NARRATIVE REPORT - West Africa Civil Society Institute … RBC Training(June 11-13 2014... · NARRATIVE REPORT WACSI TRAINING CENTRE JUNE 11-13 2014 . ... This report documents the

NARRATIVE REPORT

WACSI TRAINING CENTRE

JUNE 11-13 2014

Results Based Communication skills and strategies (June 11-13 2014) 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Training Objectives………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Pg 2

Training Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..Pg 3

Opening Remarks …………………………………………………………………………………………………………...Pg 4

TRAINING SESSIONS

Day 1

Overview of Communication……………………………………………………………………………………………..pg 5

Categories of Communication……………………………………………………………………………………………pg 7

Baseline Communication for CSOs…………………………………………………………………………………..pg 12

Day 2

Effective Writing ………………………………………………………………………………………………….….pg 13

Information Gathering ……………………………………………………………………………………..……………pg 14

CSOs and social media……………………………………………………………………………………………………pg 16

Day 3

Monitoring and evaluating your Organisation’s Communication Approach

Communication Lab for CSO…………………………………………………………………………………………pg 26

Communication Strategy Development………………………………………………………………………….…pg 29

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………….pg 30

Appendix 1.0: List of participants …………………………………………………………………………………….pg 31

Appendix 2.0: Training Agenda……………………………………………………………………………………….pg 33

1.0 Introduction

The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) has since 2007 implemented capacity building

programmes that bring different civil society organisations (CSOs) within the region. This is

effective through its three-pronged approach; Training and Capacity Building, Policy Advocacy and

Engagement and Research and Documentation.

The 3-day training course organised from 11-13 June, 2014 on Results–Based communication Skills

and Strategies Training for Non-Profits is part of the WACSI-driven courses, often referred to as in-

house initiatives aiming at imparting key communications staff with innovative, robust and

poignant skills that will enable them to effectively lead all communications processes in their

organisations.

The course which organised at the WACSI Training Centre. It attracted 25 participants from various

civil society organisations from Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Niger and South Sudan.

It is worth noting that the institute registered its first participant from an East African country in

the person of Simon Bhan Chuol who came from South Sudan.

This report documents the proceeding of the training, taking into consideration the course delivery,

the level of engagement of participants, experience sharing sessions and the extent to which all this

contributed to reinforcing participants knowledge and skills in the subject matter.

Training Objectives

The course was designed to enhance and equip participants with skills and knowledge to effectively

manage all internal and external communications within a non–profit organisational setting.

Specifically the course was designed to;

Provide CSOs with the required competencies to build and run robust communication systems

Equip participants with robust skills to develop key organisational messages

Empower participants to effectively utilise social media tools to enhance their visibility and build

brand recognition; and

Empower beneficiaries to be strategic brand ambassadors of their organisations by mastering the

necessary techniques to win public confidence.


Training Methodology

The methodology adopted for the training include presentations, open discussions, brainstorming,

as well as experience sharing among others. The training was facilitated by Jimm Chick Fomunjong,

Communications and Information Assistant of WACSI Emmanuel Bensah Jr, host (Africa in Focus

program) Radio XYZ and David Issaka of the Catholic Secretariat of Ghana provided insights on

media engagement and social media engagement respectively.

Opening Remarks

Charles Vandyck, Capacity Building Officer WACSI

In a brief presentation, Charles Vandyck introduced WACSI as a capacity building hub for civil

society in West Africa He stated that WACSI is a regional organisation which focuses on capacity

building, policy advocacy and research for CSOs. Its core objectives are to strengthen institutional

and operational capacity of CSOs by designing and facilitating needs-based training courses, policy

engagement initiatives and improving knowledge management for CSOs. He added over the years

training programs have been developed for civil societies in providing institutional support

through information, coaching and mentoring. He continued by saying WACSI envisages the

sustainability of CSOs by engaging policy makers and civil society, through issues related to

organisational effectiveness, and management. To achieve this, he mentioned that WACSI designs

courses to address problematic areas in institutional governance. He identified communication as

one of the challenges facing civil societies, the incapability of Civil Societies in telling their own

stories.

He went further to introduce the trainer, Jimm Chick Fomunjong who served as the lead facilitator

during the 3-day training course.

Introduction of the Facilitator and participants

Jimm Chick Fomunjong introduced himself as the Communication and Information Assistant at

WACSI. In bid to kick-start the training, participants were asked the following questions;

Who are you;

Where you work; and

What are you passionate about?

The participants introduced themselves their organisations and interests. The facilitator remarked

on the lively nature of the group stating experience sharing will be an important component of the

training.

Ground rules

The trainer asked for ground rules, to enable a conducive learning environment during the training.

Below is a summary of the key decisions that came out of the agreement between the facilitator and

participants.

Mobile phones on silent mode;

Speak audibly;

Respect each other’s views;

Learning should be interactive;

Be active after lunch (no thinking with eyes closed) ;

Moderate use of laptops; and

Food must be good.

Participants’ Expectations

Participants were invited to write down three expectations from the course. Key expectations shared

by participant are outlined below:

Learn and acquire knowledge on results-based communication especially tools, techniques,

strategies to ensure efficiency in our job delivery;

Socialise through proper networking;

Ensure communication skills through the lens of a results-based approach for organisation growth;

Acquire requisite skills in designing, implementing and reviewing an effective media and

communication strategy;

Learn media engagement strategies for change;

How to communicate with NGOs and other stakeholders effectively;

Write very interesting stories and blogs of the work or success stories to get the attention of readers;

and

Deeper understanding of community based communication strategy.


Session 1: Overview of Communication

The Facilitator began the session by asking what communication means to individuals and

organisations. A Participant said communication is the fibre of life, and it’s the basis of our

existence. The facilitator corroborated this stating the audience will interpret the functionality of an

organisation based on how well it is positioned on the media. He continued by saying as an

organization emphasis should be on the communication needs of stakeholders.

Definition of Communication

The trainer said in communication it is important to ensure the other party (message recipient)

understands the message. For a result-oriented communicator there should be feedback. He

emphasised that it is important for CSOs to identify their audience and know which communication

tool will be effective.

Simply defined communication is the process by which individuals share information, ideas and

attitudes. He stressed on the word share which he said is different from send which is more of a

one way process.

The facilitator said it is essential for the sender of a piece of information to use language that can be

understood by all stakeholders to enable them appreciate the relevance or irrelevance of the project.

Results oriented communication must have a feed -back.

A participant who works as a radio presenter said they have a project that sensitises the community

on ongoing projects. It aims at promoting community ownership for these projects. .Feedback

received has been in the form of telephone calls during radio programme.

The facilitator commented that it is important to understand the communication need(s) of

stakeholders. It is important for CSOs to map out the relevant communication tools that would

effectively drive the message across to ensure feedback. The facilitator mentioned that CSOs need

to monitor the communication process; and if there is no feedback, ask questions like: am I getting

it right? This forms the monitoring and evaluation aspect of communication.

Categories of Communication

Two categories of communication Identified:

- Internal communication

- External Communication

Pascal Kudiabor from SEND Ghana said internal communication to them is limited to the board

members and staff, while Nathalie Bienfait from the Belgian Technical Corporation (BTC) added

that communication is interdepartmental at levels of programme units. Nathalie explained that

communication can be at an intra-level. This is communication that takes place among the BTC

staff on the global stage.

Mohammed Narudeen from IBIS Ghana stated that external communication involves partners,

government and taxpayers in Denmark. Communication tools used by IBIS are newsletters, reports

and events such as staff retreats.

Emmauel Kye-Eeboh from Kalabash Ghana said they work with foreign partners and community

partners. A communication tool used by the organisation is drama and sketches to convey messages

to their stakeholders. For the foreign partners Kalabash Ghana uses videos and documentaries to

convey the need for intervention and the impact of their work.

Vicentia Adjima from APED-Togo explained that formerly, they aired radio programmes in French

and local languages, but realised programmes in the local language was more appreciated, whilst

this was improved they stopped airing programmes in French language.

The trainer added that each communication tool has an audience. It is important to identify and

leverage on the effective communication tool. He continued project reports, annual reports,

newsletters, articles, radio programmes are important yet organisations should follow up for

feedback, to ensure its effectiveness.

The facilitator said communication strategies of CSOs should strategically serve as the

“information bridge” between the organisation and its targeted audience and stakeholders.


Activity

One

Open Discussion

The following questions were posed to the participants;

1 What do we need to consider when communicating;

2 Who should CSOs communicate with; and

3 How do CSOs communicate with its stakeholders?

Reflections from participants were captured as follows;

- Relevance of information;

- Clarity of message to the audience/recipients;

- Objective for communicating;

- Match content with audience; and

- Consider communication tool.

The facilitator added that communicating for CSOs is different from public relations, which is more

of making your organisation to stand out.

Key Considerations in Communication

Who are we: Clear understanding of an organisation will be linked to clarity of the message its

goals, mission, this must be understood by all staff of the organization.

Message: Important to focus on the message, essential to consciously communicate goal, mission,

strategy, projects, challenges and achievements.

Daniel Asante from Compassion International added they organised a workshop with stakeholders

to discuss ways to improve the projects and how it can be done. They drafted a work plan based on

contributions made by stakeholders.

The trainer stated the use of jargons in communicating is very misleading .FYIA (For your

immediate action) is a jargon used in WACSI but will not be applicable for external stakeholders.

Another consideration is respecting timeline and be consistent in using the communication tools.

Communication Tools

Internal communication tools help in the dissemination of programme decisions from top to bottom

and vice versa. Some of these tools include:

Memos Staff Meetings/Minutes;

Departmental Meetings ;

Notice Board;

suggestion boxes;

Newsletters(electronic/print);

staff Retreat;

Telephones;

Internet (email);and

Programme /Activity Reports.

External tools on the other hand enable organisations to send messages to the receivers who are

outside the organisation. These include:

Publications ;

Fact Sheets/Brochures;

Newsletters; and

Annual Reports.

The facilitator added it is important to know what people think about the communication strategic

tool. As an example, he urged participants to find a means to provoke feedback to know the

relevance of the tool you are using.

Session Two: Baseline Communication for CSOs

Activity 2: Audience vs Tools

For each organisation represented in our groups;

Identify all the sub-groups within your audience

List specific tools you would use to communicate specific messages to respective sub-groups

The contributions are represented in the table below:


Group One Compassion

International,

Ghana

Objective: Release children from poverty

Message: Children are God`s gift Lets protect them

What compassion Does

- Fundraising

- Identify children in need of support

- Audience: children home visits, pictures

- Churches: networking, conferences, word of mouth, advocacy

Donors: musical ,concerts, reports statistics ,internet ,network

Group

Two

Oxfam Ghana Objective: A Ghana with improved quality of life

Empower citizens in the extractives

Support to farmers to improve livelihood

Projects implemented: ELCAP Grow campaign

Working with others to overcome poverty and suffering

Primary Audience

communities, CSOs, CBOs, farmers association

Secondary audience:

Traditional leaders;

NGOs ;

media ;

financial institutions;

Regional and international colleagues; and

Donors.

Tertiary audiences:

Government agencies; and

Ministries: Agriculture and social welfare.

Tools for communication

Primary audience

community reflection;

meetings;

local radios;

drama;

workshops; and

Practical demonstrations.

Secondary Audience: media social print,

Newsletters;

annual reports;

brochures;

video documentary;

policy briefs and manifestos;

stickers; and

Seminars.

Tertiary audience

Proposals ;

Press releases;

Correspondences; and

Lobby.


Group

Three

DCI sierra Leone What?

Protect children in the criminal justice system

Objective

Advance the welfare and rights of children in Sierra Leone in both law and practice.

Message

Children must be treated fairly when in conflict with the law. Let the girls be girls and not mothers

Audience

Children criminal justice institute parents, policy makers, media community leaders, interest groups

How to reach audience

Workshops;

Policy briefs;

Op-editorials;

Press conference;

Meetings; and

Promotional materials like flyers, stickers, wrist bands,

tee-shirts.

Group

Four

SEND Ghana Objective

Advocacy and livelihood support

Research on issues that need to be addressed by gov`t

Other organizations ask and fund those research

Present a proposal to engage discussion and dialogue

Promote god governance and gender equity In west

Africa

Transparency and accountability to improve

management of public resources

Audience

People –community meeting/radio

Stakeholders-policy makers

Communication Tool

After the group exercise, the facilitator said three (3) points should be noted:

1 Relationship: Nurture relationship with your stakeholders;

2 Engaging: with other organisations; and

3 Categorising: Know who to prioritize so to facilitate the communication process.

The trainer concluded day one (1) of the training by emphasizing that better communication

tools lead to better results.

DAY TWO

Session three

Effective Writing

A mass audience includes young people, old, rich, poor, middle income, urban dwellers and farmers.

Each group has different loyalties, memberships and lifestyles. Their differences give each of them

different news interests.

- Who are the different groups of people within your target audience?

- What are some of their information needs?

The facilitator added that writing is centered on an event. These events may have impacted on many

people. Describe unusual or exceptional situation concerning well known or prominent people.

A participant added the unusual concept most be contextualised. It is important to know the interest

and preferences of the audience. And which communication tool will be proper in conveying this

message.

The trainer commented that they are six (6) areas CSOs can write on:

- How the organisation was created/founded;

Direct communication send a letter to gov`t officials

responsible of the study to ask for funding( lobbying)

Partners/The Hit –HIPC case

Success story

Publish reports


- Organisational goal( challenge you are seek to tackle);

- Your impact stories ;

- Your people;

- Celebrate your staff. The human resource department can feature a staff on the staff of the year

column;

- Organisational strength ;and

- Future Projects.

Discussion on Video Projection

In writing identify your audience. What is the new thing you are bringing out .Your audience should

not ask questions like… so what? … And yes but? The write-up should be captivating and writers

should seek for novelty on issues.

THE FIVE Ws and H

The use of the five Ws and H is to make reporters, writers and editors think about these differences

as they go about their work.

W- WHO

W-WHAT

W-WHEN

W-WHERE

W- WHY

H-HOW

The facilitator noted that it is difficult to map out an audience when writing but it is not about filling

the blank sheet; but, the mind of the audience. He added that words should be punchy and precise.

Writing Style

The trainer said the inverted pyramid style of writing is essential in capturing a good write-up. This

is use by journalists, who generally begin with the conclusion and progressively get more detailed.

The facilitator stated that in writing, participants should consider the following:

- Who are you writing for;

- Introduction has to grab attention (first five words are critical); and

- Title needs to be interesting or grab attention.

A participant commented that it was difficult adopting one writing style. She added, it was

important to draw a line between the various writing styles for example (radio, blogs, newsletters,

annual reports) each of these meet different needs.

The trainer corroborated this by highlighting the following as a guide to producing an excellent

piece;

Write a headline and a sub-headline (What can attract the reader and give him/her a clear idea of

what he/she is going to read about in your text?)

Outline your story.

What must be included to answer the main points of who, what, when, where, why and how?

What can be left out?

Start where your readers are. Decide how you can make your story relevant to them.

Activity four

Media Engagement

conclusion

Supporting Information

other technical detailes


Debate Topic: The media has the responsibility to promote CSOs

There were six (6) debaters three of whom supported this opinion while three others countered this

view. They following arguments were captured during the dabate:

Those in farvour of the mortion that the media has the responsibility to promote CSOs presented

their case as follows:

- The media is another arm of civil society organisations and should highlight the strengths

of CSOs in promoting development.

- The media and CSOS should work as partners in enhancing democratic Values and Civic

Practices

- The Media can capitalise on projects carried by CSOs by encouraging and fostering public

Participation in development matters and a Culture of Lawfulness

The debaters against this motion argued that:

- The “fruits” borne by civil society should speak for its self hence the media does not need

to promote the visibility of CSOs

- The media can cover any news item for the sake of financial benefits, there is a danger of

CSOs becoming too much on the news more or less like “celebrity organisations”.

-

The Moderator concluded the debate by highlighting the way forward on how CSOs and media can

collaborate. He identified the media landscape in Ghana as segmented in four major parts:

- People use media to enrich themselves;

- Media as political platform;

- Media has a tool to inform educate in promoting accountability and good governance; and

- Tool to enrich individuals get into politics.

Way forward

The role of social media is very important as this allows for marriage between CSOs and media

working together. There is a great difference in how media tools/ instruments have been used. The

media is way ahead CSOs in use of social media. CSOs can leverage on this in the following ways:

- Information and press officers should be readily involved in regular CSOs meetings, always get

media practitioners to be part of the meeting;

- Train CSOs in media engagement;

- Hire CSO experts with media background; and

- Coopting media practitioners to bring influence to bear on development debates.

Session Five: CSOs and social media

A quick survey was done by the facilitator to find out the various social media platforms that

participants in their various organisations are aware of. Responses included Facebook, LinkedIn,

twitter, Google, YouTube, weibo, instagram, two among others. A Belgian participant wanted to

know whether there was an institution that existed in West Africa that collates statistics on the

number of people who use various social media platforms. A participant replied that there was one

platform called alexa.com which has that information.

Why pay attention to social media?

The trainer said it was important to engage on Facebook because all Facebook users have an average

of 183 friends/fans/followers on Facebook. Hence when CSOs engage on this platform there is

possibility of benefitting from an increase engagement with a broader audience.

A participant recommended that it was not only important to know who is on Facebook but to

understand what Facebook users are interested in because most get involved on social media for

varied reasons.

The facilitator gave some tips by encouraging participants to send individual thank you messages

when engaging on Facebook. He added the importance for organisations to strategically use this

platform.

How are Non - profits using social media

Before engaging consider the following:

- Your targeted audience;

- What content will be develop;

- Which tool will be used ;

- Be creative in content development;

- Image is powerful it must be sensational, emotional;

- Always respond to criticisms, and thank them for feedback ;and

- Keep the conversations going.


David Yiridong Issaka, a guest resource person from the National Catholic Secretariat shared the

organization`s Success story on using Facebook as a platform to engage with stakeholders. Before

last year`s Communications training they had 100 followers on Facebook six months after, there

was an increased to 5000 followers. This platform is very engaging .The organisation includes

Facebook link on annual reports .Share complimentary cards and encourage people to like its pages.

Traditional media are invited for events.

Participant asked how small organisations with small staff strength can get involved in social media.

If they have to handle LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter.

The Guest Resource person remarked it is easier to engage with people. And Social media does not

need an infrastructure, can go operational with a computer/phone and internet. He concluded by

saying the ground rule is keep the page updated share and like other pages, and in absence of

content, organisations mission statement should be posted.

Day Three

Session Six

Monitoring and evaluating your organisations Communication approach

Activity

Participants were asked to draw three communication tools, which can be identified by various

members of the group. The Facilitator remarked that organisations usually seek to use complicated

communication tools. He went on to say a flyer or leaflet can be used in place of an annual reports.

Key Components of a Communication Strategy includes:

Introduction (who we are);

Communication objective;

Message (what do we want to communicate);

Target audience/stakeholders (who do we communicate with?);

Communication tools;

Timelessness (when do we communicate);and

Communication outcome (How do we measure progress).

An intervention from one of the coordinators highlighted the causes of feed-back failure in

communication. She went on to say interpersonal communication should be taken seriously. How

organisations portray themselves to their stakeholders. Some reasons for this were:

Mode of communication;

Psyche of receiver; and

Content of message.

It is important to highlight on staff members such as receptionist, security guards as they convey

the organisations message to the public. Luca Putterman from BTC Benin added communication in

rural communities could be perceived indifferent ways. She gave the example of the image their

vehicles and drivers give communicates superiority in the communities thereby hampers feedback

in the communication process.

Participants noted that as stakeholders involved in content development, audience most say

positive things about you .Some reasons why organisations have failed is because they have not

involved the community in the development process. For example: In building water catchment ask

them where it be sited? This consultative communication process facilitates the success of the

project. Questions such as, what development needs do they want, education, health or sanitation?

After the project it is important to get feed-back, on the project. Sometimes politicians undermine

this process and accounts for failures in most developmental projects. CSOs should learn from this

and capitalise on their access to the communities.

Dean Conteh from Sierra Leone said his organization holds “social audits “once a week, to assess

interaction amongst staff this helps in solving interpersonal conflicts and builds team spirit within

the organisation.

Session Seven Communication Strategy Development Laboratory

I Communication SWOC for your CSO


The trainer presented a formula for communication to the participants. CW + SO = CO(s).This

was interpreted as Challenges and Weaknesses + Strength and Opportunities enables the

organisation to achieve its Communication Objectives.

Translate these into

feasible tasks

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities How do I use these strengths to

take advantage of these

opportunities?

How do I overcome these weaknesses that

prevent A from taking advantage of these

opportunities?

Challenges How do I use my strengths to

reduce the likelihood and impact

of these challenges?

How do I address the weaknesses to

overcome existing challenges?

Activity

The participants were asked to develop a communication strategy for the following organisations:

- Belgian Development Agency

- Compassion International

- Oxfam Ghana

- APED Togo

Exercise

Lab I

- Identify your organisations’ (A) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges

- How would A use its strengths to take advantage of identified opportunities? (Most recommended)

- What should A, do to overcome the weaknesses that prevent it from taking advantage of existing

opportunities?

- How would A, use its strengths to reduce the likelihood and impact of identified challenges?

Lab II: Who we are?

- Who is A? What is A all about?

- Why does A communicate?

- What is A’s message?

Lab III

Internal

- List A’s internal stakeholders. What is the organisation's relationship with these stakeholders?

External

- List A’s external stakeholders. What is the organisation’s relationship with these stakeholders?

Lab III: Stakeholders

Internal

- List A’s internal stakeholders. What is the organisation's relationship with these stakeholders?

External

- List A’s external stakeholders. What is the organisation’s relationship with these stakeholders?

Lab IV: Tools and Timelines

Internal

- Which tools does A use to communicate with identified internal stakeholders.

- When does this happen?

- External


- Which tools does A use to communicate with identified external stakeholders.

- When does this happen?

Lab V: Monitoring & Evaluation

How should A monitor its communication with;

A: Its internal stakeholders

B: Its external stakeholders

How should A use the findings and their analysis? Responses per group were captured as follows:

APED - Togo

APED- Togo is a non- profit apolitical and secular organization that seeks

to promote the participation of all in management of the country for the

well-being of every citizen through education development, human rights

and solidarity.

Why Communicate?

To promote civic education in order to create a balanced development

among the government, private sector and civil society.

Message: A peaceful world free of ignorance and all forms of injustice

Stakeholders

Internal:

The General Assembly

The board of Directors

The executive directorate

The general auditors

External Stakeholders

1. CBOs (community based-organisation)

NGOs, young people and women, financial partners and donors media.

2. A robust relationship with the media and other stakeholders. However,

there exists competition among other CSOs

In view of APED`S progress so far

Tools

Weekly staff meeting;

Annual retreat;

Semester board meetings;

Smart sessions,

Emails website;

bimonthly newsletter;

Facebook page;

Email;

media;and

Phone.

How to monitor

Internal stakeholders;

Attendance keeping;

Assessment;

Internal discussion;

Follow-up on recommendation;

External Stakeholders;

Feedback from listeners;

Calls;and

Emails.

How to use the finding/analysis

Share with stakeholders; and

Assign responsibilities.

Strengths

Strong Partnerships with media;

Regular newsletter to stakeholder;

Active website as forum for engagement with youth since 2010;

Varying communication strategy targeting specific audiences; and

Use of local language in our work.

Weakness

Insufficient personnel to cover other areas of high demand; and

Lack of follow-up and monitoring.

Opportunities

Increased interest of other areas or communities;


Willingness of radio stations to work with us in the whole country;

and

Funding gap.

How to use strength to take advantage of opportunities?

Use of radio stations for nationwide coverage;

Overcoming weakness by taking advantage of opportunities;

Recruiting more willing volunteers;

Identify other means of funding;

Using our strengths to reduce the likelihood and impact of

challenges;

Bank on the popularity of the programme to solicit sponsorship;

Review programme content and process accordingly; and

Improve on/change some tool.

Compassion

International

Compassion International is a child focused organisation that is church

based. A non -governmental Christian based organisation that advocates

for children to release them from poverty and enable them to become

responsible and fulfilled Christian adults.

To help sensitise church leaders about the plight of children in their leaders

about the plight of children in their leaders about the plight of children in

their We believe that every child is a valuable creation of God.

Strengths:

- Good communication within personnel;

- Presence of communication department;

- Good communication strategy;

- Steady funding for communication; and

- Good technology for communication.

Challenges

Poor communication with other stakeholder;

Poor communication with partner;

Not using social media;

Communication with people in rural areas;

Technological infrastructure in rural areas; and

Literacy level of some rural partners.

Lab II

Communication department can develop content for social media

to reach government to donor and other stakeholders;

Establishment of communication system in rural areas to improve

community .Social media can be use between donor/sponsor; and

Social media can be used to improve communication between

partners and compassion international

Lab III

Internal stakeholders

Internal;

Staff employees-Human resource;

Beneficiaries (sponsored children); and

Church Partners (they implement projects/objectives.

External

Donor/sponsors:(provide the sponsorship)

Government organization/agencies(give technical support

security, legal services)

Other CSOs: strategic alliance to provide technical support

and services

Lab IV: Tools-Timelines

Internal

Email-daily;

Internal social media-daily;

Reports/memos-daily ,monthly ,quarterly ,yearly;

Seminars/workshops-periodical; and

Phone calls-Daily.

External

Reports-Quarterly/yearly;

Meetings-periodicals;

Emails-Periodicals;

Emails-Periodicals; and

Phone-Periodicals.

Lab V:Monitoring Evaluation


Internal stakeholders

Communication can be monitored by IT unit to ensure emails are

responded to on time

Unit head monitors the report.


Emails can be monitored to remind people`s respond to mails;

Reports are monitored by departmental managers and the

CEO;

After monitoring, the findings can be used for trainings,

feedback to staff, workshop, to inform the organization on

where there are gaps;

Set-up communication technology in rural communities and

appoint specialists to man them to help the local churches in

effective communication; and

Use of adult literacy program for beneficiaries

(parent/caregivers).

Belgian Technical

Cooperation

Benin (BTC)

Belgian Development Agency use resource and expertise to fight climate

change, poverty and promote Accountability.

Goal: building a fair world

Lab II

Capitalise on experiences and share with stakeholders;

Working with local partners;

Enable project co-coordinators to understand need for

communication; and

Organise staff retreat highlight need for communication in every

report.

Lab III

Internal/national Team/implement projects

Design evaluate and provide capacity building

Assist project team

Headquarters/design the strategies and systems

- Approve communication tools and materials

Project Teams/implement on the field

- Receive capacity building

External population and government of Belgium/accountability

build capacity

Population and government and partner countries/Beneficiaries

Strategic partners

Recipients of capacity building

Donor/provide funding

Lab IV

Internal

Reports-regular;

Intra net-regular;

Newsletter(internal and national)-weekly;

Meetings-regular;

Emails-regular; and

Team building day-yearly.

External

Website;

Stickers ;

Posters;

Calendars;

short documentaries, policy briefs ;

monthly magazine;

Quarterly magazine;

Brochures; and

Trainings.

Lab VI

Internal Tools

Survey-every 2 years; and

Country and global –every year report.

External

- None


OXFAM

Who are we?

Oxfam is a world-wide development organisation that mobilises the

power of people against poverty to find practical, innovative ways to lift

themselves out of poverty and thrive so that the voices of the poor

influence the local and global decisions that affect them.

- We communicate to empower, transform, increase visibility, show results

and attract funding

- overcoming poverty and injustices

Internal Stakeholders

Farmers,

Regional Colleagues,

Small holder farmers.


District Assemblies,

FBOs, CSOs, INGO,

Media,

Donor organisations,

Regional Coordinating Councils,

Government departments and agencies,

Parliamentarians and Traditional rulers.

Strength

Global visibility;

Global networking with other Oxfam affiliates;

Credible information or evidenced based research;

Communication persons to steer the affairs of communication;

Effective collaboration with civil society groups;

Well-structured organisation ;and

Capacity building for partners.

Weakness

limited number of staff on projects;

Short contract of staff;

Limitation of Oxfam to be forefront campaigners;

Untimely delivery of changed stories from partners; and

Oxfam bureaucracy.

Opportunities

Oxfam to leverage on media pluralism;

Strong CSO presence for Oxfam to work with; and

Oxfam’s potential to attract funds for partners.

Challenges

Inadequate funding;

Policy constraints;

Competition for delivery from partners;

Low commitment for swift response for staff; and

Poor documentation.

B. Oxfam using its strengths to take advantage of identified

opportunities

C. Overcoming weaknesses to take advantage of opportunities

Fundraising to retain staff ;and

Engaging partners for longer.

D. using strength to overcome challenges

Using global visibility and networking to seek for funding to

address weakness;

Through capacity building and monitoring or supervision; and

Data management system to be put in place.

Conclusion

The 3-day training was geared at enhancing the capability of staff to convey their organisation`s

messages and build strong brand recognition.

The training was comprehensive, engaging and interactive. Participants had the opportunity to

share their experience and engage each other and the facilitators through discussions and group

work. It sought to help participating organisations to better understand the varied communication


tools and equip them with requisite knowledge and skills to tell their stories to diverse audiences.

Some recommendations from participants were captured as follows:

- Sessions on development communications can be incorporated ;and

- More facilitators/trainers could be invited.

On behalf of WACSI, the Executive Director, Nana Asantewa Afadzinu issued the closing remarks.

She noted one of the challenges faced by CSOs was in telling their story. And this course was

designed to mitigate this huddle. The Executive Director added it was important for participants to

implement skills acquired during the training in their respective organisations. Nana Asantewa

Afadzinu thanked participants for making themselves available to attend the training and actively

participate during the course.

At the end, participants were awarded certificate of participation to crown the proceedings of the 3-

day Results Based Communication Skills and Strategies Training for Non-Profits.

The training ended on Friday June 13 with a group picture.

LIST OF PARTICPANTS

Results-Based Communication Training for Non-profits

Venue: WACSI Training Centre, Accra, Ghana

Date: June 11–13, 2014

Countries Name of

Participants

Organisations Phone numbers Email Addresses

Benin Rosine Kededji Social Watch Benin +22996140465 [email protected]

Benin Luca Putterman Belgian Development Agency 22967399870 [email protected]

Benin Van Den Poel Marieke Belgian Development Agency 22 99 6332969 marieke.vandenpoel@btcctb.

org

Benin Sybille Godin Belgian Development Agency 22966398629 [email protected]

Ghana Mohammed Nurudeen

Salifu

IBIS (Ghana) 020-8377494 [email protected]

m

Ghana Josephine Yuora

Terkpeng

ProNet North/Oxfam Ghana 206765139 [email protected]

Ghana Issahaku Adam ProNet North 242782389 [email protected]

Ghana Pascal Kelvin Kudiabor Compassion International

Ghana

0244704058 [email protected]

Ghana Daniel Asante Compassion International

Ghana

020 264 2516 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]










Ghana Richwell Kesewaa

Ofosu

Compassion International

Ghana


Ghana Edward Nyamekye Compassion International

Ghana


Ghana Naana Nkansah

Agyekum

Oxfam Ghana 266556807 [email protected]

Ghana Lillian Mwintom

Kuutiero

Oxfam Ghana 0208366156 [email protected] and

[email protected]

Ghana Moses Assani Tampuri Oxfam Ghana 0208435878 [email protected]

Ghana Ben Amaana Oxfam Ghana

Ghana Augustine Liebo Oxfam Ghana/NANDIRDEP 0208941546/0240506278

Ghana Pascal Kelvin Kudiabor SEND-GHANA 244704058 [email protected]

Ghana Emmanuel Kye-Eeboh Kalabash Ghana 208042151 [email protected]

m

Kenya/Sou

th Sudan

Simon Bhan Chuol UNKEA 254704643227 [email protected]

Niger Nathalie Bienfait Belgian Development Agency (00227) 96 72 54 41 [email protected]

Nigeria Adamson Ohiagweni Center for Integrated Health

Programs

2348035284313 [email protected]

Nigeria Ezinne Nzerem Slum to school +2348099448450

[email protected]








Sierra

Loene

Alieu Deen-Conter Sierra Leone Teachers Union

Sierra

Loene

Henry Orlando Joseph Defence for Children

International

00 232 - 78 - 755 - 831/ 00

232 - 33 - 722 - 605

[email protected]

[email protected]

Togo Djigbodi Akou Vicentia

Adjima

APED- Togo 2891433488 [email protected]

Togo Seth Kluvia APED Togo +222890841412 [email protected]

Togo Ayessan Yao WACSI 278807929 [email protected]



Results-Based Communication Training for Non-profits

Venue: WACSI Training Centre, Accra, Ghana

Date: June 11–13, 2014

Training Agenda

Day/Time

Wednesday 11 June

Thursday 12 June

Friday 13 June

8:30 – 9:00

Arrival of Participants / Registration

Recap of Day One

Monitoring and Evaluating your

Organisation’s Communication

Approach

9:00-10:30

Introduction of Participants

Targeted and Effective Writing

Communications strategy

development

Overview of communication

10:30-10:45 Coffee Break

10:45-12:00

Activity 1: Baseline Communication for

CSOs

Information Gathering

Communications strategy

development (Lab 1,2, 3 & 4)

Website Management

12:00-13:00 Lunch break

13:00-14:45

Key Considerations in Communication

Media Engagement

Group Presentations (Groups 1 & 2)

14:45-15:00 Coffee Break

15:00-16:30

Communication Tools for Non-profits

Introduction to Social Media

Group Presentations (Groups 3 & 4)

Communication Strategy Framework

Award of

certificates

Photographs

NARRATIVE REPORT - West Africa Civil Society Institute … RBC Training(June 11-13 2014... · NARRATIVE REPORT WACSI TRAINING CENTRE JUNE 11-13 2014 . ... This report documents the

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