Communication for Empowerment: Global Report

"Increased access to and participation in decision making process is critical for people to be able to hold their governments and government institutions to account. Thus, the Communication for Empowerment approach can be viewed as a social accountability approach, as it aims to harness media to provide necessary information and establish communication channels to enhance participation of poor and marginalized groups and thereby combat their social and political exclusion."

In 2006, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Oslo Governance Centre (OGC) developed the "Practical Guidance Note on Communication for Empowerment" (C4E), drawing upon the expertise of the Communication for Social Change Consortium (the Consortium). The Guidance Note attempts to turn general insights about the role of information and communication in empowering marginalised and vulnerable groups into mainstream planning tools by providing guidance on how to assess information and communication needs and develop strategies to address identified needs.

The 52-page report summarised here is the result of the three-year partnership between UNDP Oslo Governance Centre and the Consortium in piloting the C4E approach in five least-developed countries: Mozambique, Madagascar, Ghana, Lao PDR, and Nepal. The report presents key learning from the information and communication needs assessments conducted in these five countries, funded by a grant from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF).

The implementation of the C4E approach consisted of: (i) information and communication assessments to identify the information and communication needs and identify gaps in meeting those needs; (ii) review of the media context based on the existing research at the national level; (iii) programme interventions informed by the findings of the assessment to ensure economically poor and marginalised groups' participation in decision-making processes. Experiences and lessons from testing the C4E approach in Madagascar and Mozambique in 2007-2008 enabled further refining of the C4E approach and informed the information and communication assessments carried out in Ghana, Lao PDR, and Nepal. As a result, the concept of C4E also widened: from an initial conception as part of UNDP's Access to Information work primarily geared to meeting the information and communication needs of the people through specific media strategies - to an approach that promotes inclusive participation, empowerment of economically poor and marginalised people, and accountability of the state to its citizens. These aspects of C4E, thus, make it an integral part of broader democratic governance and development work.

An excerpt from the report follows:

"Key Learning from Application of the C4E Tool in 5 Countries
The pilot studies indicate that the C4E tool is a flexible instrument which can be adjusted to reflect particular national circumstances. In addition to placing poor people at the centre of the process, the C4E mechanism has enabled the involvement of a range of development actors including government, media, research organizations and civil society organizations.

Analysis of the findings point to the C4E tool being an effective means of identifying the range of information poor people want and need and suggesting how various media can enhance provision of that information. It also is a very useful tool to assess the communication channels available. Importantly, the analysis also indicates that in most countries, primarily due to lack of confidence and capacity, poor people do not yet use the media to any great extent to exchange information, communicate their views or participate in public dialogue. Rather, they continue to rely on traditional communication forums such as village meetings and the market place.

The findings from the studies suggest important linkages between information and communication and delivery of public services/livelihoods/development and provide a basis for considering strategic options on the way forward in a range of sectors including HIV/AIDS and health.

Step by step guidelines on applying the C4E tool have evolved during the course of the pilot studies....Factors viewed as supporting the implementation of the C4E tool in-country include linking the assessment and research to existing civil society strengthening and information projects, and grassroots initiatives; building on existing dialogue processes at local and national level, a committed UNDP country team and strong support from UNDP’s regional offices.

...The research findings indicate that promoting and improving the capabilities of inclusive media, such as community radio, may not be sufficient to enable poor people to use and participate in these communication channels. The results of the pilots suggest that the C4E tool either needs to make provision to include more specific support for citizen empowerment, for example using local NGOs [non-governmental organisations], CBOs [community-based organisations] or other intermediaries to develop interactive programme formats and reporting styles to help poor groups use the media, or be linked more directly to civic education initiatives.

A stock taking of research findings from each of the five pilot studies reveal a number of themes/issues that are common to more than one pilot country....They include:

• The dominant role of radio, particularly community radio, as an information medium and potentially a strong communication channel for poor people;
• the limited confidence and capacity of many poor people to use media to communicate;
• the importance of mixing traditional and new information technologies in strategies designed to improve democratic governance and reduce poverty;
• the importance of a safe public space in providing support and expanding opportunities for communication and participation in decision-making process;
• the growing importance of mobile telephony;
• the importance of a supportive legal and regulatory environment for the media;
• differential access to the media by men and women.

...Recommendations:

1. ...Use the pilot project to produce a revised framework for the C4E approach and tool which balances support to the media with greater emphasis on creating the preconditions for voice through citizen empowerment. A revised framework should also incorporate a more explicit gender dimension and provide more guidance to addressing gender-related issues at local level. The framework should analyse and identify opportunities for promoting stronger national ownership of the C4E approach. It would also make provision to include more specific support to empower citizens to use media, or be linked more directly to civic education initiatives.
2. ...Use UNDP regional governance teams to promote [C4E]...
3. ...Promote and coordinate effective linkages with other organizations...working on information and communication specifically to consider how emerging issues and challenges identified during the project might best be addressed. For instance, how to promote community media in the long term? How best to merge traditional and new communication channels to meet the needs of poor people? How to develop interactive programme formats or reporting styles? Or how to promote innovative use of technologies that would provide cost-effective services to poor and marginalized?..."