Building a strategy

Six useful guides on communication strategy

By 16/08/2012

Effective communication requires effective strategy and a coherent plan of action. here are six useful guides from six different places that offer valuable information on what they think an effective communication strategy is and what it entails:

  1. Planning tools: How to write a communications strategy (ODI): ODI offers a basic outline of what a communication strategy should include and has identified these key areas: Objectives, Audiences, Messages, Tools & Activities, Resources, Timescale and Evaluation and amendment.
  2. KnowHowNonProfit offers a step by step guide to producing a communication strategy for your organisation, starting with an assesment of your current situation, that cen then be used to unpack your objectives, messages, methods and evaluation technigues.
  3. The Development Communication Sourcebook aims to provide a clear understanding of the field of development communication and its more recent trends. It illustrates why this field is important and how its methods and tools can be applied effectively to enhance long-term results.
  4. Strategic communication for sustainable development (GTZ now GIZ): This guide gives a detailed analysis of the key principles and steps found in development communication. It responds to decades of experiences, lessons learned and well-established methods and tools of communication strategies in other fields: agricultural extension, health and sanitation, poverty alleviation, or social marketing for condoms in AIDS campaign. Stating that what they all have in common is a set of generic principles and steps established in development communication. This trend was enforced by the focus on ‘sustainable development’ with its social, economic and ecological dimension, putting ’the environment’ in a context as well.
  5. UNICEF has prepared this guide, Writing a Communication Strategy for Development Programmes, as a practical manual for development professionals. This guide contains a tools that assists in the  actual writing of a communication strategy for a programme or a project. This tool guides the writer of the strategy to use results of research and various analyses to shape communication approaches into a strategy document.

Do you know a better guide? Or if you think we have missed something that you found really useful please do let us know.

7 Responses to Six useful guides on communication strategy

  1. Linda Cilliers says:

    Hi all, useful blog, but the link to the Local Government Improvement and Development link takes one to the LGID homepage and the guide is nowhere to be found, even with a search. Thanks, Linda

    • Hi Linda, Thank you very much for your comment and bringing this to our attention. Unfortunately It looks as though the link has disappeared as we also can not find the guide. We will do our best to find another great guide to put in its place for you. Thank you the Research to Action team.

  2. Roger says:

    Good to have all these in one place. I have found Smart Chart useful, practical and easy to apply: http://www.spitfirestrategies.com/spitfire-tools/smart-chart-30.html

  3. Guido Couck says:

    Belgian development agency has also published a guide on Communication for Development, which you can find here: https://www.btcctb.org/publication/communication-development-dialogue-and-involvement-achieve-sustainable-results

  4. ombretta baggio says:

    The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement has just published a Community Engagement and Accountability Guide and Toolkit. Great resources for local actors to improve communication, listening and action http://www.ifrc.org/CEA