious Obstacle to Economic Reforms Recently* All Respondents Public Sector Respondents No Economic Reform Understanding by Population Short-Term Political Factors Weak Institutional Capacity No Economic Reform Understanding by Leadership Lack of Cohesive Reform Team Corruption & Vested Financial Interests No Sense of Crisis Social & Poverty Considerations *Survey of senior public service and civil society representatives from 63 developing/emerging economies Kaufmann, D., Listening to Stakeholders on Development Challenges and WB Instruments in their Countries, 1996

Top Five Constraints on Privatization in Africa* Constraint Causes Effects Lack of consensus Lack of information Weak government commitment Lack of political will Slow process Ideological beliefs Reluctance to sell profitable enterprises Vested interests Political uncertainty Historical setting Tardiness Democratization Investor uncertainty Forthcoming elections Inadequate Weak institutional and Lack of transparency management human resources capacity Distrust of valuation methods capacity Lack of commitment Poor design and preparation Fragmentation Incomplete transactions Legal constraints Old legislation Insufficient authority given to Lack of commitment agency Weak judicial system Slow process Lack of ownership Institutional jealousies and Lack of consensus of the program government interference Lack of involvement of Perception of program as driven indigenous private sector by external agencies Donor driven Tardiness *Oliver Campbell White and Anita Bhatia, The World Bank, 1998

The New Political Battleground “For opponent of Privatization, who believe that access to clean water is a human right, The Cochabamba Water War became an event of surpassing interests. There are many signs that other poor communities, especially in Third World cities, may start refusing to accept deals that put a foreign corporation’s hand on the neighborhood pump or household tap. Water actions may turn out to test the limits of the global privatization gold rush.” The New Yorker, April 8th, 2002 • Local concerns become immediately global

Strategic Communication or Communication for Behavior Change • “the development of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences to achieve management objectives.”

A Process in Need of Professional Expertise “Aguas del Tunari seemed to have given little thought to how its plans would be received in Cochabamba. The International Water executives who were actually doing the work in the city were engineers, not marketers, and being newly arrived abroad, they were not attuned to the problems or passions of the Bolivian Public. Geoffrey Thorpe, the company's manager, simply said that if people didn’t pay their water bills their water would be turned off.” The New Yorker, April 8th, 2002

Projects/Initiatives Should be Assessed from a Communication Perspective Approval Pre-approval Post-approval Communication Continuum

DevComm is a Management Tool that Deals with Five Key Decisions: Audience:Clustered according to position/interest Behavior and attitude:Change in behavior and attitude needed Messages:Appropriate for different segments of audience Channels:Effective and with appropriate capacity Evaluation:Success/failure of communication strategy

The Process of Strategic Communication 3 STAGES/PHASES: • Communication Research/Assessment • Communication Design and Implementation • Monitoring and Evaluation

The Process of Strategic Communication • Main Functions: Dialogue among Stakeholders and Situation Analysis • Main Tools: Audit, Opinion Polls, Surveys, PRCA, etc. • Main Outcome: Consensus on Objectives STAGE/PHASE : Communication Research/Assessment

The Process of Strategic Communication STAGE/PHASE : Communication Design and Implementation • Main Functions: Design Strategy to Achieve Change • Main Tools: Related Approaches and Media Products • Main Outcome: Intended Change Achieved

The Process of Strategic Communication STAGE/PHASE: Monitoring and Evaluation • Main Functions: Indicators for Formative and Summative Evaluation • Main Tools: Baselines, Surveys, Polls, PME, etc. • Main Outcomes: Process on Right Track, Proof of Change Achieved

Development Communications Helps In Guatemala, workers supported privatization when they were approached innovatively and strategically through their wives with share-options and benefits circumventing opposing union leaders. Adam Smith Institute, 2001

Development Communication Helps Reform Program in Cote d’Ivoire Succeeded with Planned Communication to: • Build consensus for reforms • Look into political, cultural and social dimensions along with economic issues • Share experience from other developing countries. OED Report, 2000

Development Communications Helps In Cape Verde, Privatization Program Succeeded as Strategic Communications Focused on: • “Political commitment and support to privatization” • “Ownership building and stakeholder participation” • Labor retrenchment through consultation and • “Communication campaigns to build public support and ensure transparency.” OED Report, 1998

Summary Notes • Analyze and incorporate in the planning stage the socio-political context of the reform • Define the scope of the public debate • Actively listen to stakeholders and engage in an ongoing dialogue • Manage expectations • Make use of communication specialists • Build political and social consensus • Promote local ownership

“The path to true invincibility lies in victory without battle and strength through understanding” Sun Tzu

Development Communication