Section 1: Community Dialogue: Communication for Social Change: An Integrated Model for Measuring the Process and Its Outcomes

Section One: An Integrated Model of Communication for Social Change

Community Dialogue

The 10 steps of community dialogue are:

1. Recognition of a Problem. As result of a catalyst, someone in the community becomes aware of the existence of a problem. For example, a group of women who wash clothes together discover that all of their children are suddenly having unusually severe episodes of diarrhea. The women ask each other why this is happening.
2. Identification and Involvement of Leaders and Stakeholders. Some of the women talk to their husbands and elders about the problem. Perhaps they visit the leader of their own women's development group. Eventually, someone exercises leadership and takes responsibility for solving the problem. Through a process of sequential networking (going from house to house) or small group meetings, the leader(s) identifies other opinion leaders and resource persons who can help in the process for solving the problem. A midwife or volunteer health worker may live in the community that can be consulted. Men or women who frequently travel outside the community are asked to consult with health providers at local clinics. Once the problem is labeled (say) as diarrhea and dehydration, informal community leaders may call a meeting to discuss the problem. Members of the community who are most affected by the problem (stakeholders), such as mothers with children under 5, are asked to come to the meeting.
3. Clarification of Perceptions. It is possible that different perceptions of the problem exist among different members of the community. For example, some people may think that the problem is being caused by the food supply, while others think that the water is being contaminated. Someone else may see it as a problem of inadequate hand washing because of the current drought or a lack of soap. Unless a consensus can be reached regarding the nature of the problem and its causes, it will be difficult for the group to find an adequate course of action that is acceptable to everyone. Dialogue is necessary to create a mutual understanding (common framework) with which to solve the problem. Only after such perceptions have been clarified and different points of view rectified can the process move forward with a clear understanding of how the problem should be addressed.
4. Expression of Individual and Shared Needs. One key element that community projects have to keep in check is the involvement of those individuals that are among the most disadvantaged in the community. Otherwise, projects run the risk of involving groups that may not be representative of those in the bottom of the scale and whose perception of the problem and needs may be different. Not everyone will experience the problem with the same level of severity. For example, better-off families may not experience as high a frequency of diarrhea. They may believe that diarrhea is a problem for each individual family, and not something that the whole community should get involved in. Someone else may think that the lack of good latrines combined with contaminated water is something that involves everyone: everyone is part of the problem, so the solution has to come from everyone. In order to resolve problems successfully it is important that all affected in the community get the chance to express their own views and needs. If any conflict or dissatisfaction arises, then community leaders have to resolve the conflict before much progress can be made with the problem. The potential for this conflict/dissatisfaction is reflected, in the model, by the dotted line coming out from this box. To resolve the conflict, more clarification may be needed (arrow into the clarification box) or new leaders and stakeholders may have to get involved (arrow into the leaders' box) so that a majority can convince a reluctant minority to go along.
5. Vision of the Future. This box represents the ideal "picture" of how the community wants to see itself in the future. This will be the answer to the question: Where do we want to be in a year from now, with respect to the problem? It is important that this vision involves representatives of all affected groups (stakeholders) in the community so that it becomes inclusive of all interests. The common vision expresses all of the changes that will occur and the benefits that everyone expects to receive.
6. Assessment of Current Status. To be able to set clear goals of where to go and to assess accomplishments, the community should have an objective measurement of the size of the problem. The shared vision expresses where the group wants to go; assessment of current status tells them where they are now. Answers to this question can be qualitative and quantitative. Quantification of the problem will give a clear idea of the size of the problem, for example, the number of children who got diarrhea in the last week, the number of children that died from diarrhea in the last three months, the number of mothers that have died during delivery in the last year, the number of new orphans resulting from AIDS and so forth. Qualitative assessment would consider what kind of diarrhea is occurring and how it differs from previous years and if it responds at all to antibiotics and oral rehydration therapy. Unless a clear measure of the problem is established it will be difficult to set goals for action, and then determine if any progress is being made later.
7. Setting Objectives. With the current status clearly stated and shared by community members, the next question is: What is a reasonable expectation about what the group itself can do about the problem? Can the number of children and adults experiencing diarrhea be cut in half in three months if a certain number of families take the appropriate action? Can it be eliminated altogether? Turned into a rare rather than a common event? The act of comparing one's current status with one's desired status and then setting realistic goals is the source of group motivation (Zander, 1971, 1996). Research has shown that if the goal is set too high, and hence is unrealistic, then motivation will be low. The group will not have a sufficient sense of self-efficacy or confidence that anything they do will make a difference. If the goal is set too low, then it can be reached with hardly any action, and motivation will also be low. Moderate goal setting that is achievable creates the high level of group motivation that is required for people to take sufficient action to solve the problem.
8. Options for Action. This box is the answer to the question: What different kinds of action can be taken to accomplish the objectives with which everyone agreed? This implies the identification of resources both inside and outside the community as well as persons or groups that can carry them out. Following the example of diarrhea, the community needs to decide whether to build new latrines, establish locations further from the village for defecation, get community members to wash their hands appropriately after defecation and before preparing and handling food, increasing water treatment or boiling, new well construction, etc. One or all of the above? In what order of priority? Getting a consensus on action can also lead to conflict or a lack of commitment. If a sufficient consensus cannot be reached, then the objectives and/or the courses of action may have to be discussed all over again. If not handled successfully, the whole community dialogue process may break down for good, and the problem may persist or worsen while nothing is done.
9. Consensus on Action. Once a detailed plan is at hand, a new process of getting consensus among the community needs to take place. Getting consensus is important not only for summing up resources but also for getting people to volunteer or for assigning courses of action to various members of the community. The more the community participates and sees the proposed actions as "theirs," the more likely that they will take action. Likewise, the more a community is "involved and committed" the higher the empowerment and sense of collective self-efficacy that the community will develop.
10. Action Plan. A specific timetable for when each activity has to be accomplished will help the community to have clear deadlines for effectively moving toward the solution of the problem. This box will be the answer to the question: Who does what and when do we need to do each activity and organise ourselves to accomplish our goals?