Social Change
Social change action with informed and engaged societies
Social Change
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Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality: An Evidence-based Strategy and Investment Paper for Consideration by the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2019

5 comments

Just One Story

Every day, for generation after generation, women in one particular village walked down the hill to the river, filled vessels with fresh water, and carried them up the hill to serve their families and communities throughout the coming day. A large, major development organisation installed pumps, pipes, and taps in order to alleviate the burden of this exhausting and demanding activity. The women were disgruntled, complained, and worked against this development technology intervention. Why? The answer to that question highlights a major challenge for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the vital importance of social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies strategies and action.

The Basics: Rights, Impact, Strategy, Investment

The theme of the HLPF 2019 is "empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality". Those principles, as rights and as challenges, are at the centre of social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies initiatives.

Sustainable development is about people's own lives, in their own communities, within their own countries. They have full rights to be engaged in decision-making and action related to development challenges. Social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies strategies seek to amplify and embed those rights.

Not only are these rights that need to be respected, but such people-focused development action has significant impact across the SDGs. Compelling impact data that results from empowerment, inclusiveness and equality focused action driven by social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies strategies is included below.

From both perspectives - rights and effectiveness - if local, national, and international development is to become more principled, more effective, and more sustainable, then there needs to be a significant increase in the numbers of people, from all walks of life, working with equal standing, taking action, and making decisions on the SDG priorities in their contexts. Our field of work is centrally focused on expanding empowerment, inclusiveness, and equality.

These rights, principles, and impact data require the local, national, and international development community to rebalance its strategic and investment focus. Of course, product development (e.g., drugs, water technologies), macro-policies (e.g., economic, land reform), and other major development priorities are important. But for sustained action, they need to be balanced with more of a focus on people affected being engaged in the development process at local, national, and international levels.

The Impact Data

As social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies strategies are often criticised for not being able to produce impact data, we have compiled a selection of compelling (data/results; solid methodologies) research-derived evidence for the impact of these principles and strategies that centrally include empowerment, inclusiveness, and equality. The key direct impact data, hyperlinked so that a summary of the research can be accessed, are followed by an indication of the strategy implemented, the research methodology, and the country/region in which the development initiative and research took place.

In common with most of the action driven by social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies, the initiatives studied above took place on a very significant scale. For example, they involved: 22.5 million people engaged in Bangladesh; the number-one-rated radio and TV drama in South Africa; 31% of the population of Tanzania reached; processes in 6 northern states in Nigeria; and the entire city of Medellín in Colombia.

The Strategic Implications and Recommendations

From this data and experience, relative to increasing the scale of progress towards all of the SDGs, based on the vitally important rights and strategic principles highlighted as the theme for HLPF 2019 ("Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality"), we would welcome discussion and debate on the following proposals.

That governments and international and national development organisations expand their strategic focus and financial investment in the following ways:

Strategic Principles

That all development initiatives related to the SDGs can demonstrate adherence to the following strategic principles:

Engagement: Facilitate a process of engagement - Technologies, products, policies, messages and persuasion must be underpinned by genuine engagement with those directly experiencing the issues at hand.

Resonance: Ensure that development initiatives better connect to and relate with social and cultural contexts at the local and national levels.

Voice: Secure a more prominent place for the analysis and ideas of those most affected by the development issues in question in both public debates on development issues and in planning, reviewing, and other decision-making related to development issues.

Networks: Support the gathering together and organisation of people concerned about issues they share in common.

Conversation, dialogue, and debate: Expand the spaces and opportunities for people to safely share and discuss their analysis and ideas for effective development action across their areas of interest and context.

Accurate information: Into this overall process of engagement, resonance, voice, networks, conversation, dialogue, and debate, introduce accurate knowledge on the development issues in question.

Strategic Requirements

That there is more extensive engagement of and support for those local, national, and international organisations that have social change, behaviour change, informed and engaged societies strategies at the core of their work and so have the experience, skill, knowledge, and insight required to effectively implement the principles outlined above, with an emphasis on:

  • Creating planning and decision-making processes that ensure that the voices and analysis of people with a stake in the initiatives being developed are at the key decision-making tables.
  • Developing budget formats that include substantial lines for empowerment, inclusiveness, and equity strategies, including public engagement, conversation, dialogue, debate, participation, and the involvement of local people. 10% is the recommended budget level.
  • Negotiating entertainment partnerships with local media, cultural media organisations, and entertainment and broadcasting organisations for an increased focus on SDG-related development issues within their popular entertainment programming.
  • Proposing and supporting the adoption and implementation of legislation that increases the levels of independent public interest media that are active within communities, countries, and regions.
  • Identifying and supporting the natural networks (online and in-person) that people develop and facilitate around their areas of interest - for example, networks of people living with HIV/AIDS.
  • Undertaking the research required to: Understand trends in instilling the empowerment, inclusive, and equity in communities, countries, and globally; Expand the learning base for the impact of these principles on SDG trends and the strategic implications of that learning.

Back to the Story

So, what is the answer to "why?" Despite the physical hardships, why did women in this village have significant issues with the new technology-based water system?

Getting the water every morning was the one process through which women themselves could gather safely as women. They could connect, share, and discuss issues from their own perspectives. They could organise on areas of common interest. They could provide support for their friends experiencing problems - for example, domestic violence. They could have a bit of fun together. The new water system would take all of that away. In the language of HLPF 2019, it would be disempowering, would not be inclusive, and would work against equality.

This is just one story; there are thousands of similar stories. It does exemplify the importance of the strategic principles and requirements outlined above. There was no voice for women in the decisions that were made. Cultural sensitivities around gender roles were not understood and responded to. There was no balance in the planning process between the technology focus and the people focus. The importance of dialogue and debate in public spaces was ignored. It is highly unlikely that there was any appreciation that a vibrant women's network was a key part of the life of this community. Overall, there was a failure to engage.

The analysis and proposals above are designed to strengthen development action through greater adherence to the strategic principles outlined and to call for increased investment and support for the strategic actions highlighted. As is demonstrated above, taking this path will accelerate and deepen progress across all SDGs.

Comments

Submitted by Shari Cohen on Mon, 07/08/2019 - 19:11 Permalink

Hello Warren,

As someone who has shifted their personal and professional goals to align and now only take on assignments that allow me to bring in my human rights-based approaches to social change, I agree with all that you wrote. But you're preaching to the choir here, at least those of us who agree with you!

What I'd like to know is, who is informing the decisions that are about to be taken at this HLPF that begins tomorrow? I have asked a few people in my circle who are what I consider 'well-connected' to the UN world and they know nobody who will be present at this event, nor did they know about this event until your email came out yesterday. So it begs the question, HOW will anything CHANGE if we - who are carrying out the work in this area - don't know anyone who is attending this event, let alone where the information the delegates will base their decisiosn on has come from? Is the information that will inform them the links you provided in your post, or are there other forms of information that will influence them?

It feels like yet another UN gathering to discuss the merits of 'people-powered change' without the actual 'people' present. The very nature of calling this "High Level" feels exclusionary, at least to me. So I'd really like to know, is there representation from social change colleagues who specialize in HRBA-powered methodologies, strategies, etc.? The very fact that we only heard of this yesterday through your email, tells me there isn't even time for us to make a meaningful contribution...or is there?

Hi Shari Cohen,

I too, feel that there is a disconnect between what goes on in the world and what goes on in the chambers where decisions are made. Not to be too critical, I do agree that a lot of good work with a lot of good intention is going on, however, I feel that it is vital that the involvement of the people be more two-way.

What we see right now is that a few activities and initiatives link us, the people, to the change we wish for ourselves. Commendable, as they may be, in no way are the efforts by the UN sufficient. They are akin to wishful thinking in the sense that many a times the scale of an intervention does not match the growth of a target issue. The time for wishing and hoping is over. Nothing changes enough until all of us, as the people sitting inside the carriage of change also become the people drawing it forth. We need the good work done by UN to be more in quantity while maintaining, if not improving, the quality. And this, in my opinion, is only possible if every person on the planet gets associated with at least one area of change that the UN is working for.

Every citizen of the planet must also be the beacon of change, volunteering time for our world just as we "volunteer" time for our friends, families and neighbors.

Here, a change in the attitude of people is also required. Making positive changes in our society is nothing different than contributing to college funds for our kids, if not more important. We, as people, must realise this. 

I hope something can be done about this.

Regards,
Kriti Gangwar

Shari, you are absolutely correct. And this aggravation is amplified when higher level decision-makers be present only as a formality, but decisions have already been decided in advance. This type of process is not unique to the UN, as it occurs at universities, in companies as well as major international donor-funded projects.

Submitted by Shari Cohen on Tue, 07/09/2019 - 18:13 Permalink

Warren, in thinking about your above post today, I have more to say...lucky you...

First and foremost, there is nothing inherently wrong with the Strategic Principles you lay out above, however NONE of it is FEASIBLE until/unless DONORS CHANGE. There is no understanding nor buy in from donors - not even the UN agencies who espouse HRBAs -  because we still, in 2019, have 'deliverables' that are expected within a year of project/programme commencement. It is unreasonable and not at all feasible to create meaningful social changes within a year, let alone lasting, sustainable changes. Why do I always see deliverables pegged to behavior change within the first 12 or 24 months when we know that lasting behavior/social change can take a generation or more? WE allow donors to dictate HOW programs are run, even to the point of allowing them to tell us which activities they want to fund! And then we wonder why inclusion and meaningful participation doesn't happen? It's no wonder any communities are still willing to work with any of us, if I'm being honest. I wouldn't if I was a community being constantly bombarded with competing priorities coming from the orgs and donors that fund them.

We need to stop competing with one another for funding money, and find more creative ways to work together as partners on the organizational side, and we need to stand together as partners and stop kowtowing to donors for every measly dollar they give us, with strings very much attached.

Instead we need to come together and educate donors - and I include the UN in this because they are some of the worst abusers in talking the HRBA talk, but not walking the HRBA walk. If you want to commit to inclusion, to empowering people to create their own change, support their visions for their lives, and all the other verbiage that the UN and other orgs talk about, then donors and orgs need to understand and accept that the process of change takes time, a lot of time, and if they're not willing to give that time to carry out/adhere to all the meaningful 'Strategic Principles' that you lay out above, then they need to get out of the way and let someone else sit at the table.