C-Capacity #4 - SBCC Materials and Message Development
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A newsletter from C-Change partner Ohio University in cooperation with The Communication Initiative
Issue 4 | September 13 2010
Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) Materials and Message Development In this edition, we are focusing on another of SBCC's core competency areas - materials and message development - the creation of materials, products, and activities in order to realize goals established in a communication strategy. While the best communication materials often look simple, there is a process of research and testing that lies behind every good toolkit, training manual, website, radio script, or brochure. The process of developing these combines i) science in the form of analysis of such things as culture, policy, socio-economic conditions, and available communication channels with ii) the artistic ability to create products that evoke emotion and motivate audiences. Below you will find core resources and trainings designed to strengthen capacity to create the materials and messages needed to carry out a successful SBCC program. About C-Capacity C-Capacity is an e-magazine supported by C-Change and prepared by The Communication Initiative in cooperation with C-Change partner Ohio University. It is dedicated to alerting you and your organization to resources, training, links, and other opportunities for capacity strengthening in social and behavior change communication (SBCC), all vetted for quality and relevance by AED and Ohio University. The C-Capacity Online Resource Center is a living resource designed to provide the best resources and training opportunities available and we welcome your contribution. We are looking for case studies, strategic thinking, support materials, trainings, meetings, and other resources relevant to SBCC capacity strengthening. To contribute, please contact cchangeorc@comminit.com Worth Reading 1. Clear and Simple: Developing Effective Print Materials for Low-Literate Readers This guide is unique in providing tested and practical guidance into developing materials for low-literate readers. It includes five standard steps for developing print materials specifically adapted for low literate audiences: (1) define the intended audience; (2) conduct target audience research; (3) develop a concept for the product; (4) develop content and visuals; and (5) pretest and revise draft materials. Examples throughout are drawn from health materials, especially cancer-prevention items in the United States. Select Opportunities 2. Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Certificate CourseSeptember 7 to October 1, 2010 Soul City and the University of Witwatersrand, School of Public Health have collaborated in the development and launch of a new concentration in SBCC within the University of Witwatersrand's Masters of Public Health programme. Seeking to develop critical SBCC competencies (knowledge, skills, values) among participants, the full syllabus of the programme includes five units that reflect recommendations emanated from a Consultative Meeting held in January 2009 at the University of Witwatersrand, with the participation of academics and professionals with relevant experience in SBCC. These units also reflect main competency areas of a series of training modules that C-Change has developed for short-term face-to-face and online training. Each unit is also offered as a Certificate Course. The Research, Monitoring and Evaluation unit applied to SBCC will develop capacity in formative research which will be used to inform the development of interventions, messages, and programmes. Students will learn key concepts for effective monitoring and evaluation of SBCC interventions and programmes. The unit will address the design of evaluation research for a SBCC intervention or programme. 3. HIV and AIDS Stigma & DiscriminationOctober 1-31, 2010 AfriComNet has developed a complete 5-day training-of-trainers course on HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination. The course is premised on core competencies and standards of practice toward the certification of strategic communication practitioners. 4. Centers for Disease Control Health Communications Training Program The United States CDC's Health Communications Training Program is open to students and professionals seeking internships or fellowships in the field of Health Communications. Candidates may apply for fellowships or internships. Participants may be engaged with conducting research for marketing and communication initiatives, campaign development, the production of communication materials, and additional hands-on opportunities. 5. Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Scholarships This scholarship exchange programme aims to assist individual media practitioners from Southern Africa in all areas of the media (managerial, editorial, advertising, and technical) to work on attachment in another media institution to learn new skills and develop existing ones. It is geared towards journalists, media managers, editors, advertising executives, media entrepreneurs and production staff, the scholarship exchange programme pairs up media outlets with participants for internships lasting up to three months. 6. African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) Internship FEMNET is offering an internship as part of their capacity building programme. It is open to female students (both local and international) and to those who have just completed their studies and are looking for experience and mentorship in the area of African women's human rights, gender mainstreaming, African feminist movements, and communications. Jobs Click here for a full listing of open positions at C-Change. 7. Director Executivo, PIRCOM Moçambique (Executive Director) This report evaluates the 2-year Reproductive Health for Married Adolescent Couples Project (RHMACP), implemented in Nepal in 2005 by the ACQUIRE Project in association with CARE Nepal and with funding from USAID. The project utilised an ecological model to improve health outcomes for married adolescents in the 2 target districts (Parsa and Dhanusha). In close collaboration with District Public Health Offices, the RHMACP established a peer education network to disseminate reproductive health information to married couples; supported local health facilities to provide youth-friendly services; and fostered an enabling environment among parents, in-laws, and influential community members to increase married adolescents' access to, and use of, health services. "The ecological model successfully accommodated an expanded project focus that embraced peer initiatives in community development, local governance, and citizens' rights - all of which strongly supported the core project goal of effective access to quality reproductive health services for all married adolescents." 8. Chief of Party, C-Change Guatemala The Chief of Party is AED's official representative in Guatemala for the SBCC capacity strengthening project and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of its technical, financial, and managerial performance. The COP will be AED's primary liaison with USAID/HEO and all other stakeholders. S/he will lead work plan development and ensure that the program complies with USAID and AED financial and personnel regulations. S/he will provide vision and leadership to the C-Change Project technical staff and in-country partners and will regularly report to USAID on technical, administrative, and budgetary issues. 9. Director, C-Change Research The C-CHANGE Research Director will oversee monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities conducted in support of country implementation programs which focus on SBCC in RH/FP, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. As Key Personnel, the Research Director will be responsible: for planning, coordinating, and directing applied research and knowledge generation activities; for leading a team of research staff, principal investigators, research consultants, and regional research partners; and for reviewing and advising on research design, implementation, analysis, report preparation, and the development of peer reviewed articles for journal submission, based on the outcome of C-Change research and M&E activities. In addition, in collaboration with the Deputy Director, s/he will develop research training activities to attract, develop, and retain research professionals at institutions in developing countries and emerging economies, worldwide. 10. Lecturer: Social and Behaviour Change Communication University of Witwatersrand School of Public Health The School of Public Health, at Witwatersrand University in partnership with The Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication, seek to appoint a person with excellent skills in social and behaviour change communication to join its team. The successful candidate will contribute to curriculum development, teaching and research. Select Core Resources: Materials and Message Development Below you will find a selection of core resources and trainings designed to strengthen capacity for creating the materials and messages needed to carry out a successful SBCC program. 11. C-Modules: A Learning Package for Social and Behavior Change Communication - Module 3: Creating This module builds on the strategy outlines developed in C-Modules: Module Two (Focusing & Designing), and focuses on key steps in the creation of effective communication materials and activities. It provides guidance and tools for the creating process including examples and templates for creative briefs, creating effective messages, concept and pre-testing and reviews, and finalization of the materials. 12. Tools Developed for the Malaria Prevention Campaign in Ethiopia These resources include a campaign guide, a facilitator's guide and 4 graphic tools (titled Malaria Protection Scorecard, Essential Malaria Actions Flipchart, Malaria Prevention Sticker, and Malaria Prevention T-Shirt) designed for the Malaria Prevention Campaign in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia by C-Change. The campaign works to recognise the role communities can play in taking specific actions and focuses on 'doable actions' that families can carry out to protect themselves against malaria. The tools are available in high quality PDF, JPG, or GIF format through C-Change. 13. Facilitating Behavior Change With Low-Literacy Patient Education Materials This is a guide to developing effective health education materials for low-literacy patients. It includes a six step process: (1) Convene a multidisciplinary creative team; (2) Solicit stakeholder input, identifying key concepts to be communicated; (3) Map concepts to a behavioral theory, creating a supporting behavioral intervention; (4) Design materials using low-literacy principles; (5) Refine materials using input from target population; (6) Assess efficacy and learn from failures. Emphasis is placed on looking beyond factors such as reading level and focusing on offering practical strategies for behavior change rather than simply teaching facts. 14. Action Media: Consultation, Collaboration and Empowerment in Health Promotion This resource is a discussion of "Action Media," a unique health promotion communication approach that draws on semiotic theory. The approach provides a culturally open method of understanding which is achieved through engaging with intended audiences in participatory and democratic processes. Action Media is implemented by first identifying one’s challenge and a sufficiently homogenous group within defined locations, collaborating with the population to facilitate workshops, and then conducting educative focus group discussions within these workshops to achieve contextualization of a communication program. Communication programmers can use concepts that come out of Action Media workshops to develop materials, which are then shown to the same workshop participants for review and feedback. The methodology is the antithesis of top-down approaches, allowing instead for collaborative effort and empowerment in the creation of media products. 15. Talking About Sex: Using Youth Language in Sexuality Education The article discusses how interventions to raise knowledge and awareness and to influence attitudes and behavior need to be well-designed and accessible for young people. The authors suggest that an important way of tailoring interventions to the sociocultural context is through incorporating young people's own language into curricula and teaching approaches. 16. Protecting the Next Generation: Learning from Adolescents to Prevent HIV and Unintended Pregnancy This report notes that adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa have a strong desire to obtain information and services needed to protect their sexual and reproductive health. It concludes that providing information and services that reflect the reality of their lives is not merely the best means of ensuring their successful transition to adulthood and lifelong health; it is also a sure step toward achieving social progress and economic development for their countries. It argues for the importance of knowing the audience when designing messages and demonstrates how research can inform message creation. 17. A Field Guide to Designing a Health Communication Strategy This comprehensive strategic communication field guide provides practical advice to those who design, implement, or support strategic health communication efforts. Chapters 5 and 6 are particularly relevant as they focus on the message brief, identifying key message points and integrating these with appropriate channels and tools. This resource places message and material development in the context of formative research and strategy while providing a step by step approach to creating relevant messages delivered through the most effective channels. 18. Developing Materials on HIV/AIDS/STIs for Low-Literate Audiences This guide provides a comprehensive methodology for developing materials for a low-literate audience in the context of a BCC program. It demonstrates the process of learning about intended audiences using qualitative research methodologies, developing effective messages with their input, and crafting visual messages to support an overall HIV and AIDS program. Involving audiences and stakeholders in the development process is key to ensuring high-quality, effective print materials. Finally, the guide outlines a process for rigorous pretesting to ensure that the information and issues are understood by groups that programs are trying to reach and influence. C-Change Capacity Strengthening News 19. Division of Social and Behaviour Change Communication Launched The Wits School of Public Health and the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication have launched a Division of SBCC. This field of study is the first of its kind at a masters level in a School of Public Health in Africa. The centre is supported by UKAid, Pepfar, USAID through their, Communication for Change (C-Change) project. C-Change partners responsible for this activity are, the Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication, Ohio University and their partner, the University of Roskilde in Denmark. 20. C-Hub: Online Resource of Communication Materials Launched C-Change has launched C-Hub, an online resource of communication materials for development. Users can view, access, download, and share examples of communication materials. C-Hub supports the processes that are important to the development of effective health and development materials and campaigns. Each set of materials (database records) include media and multimedia documents and supporting documentation in electronic formats. A goal of C-Hub is to promote and advocate for the importance of developing communication materials that are based on evidence. C-Hub is a central point and network for communication materials from projects or interventions working in a range of cross-cutting development issues, particularly health, but also environment, civil society, democracy and governance, climate change, and education. Visit C-Hub to register and submit your communication materials and to view and download others. Select Forums and Communities 21. CORE Group The CORE Group has eight Working Groups which create a chance for CORE Group organizational members, academics, policymakers, advocates, and others to come together in a community of practice to develop tools and strategies that help advance community health practices. Each CORE Group Working Group has its own listserv and annual workplan, devised and put into action primarily by the Working Group members themselves. Members of Working Groups focus on technical and crosscutting issues and undertake activities that address priority issues, needs, and opportunities identified by members. There is currently a working group on SBCC. 22. The Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) / The Africa Malaria Research and Control Forum The MIM forum aims to engage stakeholders in dialogue to contribute to global initiatives that address Malaria prevention and control by facilitating malaria research networks and collaboration amongst malaria control programs in Africa. The Africa Malaria Research and Control Forum was initiated to focus on the scaling up of new malaria interventions and the translation of research results into formidable plans of action. 23. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Magazine Forum on Public Health in Africa The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Magazine Forum on Public Health in Africa is associated with the online magazine for the School of Public Health and offers an open forum for discussion of health-related issues in Africa such as prevention, health care administration, epidemiology, and more. The C-Capacity Online Resource Center continues to seek new knowledge and experiences in support of capacity strengthening for social and behaviour change communication - your case studies, strategic thinking, support materials, and any other relevant documentation. Please contact cchangeorc@comminit.com Please visit the C-Capacity Online Resource Center for more resources on SBCC.
This publication is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Agreement No. GPO-A-00-07-00004-00. The contents are the responsibility of The Communication Initiative and the C-Change project, managed by AED, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. | ||||||||||
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