Development communication

Development Communication, has been alternatively defined as a type of marketing and public opinion
research that is used specifically to develop effective communication or as the use of communication to
promote social development. Defined as the former, it often includes computerized linguistics analysis
of verbatim responses to qualitative survey interviews and may, at times also involved consumer
psychological "right brain" (emotional) research techniques. Defined at the latter, it refers to the
practice of systematically applying the processes, strategies, and principles of communication to bring
about positive social change. As most providers of "communication development" research use
proprietary approaches that cannot be elaborated upon without revealing proprietary trade secrets, the
remainder of this article describes the latter definition. The practice of development communication can
be traced back to efforts undertaken in various parts of the world during the 1940s, but the widespread
application of the concept came about because of the problems that arose in the aftermath of World
War II . The rise of the communication sciences in the 1950s saw a recognition of the field as an
academic discipline, with Daniel Lerner, Wilbur Schramm, and Everett Rogers being the earliest
influential advocates. The term "Development Communication" was first coined in 1972 by Nora C.
Quebral, who defines the field as

"the art and science of human communication linked to a society's planned transformation from a state
of poverty to one of dynamic socio-economic growth that makes for greater equity and the larger
unfolding of individual potential."

The theory and practice of development communication continues to evolve today, with different
approaches and perspectives unique to the varied development contexts the field has grown in.

Development communication is characterized by conceptual flexibility and diversity of communication

techniques used to address the problem. Some approaches in the “tool kit” of the field include:
information dissemination and education, behavior change, social marketing, social mobilization, media
advocacy, communication for social change, and participatory development communication.

History
The theories and practices of development communication sprang from the many challenges and
opportunities that faced development oriented institutions in the last century. And since these institutions
existed in different contexts, different schools of development communication have arisen in different
places over time.

Manyozo (2006) suggests that the history field can be broken down into those of six different schools of
development communication, with the Bretton Woods school being the dominant paradigm in international
literature, and the other schools being the Latin American, Indian, Los Baños, African,and the
participatory development communication schools.
The growing interest for these kind of applications is also reflected in the work of the World Bank, which is
very active in promoting this field through its Development Communication division and recently (June
2008) published the Development Communication Sourcebook, a resource addressing the history,
concepts and practical applications in this discipline.

India
The history of organised development communication in India can be traced to rural radio broadcasts in
the 1940s. As is logical, the broadcasts used indigenous languages such as
Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Kannada.

Independent India's earliest organized experiments in development communication started with

Community Development projects initiated by the union government in 1950's. The government, guided
by socialistic ideals of its constitution and the first generation of politicians, started massive
developmental programmes throughout the country. While field publicity was given due importance for
person-to-person communication - also because the level of literacy was very low in rural areas - radio
played an equally important role in reaching messages to the masses. Universities and other educational
institutions - especially the agricultural universities, through their extension networks - and international
organisations under the UN umbrella carried the dev-comm experiments further.

Development communication in India, a country of sub-continental proportions, acquires many

connotations. On one end of the spectrum are the tools and techniques locally applied by charitable and
not-for-profit organisations with very close inter-personal relations among the communicators and on the
other end is the generic, far-off, one-way sort of communication emanating from the government.

The need for development communication continues since a large population, over 600 million, lives in
rural areas and depends directly on agriculture. Poverty is reducing as percentage of population but still
over 200 million are very poor as of 2009. They all, and the urban slum dwellers, need government
support in different forms. Therefore, communication from the government remains highly relevant. In
addition to the traditional ways, a new form of communication is being tried by the union government to
support its developmental activities, though at a limited scale. Called Public Information Campaigns,
public shows are organised in remote areas where information on social and developmental schemes is
given, seminars and workshops are held, villagers and their children are engaged in competitions,
messages are given through entertainment shows. In addition, government organisations and corporates
involved in rural businesses display their wares and services in stalls lining the main exhibition area. This
approach brings various implementing agencies and service / goods providers while the information
providers encourage the visitors to make the best use of various schemes and services available. Some
state governments have also adopted this model to take their development schemes to the masses.
Community radio is another new medium getting a foothold in rural India, though in patches. NGOs and
educational institutions are given licence to set up a local community radio station to broadcast
information, advisories and messages on developmental aspects. Participation of local community is
encouraged. As community radio provides a platform to villagers to broadcast local issues, it has the
potential to elicit positive action from local politicians and civil servants.

Examples
One of the first examples of development communication was Farm Radio Forums in Canada. From 1941
to 1965 farmers met in groups each week to listen to special radio programs. There were also printed
materials and prepared questions to encourage group discussion. At first this was a response to the
Great Depression and the need for increased food production in World War II. But the Forums also dealt
with social and economic issues. This model of adult education or distance education was later adopted
in India and Ghana.

Instructional television was used in El Salvador during the 1970s to improve primary education. One of
the problems was a lack of trained teachers. Teaching materials were also improved to make them more
relevant. More children attended school and graduation rates increased. In this sense the project was a
success. However, there were few jobs available in El Salvador for better-educated young people.

In the 1970s in Korea the Planned Parenthood Federation had succeed in lowering birth rates and
improving life in villages such as Oryu Li. It mainly used interpersonal communication in women's clubs.
The success in Oryu Li was not found in all villages. It had the advantage of several factors including a
remarkable local woman leader and visits from the provincial governor.

A project of social marketing in Bolivia in the 1980s tried to get women in the Cochabamba Valley to use
soybean recipes in their cooking. This was an attempt to deal with chronic malnurishment among
children. The project used cooking demonstrations, posters and broadcasts on local commercial radio
stations. Some people did try soybeans but the outcome of the project is unclear.

In 1999 the U.S. Government and D.C. Comics planned to distribute 600,000 comic books to children
affected by the Kosovo War. The comic books are in Albanian and feature Superman and Wonder
Woman. The aim is 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 the anti-personnel mines and not to
move, but instead to call an adult for help. In spite of the 1997 Ottawa Treaty which attempts to ban
land mines they continue to kill or injure 20,000 civilians each year around the world.

Since 2002, Journalists for Human Rights, a Canadian based NGO, has operated long term projects in
Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the DR Congo. jhr works directly with journalists, providing monthly
workshops, student sessions, on the job training, and additional programs on a country by country basis.