ORGANIZATIONAL AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS - ToT Booklet

ORGANIZATIONAL AND
STRATEGIC
COMMUNICATIONS
_______________________
HOW NGOs CAN BENEFIT
By Rut Gomez Sobrino
This Project is funded by
The European Union
This Project is implemented by
Internews Europe
PEDAGOGICAL TOOLKIT FOR NGOs

ORGANIZATIONAL AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS RUT GOMEZ SOBRINO
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This Project is funded by the European Union This Project is implemented by Internews Europe
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission
© This booklet has been produced for Internews Europe in the framework of the Iraqi Media Junction Project in order to
serve as pedagogical guide of the Advanced Communication Training of Trainers activity conducted in Erbil between
June-July 2011 by Rut Gomez Sobrino and Jun Matsushita
Rut Gómez Sobrino is a journalist and communications professional with
experience in radio, written and online press, audiovisual production and
corporate communications. Her work in development issues for more than a
decade has taken her to several countries, such as Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon, Kenya, Chad, India and Cuba among others. There, she has worked for
both local and regional NGOs and international organizations. Between 2007 and
2010 she has been devoted to UNESCO C4D and ICT4D projects such as the IPDC
and the UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform. Since 2010, she acts as a
Communications Specialist consultant for UN Women and other UN entities such as
UNDP. As a trainer she has led capacity building initiatives for civil society
organizations and the UN in several countries, facilitating programmes of different
nature –workshops, seminars, courses and conferences- to varied audiences such
as media professionals, youth groups, entrepreneurs, NGOs and UN staff.

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CONTENTS
Background ……………………………………………………………………………………... 5
UNIT 1. FUNDAMENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ……………………. 6
1.1. What is communications?
1.2. Processes and tools applied to communications
UNIT 2. COMMUNICATIONS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF CSOs ………………………………10
2.1. What are CSOs?
2.2. Benefits to CSOs in the application of communications processes
UNIT 3. BUILDING UP A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY …………………………………. 13
3.1. Communication actions, plans and strategies. For what?
3.2. Components of a Communications Strategy
3.3. Types of media campaigns
3.4. Measuring the effectiveness of the Communications Strategy
UNIT 4. MEDIA, BOTH A CHANNEL FOR DISSEMINATION AND A STAKEHOLDER ………. 21
4.1. Media, a strategic partner for organizations
4.2. Tools and strategies to reach the media: types of releases and approaches. When are
where to use the right one
4.3. Media positioning of organizations
UNIT 5. NETWORKING AND ADVOCACY …………………………………………………… 29
5.1. Differences between networking and advocacy
5.2. The relevance of networking. Efficient networking practices
5.3. Channels and products
UNIT 6. NEW MEDIA ……………………………………………………………………………… 34
6.1. What is new media?

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6.2. Trends, tools and products
6.3. The Social Media revolution
UNIT 7. REVIEW OF CASE STUDIES …………………………………………………………….. 36
7.1. DFID in Kenya
7.2. Fighting illiteracy with radio in South Sudan
7.3. Communicating Sustainability
7.4. Women2Drive initiative
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES …………………………….…………………… 40

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Background
Communications is usually referred as the lifeblood of organizations as it provides tools to improve
coordination and outreach while helping to capitalize efforts and to strengthen external supports.
As we are living in both the era of civil society and of communication and information processes,
we need to establish mechanisms to allow civil society organizations, mainly the NGO community,
to approach communications in an efficient manner so that it can benefit from it.
Traditionally conceived only as a way to publicize organizations, communications has been often
underestimated and its potential under measured. Internally, strategic communications has
proved to increase cohesion, team building and effectiveness. Externally, it has shown to be a
useful dissemination instrument and a way to strengthen links with the social capital of
organizations. All these are amplified with the appearance of new media tools, such as digital
audiovisual productions, virtual networks, such as the so-called communities of practices, social
media, e-learning procedures, and e-governance initiatives among others.
In sum, communications should be nowadays perceived as a working tool that provides solutions
to a variety of issues that all organizations, particularly those of civil society nature, face, ranking
from internal planning to external support. This booklet tries to help civil society organizations to
approach and to use strategic communication in an effective manner so that they can amplify
their impact and gain a facilitating tool that help them to perform their work.

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UNIT 1. FUNDAMENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
1.1. What is Communications?
"Communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within
and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media. The field of communication
promotes the effective and ethical practice of human communication"
US Department of Education
There are several definitions for communications, as many as the uses and approaches of the
concept itself. Communications is the way we interact with our environment. Therefore, it is in all
stages of our life and also in all fields of what we daily do. We learn how to communicate since
we are babies, when we learn how to get the attention of our mother and when we understand,
while we grow, how to ask for things and how to take the attention of others. As we become
adults, we understand that communications is a way to make things done, to get what we want,
to interact with our audience.
In order to be efficient in our communications we need to think about what we want to get out of
the communications exercise. Do I want to look professional? Do I want the others to take me
seriously? Do I want the others to think that I am a nice person? What do I want to get?
Following this argument, it becomes clear that Communications has a lot to do with self-reflection.
We need to reflect before communicating about our objectives. So at the end, Communications
is the way we interact, how we express what we want, how we establish relations with our
environment.
When talking about the other‟s perceptions, we should refer to the first impression that we provoke
in others. Both concepts should be taken into consideration when we study what to
communicate, how to communicate and to whom.
In order to be efficient in our communications exercises or actions, the 4 C‟s model is a highly
recommended strategy. These 4 Cs apply for being CONCISE, CONCRETE, CLEAR and CREATIVE.
CONCISE
CREATIVECLEAR
CONCRETE
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATIONS

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With reference to civil society organizations and development issues, communications is present in
the presentation of proposals, in the internal coordination of teams and working groups, in the
relations with partners and stakeholders and in the dissemination of results.
Wrongly perceived as the only exercise of disseminating information, communications has shown
to be a powerful for organizations. Internally, it can provide coordination, capitalization of efforts,
flexibility. Externally, communications provides tools to strengthen ties with the social capital of
organizations, fostering social involvement and increasing awareness and facilitating public
dialogue. Communications is intimately related to social change by giving voices to the non-
heard.
Communications increases internal empowerment of organizations and outreach but at the same
time helps organizations to know more about their environment and therefore to be more efficient
and effective.
Key Functions of Organizational Communication
The literature on communication generally acknowledges that the basic function of communication is to affect
receiver knowledge or behavior by informing, directing, regulating, socializing, and persuading. Neher (1997)
identifies the primary functions of organizational communication as:
♦ Compliance-gaining
♦ Leading, motivating, and influencing
♦ Sense-making
♦ Problem-solving and decision-making
♦ Conflict management, negotiating, and bargaining.
Neher (1997) and Rogers and Rogers (1976) emphasize the social and organizational functions of organizational
communication as a whole rather than focusing on the functions of specific communication exchanges. Thus they
combine the functions of informing, directing, and regulating into the broader category of behavioral compliance.
They also give greater emphasis to the role of communication in managing threats to organizational order and control,
identifying problem solving and conflict management, negotiation, and bargaining as key functions of
organizational communication.
Myers and Myers (1982) combine similar functions into a higher level common function and provide a particularly
succinct and clear version of the functions of organizational communication. They see communication as having three
primary functions:
• Coordination and regulation of production activities – This function of communication has changed the most over
time. In traditional bureaucratic views of the organization, prescription – clearly communicating behavioral
expectations and the behavioral consequences associated with complying or not complying with these expectations—
and monitoring are considered to be the basis of organizational order and control. This function of organizational
communication was seen as involving fairly proceduralized, rule-oriented, one-way, top-down communication. Tasks
in many organizations have become more complex, less routine and repetitive, tightly coupled, and interactive
(Perrow 1986) and, as such, the traditional bureaucratic view of organizational communication is no longer sufficient.
Production activities of this nature require dynamic, reciprocal, lateral communications between production workers
and nonroutinized, two-way, vertical communications between production workers and managers. Communication as
a means of coordination and regulation becomes more important, complex, and difficult.

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• Socialization – The socialization function of communication is stressed in the human relations perspective of
organizations (see Chapter 1) which asserts that capturing the hearts and minds of organizational members is
necessary to effectively coordinate organizational action in the pursuit of collective organizational goals.
Communication directed at socializing organizational members focuses on articulating and reinforcing organizational
values and aligning individual goals with organizational goals. It is directed at establishing an appropriate
organizational culture and climate. This form of communication cannot be one-way or top-down. It must occur
reciprocally between organizational leaders and organizational members.
• Innovation – The organizational communication literature is increasingly addressing the importance of
communication in promoting innovation as well as control and coordination. Communication to promote innovation is
associated with strong communication within and beyond the organization. This approach focuses on the functional
goals of organizational communication, rather than on the near-term outcomes of particular acts of communication,
such as to make a decision, to persuade, or to resolve a conflict. The more specific functions of specific acts of
communication or sets of communication exchange (decision-making, informing, persuading, negotiating,
problem-solving) are subsumed into each of the three higher-level functional objectives.
This approach focuses on the functional goals of organizational communication, rather than on the near-term
outcomes of particular acts of communication, such as to make a decision, to persuade, or to resolve a conflict. The
more specific functions of specific acts of communication or sets of communication exchange (decision-making,
informing, persuading, negotiating, problem-solving) are subsumed into each of the three higher-level functional
objectives.
Source: ‘Organizational Communications’, by Kathryn A. Baker
http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/doe/benchmark/ch13.pdf
1.2. Processes and tools applied to Communications
Communications is a two way process because it implies self-reflection – a discussion with
ourselves- and empathy with the others. Self-reflectBIBLIion involves three necessary steps:
- Thinking about what we want to get, where our organization is staying and to where we want
to move
- Defining objectives once we know what we want
- Think about how we are going to reach those objectives
In the process of applying Communications, we should think about our target audience, defining
and analyzing it. Once we know our audience, how it works and how it operates, we can find
strategies to address and to approach it.
After defining our audience and our goals, we need to build the messages to be delivered to
them. Messages should be adapted to our audience, for instance to its language and to the level
of education. Messages should be also adapted to the channel we use and also should be in line
with our goals.

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Source-Message-Channel-Receiver
(Berlo, 1960)
SOURCE MESSAGE CHANNEL RECEIVER
COMMUNICATION SKILLS ELEMENTS SEEING COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS
ATTITUDES STRUCTURE HEARING ATTITUDES
KNOWLEDGE CONTENT TOUCHING KNOWLEDGE
SOCIAL SYSTEMS TREATMENT SMELLING SOCIAL SYSTEMS
CULTURE CODE TASTING CULTURE
General concepts:
– Communication is a two-way process composed of transmitters and receivers
– Communication is multidimensional and needs to consider motives, personal characteristics,
and contexts
– Communication involves information transfer
– The channel used to communicate influences what information can be conveyed and how

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UNIT 2. COMMUNICATIONS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF CSOs
2.1. What are CSOs?
Civil society organizations are groups of civil society nature that play a role in social, economic
and political development. This general and wide definition includes a variety of structures such as
educational institutions, media, private sector companies and NGOs. There is a major component
when talking about civil society organizations: their non-governmental nature. Additionally, there
is a differential mark: the non-for-profit profile. This definitely establishes a difference within the
wide definition of civil society organizations.
This particularity makes nonprofit organizations to face challenges such as, among others, raising
funds, gaining social support, strengthening their relations with key stakeholders and disseminate
information about their vision, mission and lines of action. This particular idiosyncrasy also
emphasizes the relevance of applying communications approaches that can help to overcome
these challenges.
Communications have two dimensions that should be included in the Strategy we develop for an
organization:
- Internal approach, that provides
1. Team consistency
2. Sense of ownership involvement of staff
3. Exchange of information
4. Improve of internal processes
- External approach, that includes
1. Definition of goals
2. Definition of audiences
3. Definition of messages
Internal and external communications, always together
Clearly, the stature of communications must change: if organizations want to broadcast their difference, if they
want to influence decisions, they must learn how to integrate communications from top to bottom internally,
externally and across all their activities. Instead of supporting the production of random products tied to specific
outputs (e.g. a paper summarizing research findings), organizations need to see communications as a vehicle that
is not only helpful or required but essential to achieving core goals.
Source: http://web.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/1226604865112265957811Chapter_6%5B1%5D.pdf

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2.2. Benefits to CSOs in the application of communications processes
The success of any organization is not only rooted in its ability to position its vision, mission and
values but also in conveying these to its previously defined internal and external target audiences.
The application of communications approaches can facilitate the dissemination of these core
components of organizations. Moreover, the application of communications to the work of CSOs
and particularly NGOs can highly amplify the impact of their activities and capitalize their efforts.
Finally, Communications can provide tools to internal coordination to facilitate daily activities.
In sum, Communications can provide to organizations:
● Better internal coordination and capitalization of resources of both financial and human nature
● Better visibility and outreach resulting in
● Higher external support and therefore future sustainability of the organization
In the process to define communications approaches that can serve to improve the work of our
organization, we should differentiate between:
 Communications actions and activities: punctual initiatives to support our organization
such as for instance a press conference
 Communications plans: developed to cover a particular project of an organization. It is
normally encompassed by varied communications activities
 Communications strategies: have a more integral approach and serves to cover a variety
of projects and programmes within a certain organization. It is normally integrated by
various communications plans
Why and how communicate?
We learn different things by using a range of communication activities, or by strategically
choosing the communication activity that will give us most information in return. For example, by
putting documents on the web, and tracking which of them are downloaded or picked up by
other websites, it is possible to get a sense of which topics spark an interest in which networks. By
hosting workshops or public meetings, it is possible to get a sense of which research is regarded as
credible, and which is not. By asking for feedback as part of our communication activities, it is
possible to get a sense of the needs and frustrations of the target audience, and therefore of how
we might increase the impact of our knowledge.
Let us look at another example – again from the agricultural sector in Africa. In their article
„Promoting Research-Policy Dialogues‟, Mortimore and Tiffen9 suggest that if you already know
who your target audience is, then the best way to ensure that they regard your research findings
as credible and useful is to engage in two-way communication with them. The dryland
development projects described in the article had to engage with many different target groups,

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including scientists, national level policymakers, donors, NGO staff and the beneficiaries
themselves. Each of these groups has different communication needs. They access information in
different ways, they have different perceptions of credibility, and they are used to seeing research
results in different formats and at different times.
Therefore, the more we are able to engage with each group in a meaningful process of
communication, the more likely we are to learn how to maximise the uptake and impact of our
research.
Source: Hovland, Ingie, Succesful Communications. A Toolkit for Researchers and Civil Society Organizations. Overseas
Development Institute, October 2005

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UNIT 3. BUILDING UP A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
3.1. Communications actions, plans and strategies. For what?
The strategic communications plan is an implementation strategy to help the organization
achieving its programmatic goals. It complements the organization‟s strategic plan and builds on
the mission, vision, program goals and objectives, and business plan of the organization. The
communications planning process sets measurable goals for reaching, informing, and motivating
the audiences that are essential to the organization‟s mission.
The aim of Strategic Communications is to integrate all the organization‟s work. A
Communications Strategy will help the organization to deploy resources more effectively and
strategically by highlighting synergies and shared opportunities. The creation and adoption of
Strategic Communications reveals progress for any organization.
Previous steps
When deciding about the shape of the Communications Strategy we should reflect about our
organization. The SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis is the
recommended tool to start with.
3.2. Components of the Communications Strategy
The design of a Communications Strategy is close to the preparation of a project and therefore
has a structure that would help the implementers to use it as a road map. The following structure is

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only a guide and other fields can be added. However, any Communications Strategy should
include the following:
1. Objectives
2. Audiences
3. Messages
4. Actions and activities
5. Human and economic resources
6. Timing and workplan
7. Monitoring and evaluation processes
- Objectives
They constitute the basis of a communications strategy. They are based on the strengths and
weaknesses previously described through mechanisms such as the SWOT analysis and consultation
to internal staff and external stakeholders. They should not be conceived as an end but a means
to reach the goals of the organization. The proposed strategy should incorporate communications
solutions that overcome the weaknesses and reinforce the strengths of the organization.
- Audiences
Audiences should be carefully identified. They depend on the environment in which the
Communications Strategy is going to be implemented, on the circumstances, capacities of the
organization. The following table gives an idea of possible audiences.

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- Messages
Strategic targeting and consistency should be the approaches to define the messages to
integrate the Communications Strategy. To maximize the impact of the Communications Strategy
different messages should be built up to be disseminated among the different audiences. Since
communications is about storytelling it is recommended to use interesting narrative, human
interest stories and supporting documents such as briefings and reports.
- Actions and activities
This is the core center of the Communications Strategy and it is composed by the activities
designed to reach the already defined goals. Again, audiences should be taken into
consideration when designing the actions/activities to integrate the Communications Strategy.
- Human and economic resources
Defining the roles of the team in charge of the implementation of the Communications Strategy
as well as the economic resources to cover it, are key to a successful implementation of the
Communications Strategy.
- Timing and work plan
Once the previous are settled, a detailed matrix to plan the activities in a concrete period of time
should be designed. This should be considered the main mechanism for the successful
implementation of the Strategy.
- Monitoring and evaluation processes
It is important to establish mechanisms to monitor and assess the effectiveness of the
Communications Strategy. This would include both internal and external audiences. The
monitoring and evaluation should have a learning approach so that changes can be added on
progress.
The Essential Elements of the Communications Strategy
1. Review: How have we been communicating in the past? How effective has that been?
How do our audiences perceive us?
2. Objective: What do we want our communications to achieve? Are our objectives
SMART?
3. Audience: Who is our audience? Do we have a primary and a secondary audience?

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What information do they need to act upon our message?
4. Message: What is our message? Do we have one message for multiple audiences or
multiple messages for multiple audiences?
5. Basket: What kinds of communications “products” best capture and deliver our
messages?
6. Channels: What channels will we use to promote and disseminate our products?
7. Resources: What kind of budget do we have for this? Will this change in the future?
What communications skills and hardware do we have?
8. Timing: What is our timeline? Would a staged strategy be the most appropriate?
What special events or opportunities might arise? Does the work (or future work) of
like-minded organizations or ministries, etc., present opportunities?
9. Brand: Are all of our communications products “on brand”? How can we ensure that we are
broadcasting the right message?
Source: http://web.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/1226604865112265957811Chapter_6%5B1%5D.pdf
While drawing up your strategy, you should involve your team, and on a smaller scale, the entire
organization. Feed the communications strategy into the organizational strategy to ensure
maximum alignment and efficiency.
SEVEN STEPS OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
Step One: Preparing to Plan: Essential Building Blocks. Effective strategic communications plans depend on an
organization‟s willingness to ask the tough questions, to consider the possibilities of bold actions, to be disciplined about
the allocation of resources, to be diligent in the pursuit of community partnerships and donor support, and to be
persistent in the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the plan. Before engaging in strategic communications
planning, the nonprofit organization should set clear goals for the planning process; should determine roles and
responsibilities for the chief executive officer, senior staff, and board; and should decide whether outside allies should
also be included in the process. The formation of a communications action team (CAT) will facilitate the planning
process and ensure that the planning does not get bogged down.
Step Two: Foundation of the Plan: The Situation Analysis. The strategic communications plan supports the work of the
organization. It must reflect the mission, goals, objectives, and strategies that the organization has established for
fulfilling its vision. For that reason, the strategic plan needs to reflect the environment surrounding the organization,
including an analysis of the internal and external forces affecting the organization. The internal analysis examines the
organization‟s operations and identifies its strengths and weaknesses. The external analysis examines the outside forces
that influence every organization and seeks to identify immediate opportunities and threats.
Step Three: Focusing the Plan: Target Audiences. Successful communications plans put the information needs and
preferences of the audience first. This step asks the question „„Whom do we need to succeed?‟‟ Nonprofit organizations
need to focus their communications efforts and resources on those who are already engaged in work that matches the
organization‟s mission, those who already care about the issue, and those who can be easily prepared to become
involved in the issue.
Step Four: Fostering Audience Support: Communications Objectives. Communications objectives define what is
expected of each target audience and speaks to the question „„What do we want them to do?‟‟ Successful
communications objectives are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic, and Time-bound. Without these
five elements, communications objectives are only wishes and the strategic plan is but a dream of what could be.

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Step Five: Promoting the Nonprofit Organization: Issue Frames and Message Development. Message development is
the component of strategic communications planning that ensures that the target audiences are motivated to take the
actions that will support the organization‟s mission. Effective, persuasive messages must inform, motivate and involve
audiences. Messages must be mission driven, audience focused, and action oriented.
Step Six: Advancing the Plan: Vehicles and Dissemination Strategies. An effective communications plan relies on
coordinated dissemination strategies that utilize all five forms of communication: face-to-face, print, audio, video, and
electronic communications. The plan must reinforce the mission, values, and messages in several different formats for
maximum impact on each target audience.
Step Seven: Ensuring that the Plan Succeeds: Measurement and Evaluation.
Knowing the success measures for the communications plan ensures that staff, board, volunteers, and others remain
focused on what needs to be done and why. Clear impact measures, established at the beginning of the planning
process, make it easier to ascertain what is working, what needs to be changed, and what can safely be abandoned.
After these steps have been completed, the worksheets are transferred into a written plan that includes:
- An executive summary or overview of the plan
- The organization‟s mission and value statements
- The communications objectives
- Clear communications strategies and dissemination plans for each priority audience
- Key messages
- Main products and services to be developed
- A budget
- An implementation plan (with timeline)
- Clear benchmarks for evaluating success
Source: Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Organizations: Seven Steps to Creating a Succesful Plan, Sally J.
Patterson, Janel M. Radtke, February 2009
3.3. Types of media campaigns

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Source: http://www.mediaevaluationproject.org/HFRP.pdf
3.4. Measuring the effectiveness of the Communications Strategy
Monitoring and evaluation of Communications Strategy should be contemplated as a continuous
process that follows learning approaches. Instructions to conduct monitoring, follow up and
evaluation of the Communications Strategy should be described within the work plan of the
Strategy.
WHY EVALUATE COMMUNICATIONS?
Evaluation improves the effectiveness of your communications
Developing a smart communication plan is an essential first step. But without a thoughtful evaluation strategy, you have no way of
knowing if your plan is working or whether you need to make adjustments. Knowing the effect of your communication activities and
fine-tuning those areas that need improvement will help you reach the outcomes you seek.
Evaluation can help you effectively engage with your audience

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How do you identify and connect with your audiences and ensure that your messages are resonating with them? Evaluation is key.
Baseline research conducted at the beginning will help you understand your audiences’ priorities and values. Throughout
implementation, evaluation can help you find ways to gather feedback from your audiences and learn how they are responding to
your messages.
Situations change – strategies and tactics may need to change as well
In working to generate social change, you will inevitably face unexpected events, opportunities and threats that affect your work.
Evaluation helps you collect valuable information at these critical moments so that you can make tactical and strategic adjustments.
It can also help you determine whether your changes are putting you back on the path to success.
Evaluation helps you allocate resources wisely
All foundations and nonprofits work with limited human and financial resources. Evaluation can help determine whether your
communication investments could be redistributed more effectively to achieve the desired results.
Source: http://comnetwork.org/resources/downloads/AreWeThereYet.pdf
To start the evaluation exercise it is recommended to pose some evaluation questions such as:
 Where the objectives previously settled reached?
 Were the target audiences approached?
 Did the target audience respond in the expected way?
 Where the designed activities implemented?
 What went wrong and why? How this can be solved?
After the evaluation questions it is recommended to fix the indicators that would be used in the
exercise. Indicators should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and available in a timely
manner (SMART). They are tools to assess if the expected objectives of the Communications
Strategy are being achieved.
Some types of indicators we might use are the following:
* Output indicators that measure the activities of the Strategy. An example can be the number
of press conferences held
* Results indicators that measure the immediate effects of the Strategy and provide information
on the added value of the Strategy. An example can be the positive articles about the
organization resulting from the press conferences held

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* Impact indicators measure the extent to which a programme has achieved its strategy
objectives and refer to the benefits of the Strategy beyond its immediate effects. An example can
be the increase of media professionals with knowledge and interest about the work of our
organization.
Apart from these common indicators, there are other additional indicators, the so-called baseline
indicators that are used in the SWOT analysis. They are composed of the following:
* Objective related baseline indicators that are linked to the wider objectives of the Strategy and
are used to develop the SWOT analysis. Baseline indicators reflect the situation at the beginning of
the programming period and therefore the estimation of the impact should reflect the change
over time that can be attributed to the Strategy
* Context related baseline indicators that provide information on relevant aspects of the
contextual trends that are likely to have an influence on the performance of the Strategy.
Therefore, they serve to identify strengths and weaknesses and to analyze the impact achieved
In both the monitoring and the evaluation exercises, quantification is an essential component so
all indicators should include quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Types of evaluation:
Source: http://www.mediaevaluationproject.org/HFRP.pdf

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UNIT 4. MEDIA, BOTH A CHANNEL FOR DISSEMINATION AND A
STAKEHOLDER
4.1. Media, a strategic partner for organizations
Today‟s complex communications environment means managing multiple stakeholders that can
reinforce the impact of organizations. This trend has become a core requirement for most
communication campaigns.
“Tell me and I will forget, show me and I might
remember, involve me and I will understand”
This Chinese proverb reflects the importance of alliances and partnerships in general and
particularly in the work of NGOs. Involving a partner in the activities of a concrete organization
constitutes a strategic methodology to increase the impact of that activity and to reinforce the
relation with that partner.
Among the multiple stakeholders, media appears as a key one. Media has been traditionally
perceived as a tool to disseminate the work of organizations and as a channel to connect with
the rest of the society as well as a strategy to add visibility to activities, projects of any type of
organizations.
But successful experiences implemented in the field of international development have shown
that media can be more than this: a key partner in amplifying the impact of
programmes/projects. Then, the traditional role of serving as catalyst by adding visibility would be
enriched by taking a more active position and therefore becoming a key agent of development.
The argument of converting media professionals in active agents of development processes is
defended by those supporting the relevance of media in democratic transitions through its
capacity to open dialogue. It is also supported by those who believe that media professionals are
not only platforms for disseminating information but professionals with strong knowledge about
society, politics and a sense of acting as, for instance, mediators.
In addition, media can be:
 An advocacy tool by creating an environment of political pressure,
 A public education tool by diminishing popular misconceptions,
 An active partner in mobilizing society through social awareness initiatives

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In sum, it is highly recommended to involve media professionals in the activities of our organizations since
we can reach benefits as the expressed below:
● Get a higher impact of implemented projects
● Improve the dissemination of the work of organizations
● Gain external support from key stakeholders such as donors
Let‟s review some major ways to involve media:
● Consultative approach: in which media become a tool to conduct consultative processes to
particular audiences
● Assessment approach: in which media becomes an advisor in the communication component
of your project or in your communications strategy
● Participation approach: in which media is a participant in your activities
● Capacity building approach: in which media becomes a facilitator of a capacity building
activity. An example of this approach can be a workshop of NGOs conducted by media
professionals
When approaching media professionals it is important to consider the following:
- Respect the work and deadlines of journalists: media professionals are normally overloaded
with releases and notes from many organizations. Interesting and consistent stories,
documented with detailed data and figures are normally welcomed by journalists. It can
happen that media professionals do not have the time to attend events so good stories
sent from organizations are appreciated.
- Understand the nature of the work of journalists who are not obliged to know and to
understand the work of organizations. Therefore, simple wording and clear explanations
about projects, programmes, and activities would be needed.
- Prepare a list of media contacts and establish good relations with them

23
Source: “NGO Media Outreach: Using the Media as an Advocacy Tool”, Produced by the Coalition for the International
Criminal Court, September 2003found at: http://www.amicc.org/docs/NGO-media_training.pdf

24
4.2. Tools and strategies to reach the media: types of releases and approaches. When and
where to use the right one
There are multiple types of interactions that can be developed with media. Creativity is the only
limit here. The following table summarizes the main types of interaction when talking about media
relations:
Media briefings / Media breakfasts: sessions in which the
organization exchanges information about its activities with
selected and previously identified media professionals from
different media outlets. This is a good opportunity to build trust
with media professionals and a very cost-effective practice for
dissemination and visibility of the organization. A key issue is to
build a consistent and interesting agenda for the guests to join
this type of session. The inclusion of top personalities of the
organization and of other partner and supporting institutions
would be a good input. A briefing session/media breakfast can
take around 1 hour.
Press conferences: this type of interaction is normally held with
occasion of a formal announcement or in the framework of a
bigger event such as a Congress or a Summit. It is a tool to
structure media relations so that media requests are organized in
an efficient manner. The agenda of the press conference should
have a defined agenda with key speakers that should prepare
their interventions in advance. A press conference normally
takes between 30 minutes and 1 hour.
Punctual declarations to press: If the event does not have an
appropriate structure to hold a press conference, an improvised
encounter with media should take place. That encounter
normally takes place at the beginning of the event and should
be as well prepared in advance. These improvised declarations
should not take more than 10 to 15 minutes.
Media trainings: most organizations are disappointed when
media disseminate the wrong message or when media
professionals following their activities do not have a clear
knowledge about the field of work. This is particularly common in
the framework of NGOs. Training and informative sessions about
the work of NGOs in general and concrete fields in particular
(gender equality, rural development, children education…) will
help us to disseminate our message among specialized media
professionals.

25
Media field visits meaning organized trips of media professionals
to projects to disseminate the field work of organizations.
Types of material to send to media:
● Briefing
● Report
● Announcement –Note
● Invitation
● Press release
The press release
The central components that every press release must include are:
o Your organization‟s name and logo
o Contact information of experts for further information
o The date
o A headline that reflects the main message
o A sub-headline that adds a second, forward-looking theme
o A lead paragraph that explains the problem and gives key information
o A background paragraph that gives the context to the problem
o At least one quote from an expert on the subject
o A suggested solution and a call for action
Source: http://www.amicc.org/docs/NGO-media_training.pdf

26
Source: http://www.amicc.org/docs/NGO-media_training.pdf

27
4.3. Media positioning of organizations
Media constitutes a major channel when articulating the outreach agenda. The
considerations and the attention that a concrete organization receives from the media
community in a concrete environment is normally referred as the positioning of that particular
institution in the media landscape or its media positioning.
The nature of the media relations that organizations develop is intimately related to their
media positioning. Therefore, an organization having continuous media briefings, media
breakfasts and field visits of journalists among other activities, would have more possibilities to
have a consistent media positioning.
Apart from the coverage that media professionals can provide, organizations can also work
on their own media positioning. New media tools offer a relevant platform in this sense. The
following are some products that NGOs can use to improve their media positioning:
ICT-based materials (newsletters, websites, online
questionnaires…)
Paper-based materials such as brochures, leaflets and
promotional/informative publications in general

28
Citizen journalism-based products such as a radio/TV
programme conducted by the NGO or a
magazine/newspaper

29
UNIT 5. NETWORKING AND ADVOCACY
5.1. Differences between networking and advocacy
“Networking is the exchange of information or services among
individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically, the cultivation of
productive relationships for employment or business”
“Advocacy is the act of pleading or arguing in favor of
something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support”
Networking is a practice that we follow both as human beings and as organizations. In the
framework of organizations, it is based on the principle of adding relevance to the work of entities
through cooperation and working together with others. Networking is intimately related to
partnerships establishment and both practices share common potentials.
There are three basic principles to be discussed in the context of networking practices:
a. Equity between the partners that contributes to build trust among them
b. Transparency in the information shared by partners
c. Mutual benefit meaning that networking is a win-win practice in which everybody obtain
benefits
In the practical exercise of Networking –from the organizational point of view- questions such as
“who can be my partner”, “for what reason I want to involve this or that partner” or “how can I
establish a relation with that partner” will help organizations to improve its power to networking.
Together with networking practices, advocacy appears as the process to influencing those with a
role in decision making affecting the well being of society, normally from the political frameworks.
Advocacy is intimately related to networking and communications processes since it involves:
- Delivering of messages to influence thoughts and actions from leaders and politicians
- Promoting dialogue among interested parties –for instance between NGOs and local
governments
- Creating coalitions to reinforce pressure to political leaders
Following the above, advocacy is about campaigning, lobbying and changing attitudes through
the inclusion of new thinking and new actions that can benefit particular groups.

30
Why Engage in Advocacy, anyway?
Advocacy work will;
- Assist partners and local communities to have a deeper understanding of what policy analysis, networking
and lobbying entail
- Help partners and local leaders develop strategic capacities and new competencies as analysts, reform
advocates, animators, catalysts and change agents
- Train partners to develop tools and sharpen skills in social mobilization, political strategy and trend analysis.
- Equip partners with skills and capabilities in mobilizing voluntary energy to catalyze system and policy
change,
- Monitor policy formulation and implementation and engage effectively in networking and solidarity
building
- Influence policy change and get commitment to action from those in authority
Stages in Planning for Advocacy:
When planning for advocacy work, the following stages are crucial:
1 Building Identity: agreeing on objectives, core mandate, constituency, values and guiding principles. It is
about formation of a committee, network, coalition, organization, alliance etc.
2 Mobilization & Mapping: of resources, actors, institutions, allies, targets and analysis of stakeholder
environment including their positions. Analysis of stakeholder environment and risk assessment. Gathering
policy and political information. What are the key political debates, who is who in the debate? Which issues
or people have caused conflict in the past? How these solved?
3 Developing a shared vision or common understanding: building strategic relationships, sensitization,
education to change attitudes, create expectations and form perspectives
4 Definition and elaboration of the policy problem: identification of policy theme, analysis of the policy
environment, understanding the problem, taking positions or options. How does the policy affect you and
the poor?
5. Identification of goals and objects; around which the activities will revolve, including self
reflection/analysis of strengths and weaknesses – SWOT analysis
6. Campaign strategy: rollout plan and methodology design
7. M & E: firming up a monitoring and evaluation framework;

31
Source: Policy and Advocacy for CSOs, found at: http://www.ancefa.org/IMG/pdf/POLICY_ADVOCACY_FOR_CSOs.pdf
5.2. The relevance of networking. Efficient networking practices
Networking brings many benefits that we try to summarize in the following:
i) It can constitute a reinforcement and capacity building tool as organization can enrich
with the experiences of the others
ii) It can enhance the social capital of the organization therefore guaranteeing its
sustainability
iii) It helps to disseminate information to new audiences and therefore adds visibility to
organizations
It is important to note that:
● Importance of networking as a life skill
● Need to focus in our social capital
● Devote adequate time and energy
● Reach out and stay in touch
● Contribute to others but do not keep scores
● Develop and implement your action plan NOW

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The power of networks and its classification
Networks are a powerful mechanism for:
• Sharing information and knowledge
• Promoting communication
• Acting as effective catalysts for building up relationships and commitment among the public,
private and civil stakeholders
• Promoting coordination at the local, national, regional and international levels
• Building trusting relationships
• Serving as mutual learning and capacity building mechanisms
• Bringing multiple stakeholders together
• Activating the interface between knowledge and action
Informal and Formal Networks
Informal Networks:
(a) Communities of Practice develop when organisations/people come together voluntarily. These
networks are defined by KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE, not by specific tasks to be completed in
a specific amount of time. Very little administration is involved, and people participate because
they have a real need. To know what others are doing.
(b) Social Networks are Maps of personal, friendly or business relationships consisting of informal,
individual relations between professionals or friends. There is no deliberately defined purpose, and
they grow organically, and are not actively planned or managed. Social networks play an
important part in managing daily private and working lives. They can be recreational, informative
(book clubs), helpful in times of need. (in smaller communities, people rally in times of death)
Formal Networks:
These can be defined as interrelated groups of several independent institutions or organizations,
established for a specific need or according to a specific design. Members share a set of common
activities, and they meet regularly. Sometimes they have legal arrangement, and they usually
require a subscription. This is based on common needs of members, and a goal of achieving
change in their own contexts. Formal Networks also from around political agendas of countries
and regions. In development cooperation, formal networks consist of NGOs, government
organizations, development agencies, and other regional and national or international
organizations.
Source: http://www.intrac.org/data/files/resources/628/INTRAC-Networking-and-Relationship-
Building-for-CSOs-Tookit.pdf

33
5.3. Channels and products
When creating a Communications Strategy for a concrete organization we should be able to
differentiate between channels and products in order to use the right ones and having the
maximum impact. To give some examples, let‟s analyze the following table:
Channel Product
Internet / Electronic
Website
Newsletter
Email
Online forum
Radio
Radio programme
Radio debate
Radio interview
Paper
Brochure
Leaflet
Magazine
Oral
Conference
Briefing session
Seminar

34
UNIT 6. NEW MEDIA
6.1. What is New Media?
“New media is the result of the application of new
technologies (digital/satellite/cable) to traditional media”
Although it is normally related to tools to promote social networking and citizenship participation,
New Media is more than this. Website functionalities, productivity applications, email marketing
and outsourcing are some of the uses of New Media that help organizations to better perform
their daily work.
Functionalities such as Intranet and products such as mobile films reflect the high relevance and
the complex dimension of New Media as the way we have started to communicate in the XXI
century.
There is certain confusion between New Media, Internet, Social Networking and ICTs. These four
concepts constitute different fields of work, so let‟s try to add some clarification.
While New Media represents the configuration of communications in the era of information
societies, ICTs differ from the previous as it counts for the combination of information technologies
with communications. ICTs are normally applied to all aspects of daily life. Some recurrent
examples are the following:
- Health / medicine: screening systems
- Education: open education and e-learning systems
- E-governance applications
- Geographical positioning devices such as the GPS
New Media is often related to Internet although they are not the same. New Media can result as
well from the combination of mobile and other technologies such as TDT (Terrestrial Digital
Television) to traditional mass media. Some examples would be mobile audiovisual productions
and audio books.
Finally, social networks constitute a new element in the way citizens communicate, express
themselves and speak openly. We will focus in this chapter later.
6.2. Trends, tools and products
New media is evolving more rapidly than the definitions trying to explain the concept and its
content. It is developing and growing so fast that creativity and usability have become the main

35
leading factors to add innovative tools and products. Some of the current trends in the field of
new media are the following:
- E-libraries of resources of different nature
- New devices such as tablets and mobile devices that are adding portability to
communications
- Interaction mechanisms with target audiences that promote a dialogue with the general
and the specialized public
- New e-products to target audiences: e-brochures, DVDs, clips
Online radio programmes, communities of practice and e-dialogues are some of the products
that new media promotes but there are plenty of them that can be of use to organizations. To
know more about new media tools: http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/
6.3. The Social Media Revolution
Together with the generalized use of Internet an innovative concept of public communication has
arisen: social media. I would differentiate between three different approaches of social media:
- Twitter, Facebook, Digg and MySpace are some of the social media tools that have
constituted a revolution in the traditional way citizens used to communicate
- On a second level, professional networks, such as Linked In, technical tools such as FlickR
and VIMEO are additional uses of new media that I would not consider social networks
since they have other implications.
- Finally, citizen journalism through blogging and telling-story-oriented sites such as Word Press
constitute a third group of social media
However, we can define common characteristics to these three approaches:
1. Social media is about user-generated content and citizen participation
2. It provides both personal and professional networking
3. It opens possibilities to engage and mobilize the general public, so possibilities to develop
common actions
4. It poses platforms for exchanging experience, knowledge and best practices
These characteristics can be of high benefit if applied to the framework of organizations. For
instance, organizations using social media applications can improve their relations with their
target audiences, can engage with other potential partners and stakeholders and know what
others are doing in their field of action.

36
UNIT 7. REVIEW OF CASE STUDIES
A good example of the support that communications can give to programmatic activities in a
health project can be the one developed by DFID in Kenya:
As part of designing an HIV/AIDS activity in Kenya, a DFID design team needed to have a deeper
understanding of various issues and constraints related to the epidemic. Before moving to a large
log frame workshop the team decided to conduct focus group interviews with potential target
groups and service providers. Through the focus groups the team gained a much deeper
understanding of HIV/AIDS-related problems, constraints and opportunities. At the same time,
participants in the groups learned much about common problems they themselves were facing
and their possible solutions. Counseling and testing groups discovered they all faced a critical
issue about how to protect the confidentiality of HIV-positive clients. Through the discussion they
were able to exchange ideas of how to achieve this. Some had a policy focus and helped
understand where changes in government practice and legislation could help. These issues were
brought into the log frame workshop, where they were integrated in the design through an
activity output dealing with improved counseling and testing services.
Source: http://portals.wi.wur.nl/files/docs/ppme/Tools_handbook_final_web.pdf
Education is also a major field of action of many NGOs, development agencies and international
organizations. See below a good case study of the use of communications approaches to fight
illiteracy:
Fighting illiteracy with radio in South Sudan
It is rare to hear children reciting thei
r school lessons while helping with housework or playing at home. But thanks to an education initiative
called the Learning Village, the new habit might take root in Southern Sudan. The use of interactive radio
instruction programmes is one of the pillars of the Learning Village, a project of the Government of South
Sudan‟s (GoSS) Department of Alternative Education Systems in the Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology.
The Learning Village programme has been well received in all 59 participating schools of Yei River County in
Central Equatoria State. To help reverse South Sudan‟s poor quality of education and some the world‟s
lowest school attendance, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting
the Education Development Centre (EDC) to use radio as a means of delivering high quality education to
children in Southern Sudan as well as the disputed regions of Abyei, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan.
Targeting primary school children up to fourth grade, the Learning Village focuses on local language
literacy, English, mathematics and life skills. Solar-powered radio sets are used to play pre-recorded
programmes that are broadcasted on local radio stations. Digital MP3 players substitute radios in areas
without access to transmission signals.

37
Source; http://southsudaninfo.net/2011/03/fighting-illiteracy-with-radio-in-south-sudan/
Sustainability and environment is a relatively new field explored by most agencies and NGOs. A
good case study of communications actions in this field can be constituted by the approaches
used by UNEP worldwide:

38
Source: Communicating Sustainability, UNEP. Found at: http://www.unep.fr/scp/
In the field of women rights, communications campaigns aimed at increasing social awareness
and advocacy have been of high success. A good example is the recent campaign
Women2Drive held in Saudi Arabia:

39
Women2Drive campaign faced roadblock due to few risk
takers
A Facebook campaign that urged Saudi women to drive in a bid to overturn a ban on female motorists was a failure,
according to local media. Traffic police say no one was arrested and there were no accidents reported on June 17.
“The traffic police did not expect women to drive on Friday and not one ticket was issued for women that day,” said a Makkah
province police source. “It was a normal day on the streets of Jeddah as the police did not see any women driving and we
did not respond to the online campaign whatsoever.”
The campaign urged women who drove on the day to upload videos of them driving.
A Saudi woman living in Riyadh uploaded a clip of her driving to the supermarket at 12.45 p.m. the same day. The video
showed that the woman was clearly nervous while driving, as she could not keep up with the conversation she was having
with the man behind the camera. “We just want to run our lives by ourselves. We don’t need to be driven around. We need to
go to work, shop and run errands without having to rely on drivers,” she said in the video.
The campaign was deemed a failure as hardly any women drove that day despite the amount of support for the initiative.
“There were only 40 women who drove in the Kingdom. We expected more,” said Bayan Essam, one of the women
supporting the cause.
“I believe the reason behind that is because only a few women know how to drive and there are even fewer who actually
have international driving licenses.”
Columnist at Al-Watan newspaper and professor of linguistics at the girls’ college of King Abdulaziz University, Amira
Kashgari, also drove her car in Jeddah.
“I took my daughter and made my driver sit in the back seat and drove around Jeddah to support the cause. It’s a matter of
delivering a message and upholding a principle. It’s not a matter of whether the campaign was a failure or not. It’s a matter of
showing people that we are able to deliver our message through action,” she said.
A group of young men told Arab News they were ready to report any women driving to the police. “We will take pictures of
them and give the police their number plates and the time and place where they drove,” said Hattan Abu Ras, one of the
men. “Those women are going against Shariah and the Supreme Council of Senior Religious Scholars, and we are going to
do anything to keep them off the streets.” The initiative is ludicrous according to Abdullah Al-Qahtani, a 32-year-old Saudi
who is against women driving.
“I see women are focusing on unimportant things like driving and not thinking about more important things like finding jobs,”
he said. “In the campaign by the Civil Service department last year, they said they had made available almost 11,000 jobs,
but the women who applied exceeded 13,000. I think this proves that we have bigger problems than women driving.”
Source: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article458534.ece

40
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES
● Strategic Research and Political Communication for NGOs: Initiating Policy Change, The
Accenture Foundation, School of Communication Management and The Banyan, October 2009
● George F. Hayhoe, Connecting People with Technology: Issues in Professional Communication,
Baywood's Technical Communications Series, November 2008
● Aleksandr Goltsman, Development of effective communications Strategies for NGOs, 2010
● Chris Rose, How to Win Campaigns: 100 Steps to Success, 2005
● Barbara Rugendyke, NGOs as Advocates for Development in a Globalizing World, 2007
● Peter Willetts, Non-Governmental Organizations in World Politics: The Construction of Global
Governance, Global Institutions, 2011
● David Armstrong, Valeria Bello, Julie Gilson and Debora Spini, Civil Society and International
Governance: The Role of Non-State Actors in the EU, Africa, Asia and Middle East,
Routledge/GARNET series, 2010
● Wilson Laurie and Ogden Joseph, Strategic Communications Planning for Effective Public
Relations and Marketing, Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2008
● Sally J. Patterson and Janel M. Radtke, Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Organization:
Seven Steps to Creating a Successful Plan, Wiley, 2009
● Heather Graves and Roger Graves, A Strategic Guide to Effective Technical Communication,
Broadview Press 2007
● Organizational Communications, Communications for Governance and Accountability
Program, found at:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/OrganizationalCommweb.pdf
● Zeljko Turkalj, Ivana Fosic, Organizational Communications as a Factor of Organizational
Behavior, Faculty of Economics, Croatia, found at:
http://www.efos.hr/repec/osi/journl/PDF/InterdisciplinaryManagementResearchV/IMR5a03.pdf
● Communicating Sustainability, How to produce effective public campaigns, UNEP, 2005
● Edith Asibey, Toni Parras and Justin van Fleet, Are We There Yet? A Communications Evaluation
Guide, The Communications Network, 2008

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