Development Communication External Affairs Vice Presidency The World Bank.

Development Communicatio

n

External Affairs Vice PresidencyThe World Bank

From CAS to Project LoanFrom ESW to Actual

Reforms

Development is about:

which needs to be sustainable and accepted by societies and people

Change Social transformation

Increased democratization of the development process

Demand for transparency

A holistic approach: economic, social, political, institutional, cultural and environmental issues to be considered

Demand for increased people’s participation in decision making

The New Development Process

The Process Demands

Listening

Public Awareness and Understanding

Consensus

Partnership

Social Ownership

Soundtechnical &

financialpolicy

(Project, ESW)

DesiredOutcomeImplementation

Ownership

Input from political economy, social, cultural context

Things Didn’t Go Right in the Past,

OED Reports… “Throughout the implementation of the Structural

Adjustment Program in Lao PDR, the government was hindered by a lack of consensus among groups, some of whom found the market-oriented reforms culturally alien.” - Performance Audit Report: “Lao PDR: SAC I & SAC II”, 1995

“The OED study finds that though the Bank’s policy advice was sound, little privatization had taken place by 1992. One of the major obstacles has been distrust of the benefits of the privatization measures on the part of the population.” - “Industrial Sector Reorientation in East Africa”, 1994

OED Also Reports… “Poland’s Economic Transformation Program has shown

that building up and maintaining political support for reforms is essential to the success of any economic transformation program. Although the Polish economic team had a clear vision, it did not succeed in sharing that vision with the public at large. Mass demonstrations and widening divisions within the coalition led to erosion of parliamentary support and eventual change in government, making further enactment of reforms difficult.” - Performance Audit Report: “Poland: Structural Adjustment Loan”, 1995

“In terms of Bank assistance, the recommendations are: Making better use of ESW. More resources need to be allocated to dissemination and constituency building.” - “Kingdom of Morocco Country Assistance Review”, 1997

Assessing Aid findings

Projects that sought beneficiaries’

involvement achieved 68% success,

those which didn’t, achieved 10%

success

Compelling case studies that suggest

stimulating public debate leads to

reform and better performance

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

No Economic Reform

Understanding by Leadership

Public Understanding% of Respondents Rating Impediment as Serious Obstacle to Economic Reforms Recently*

No Sense of Crisis

Social & Poverty Considerations

Weak Institutional

Capacity

Lack of Cohesive Reform Team

No Economic Reform

Understanding by Population

Corruption & Vested Financial

Interests

Short-Term Political Factors

All Respondents Public Sector Respondents

*Survey of senior public service and civil society representatives from 63 developing/emerging economiesKaufmann, D., Listening to Stakeholders on Development Challenges and WB Instruments in their Countries, 1996

Constraint Causes EffectsLack of consensus Lack of information Weak government commitment

Lack of political will Slow process

Ideological beliefs Reluctance to sell profitable enterprises Vested interests

Political uncertainty Historical setting Tardiness Democratization Investor uncertainty Forthcoming elections

Inadequate Weak institutional and Lack of transparencymanagement human resources capacity Distrust of valuation methodscapacity Lack of commitment Poor design and preparation

Fragmentation Incomplete transactions

Legal constraints Old legislation Insufficient authority given to Lack of commitment agency Weak judicial system Slow process

Lack of ownership Institutional jealousies and Lack of consensusof the program government interference

Lack of involvement of Perception of program as driven indigenous private sector by external agencies

Donor driven Tardiness

*Oliver Campbell White and Anita Bhatia, The World Bank, 1998

Top Five Constraints on Privatization in Africa*

The New Political Battleground

“For opponent of Privatization, who believe that access to clean water is a human right, The Cochabamba

Water War became an event of surpassing interests. There are many signs that other poor communities, especially in Third World cities, may start refusing to accept deals that put a foreign corporation’s hand on

the neighborhood pump or household tap. Water actions may turn out to test the limits of the global

privatization gold rush.”The New Yorker, April 8th, 2002

Local concerns become immediately global

Strategic Communication or Communication for Behavior

Change

“the development of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences to achieve management objectives.”

A Process in Need of Professional Expertise

“Aguas del Tunari seemed to have given little thought to how its plans would be received in Cochabamba. The

International Water executives who were actually doing the work in the city were engineers, not

marketers, and being newly arrived abroad, they were not attuned to the problems or passions of the

Bolivian Public. Geoffrey Thorpe, the company's manager, simply said that if people didn’t pay their

water bills their water would be turned off.”

The New Yorker, April 8th, 2002

Projects/Initiatives Should be Assessed from a

Communication Perspective

Pre-approval Approval Post-approval

Communication Continuum

DevComm is a Management Tool that Deals with Five Key

Decisions:1) Audience: Clustered according to position/interest

2) Behavior and attitude: Change in behavior and attitude

needed

3) Messages: Appropriate for different segments of

audience

4) Channels: Effective and with appropriate capacity

5) Evaluation: Success/failure of communication strategy

The Process of Strategic Communication

Communication Research/Assessment

Communication Design and Implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation

3 STAGES/PHASES:

The Process of Strategic Communication

Main Functions: Dialogue among Stakeholders and Situation Analysis

Main Tools: Audit, Opinion Polls, Surveys, PRCA, etc.

Main Outcome: Consensus on Objectives

STAGE/PHASE : Communication Research/Assessment

STAGE/PHASE : Communication Design and Implementation

Main Functions: Design Strategy to Achieve Change

Main Tools: Related Approaches and Media Products

Main Outcome: Intended Change Achieved

The Process of Strategic Communication

STAGE/PHASE: Monitoring and Evaluation

Main Functions: Indicators for Formative and

Summative Evaluation

Main Tools: Baselines, Surveys, Polls, PME, etc.

Main Outcomes: Process on Right Track, Proof of

Change Achieved

The Process of Strategic Communication

Development Communications Helps

In Guatemala, workers supported privatization when they were approached innovatively and strategically through their wives with share-options and benefits circumventing opposing union leaders.

Adam Smith Institute, 2001

Development Communication Helps

Reform Program in Cote d’Ivoire Succeeded with Planned Communication to:

Build consensus for reforms Look into political, cultural and social

dimensions along with economic issues Share experience from other developing

countries.OED Report, 2000

Development Communications Helps

In Cape Verde, Privatization Program Succeeded as Strategic Communications Focused on:

“Political commitment and support to privatization”

“Ownership building and stakeholder participation”

Labor retrenchment through consultation and “Communication campaigns to build public

support and ensure transparency.”OED Report, 1998

Summary Notes

Analyze and incorporate in the planning stage the socio-political context of the reform

Define the scope of the public debate Actively listen to stakeholders and engage in an

ongoing dialogue Manage expectations Make use of communication specialists Build political and social consensus Promote local ownership

“The path to true invincibility lies in victory

without battle and strength through understanding”

Sun Tzu