Background

The Program in Development Communication at the University of Southern California (USC) was established in 1995 under a faculty research grant from the Annenberg Center for Communication at USC. The project was multidisciplinary in nature and included faculty from the Schools of Cinema/TV, Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences. We started with the premise that communication strategies and new technologies could be used in developing countries to foster grass roots empowerment, community stability, and democratization. During our first year, we successfully created an interdisciplinary community of scholars and practitioners, and we established a Development Communication Website (www.usc.edu/dept/ancntr/pdcomm/devcomm.html). Through a series of lectures and a symposium — Communication and Empowerment: Uses of Media and Information Technologies in Developing Countries — we explored key issues, problems and emerging opportunities in the field of development communication. Finally, we established a partnership with the Pacific Institute for Women's Health and together designed the model intervention called "Women Linking" that is the subject of this report. The goal was to work with a small women's non-governmental organization in a developing country that needed and desired communication skills and technology access. We looked at groups world over and visited many in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda.

Why a ‘Women Linking"Project?

In developing countries all over the world, grass roots groups are working on
issues of empowerment, including support for democracy and human rights,
protection of the environment, and opposition to racism, gender oppression, and religious intolerance. These groups often develop in response to local or regional circumstances, and act with tremendous enthusiasm and commitment to local and regional concerns. Because of this local focus, a lack of resources, and other historic obstacles, these groups tend to operate in relative isolation from similar groups in other regions or other parts of the world. As a result, there is less sharing of experiences and learning. This isolation, combined with a lack of expertise in communication and use of media, can manifest itself in a number of ways in different organizations:

They may not think strategically about how to use media most effectively to get their messages to the people they want to reach.
They often spend limited, precious resources on messages that are not tested, and on expensive technologies such as international phone and faxes.
They frequently are not clear or specific enough about who they are trying to reach with their messages.
They often continue media campaigns for many years without doing research or evaluations, and without knowing whether their work is having the desired effect.
They have little international communication because phones calls and faxes are expensive.

The goal of the "Women Linking" project has been to address these circumstances through a pilot project that would identify as a collaborating partner a women's organization in a developing country and support the group's mission and capabilities by strengthening communication strategy skills and introducing telecommunication technologies. We combined these two elements as the appropriate response to the circumstances in which grassroots groups find themselves today. First, groups realize that they must improve their communication strategy skills to more effectively reach their organizational goals. They know that they need to continue their commitment and support of local and regional issues and of traditional client bases. At the same time, they face increasingly complex political and social circumstances frequently influenced by international circumstances. Groups find that the process of acquiring resources to support traditional activities is much more competitive and they are held more accountable for results than ever before. Thus improvement in meeting organizational goals by improving communication strategy skills is essential for a group's success.

At the same time, organizations find that to understand these changes and ensure that they continue to flourish, they must expand their traditional focus to become more involved in regional and international activities for lobbying, fund-raising, and partnerships with other grassroots groups. They increasingly need to stay in touch with sister organizations, communicate easily with funders, and get the information they need to monitor events in the world community that might effect or benefit them. Overall, this new expanded focus requires that groups are able to communicate world-wide, efficiently and effectively, to become part of a larger digital community. Therefore, they need to develop electronic communication capabilities and organization-wide skills. We realized that both elements--communication strategy skills and electronic technology capability -- are dynamically linked, and both must be improved to ensure a group's ongoing success as it moves into the 21st century.
We sought to partner with a women's organization in a developing country to create and test a model for effectively transforming these essential communication-related capacities. We developed a list of criteria to begin our search for a group that:

Had defined itself as linking with and serving other women's organizations;
Was not yet connected electronically with other groups but had access to electricity, telephone lines, and computers;
Had a demonstrated ability to effectively implement projects;
Viewed the "Women Linking" intervention as timely to support its organizational goals;
Demonstrated enthusiasm about developing a communication model and participating with us in the design of the intervention; and
Could assume financial responsibility after the year of project funding ended.

Our U.S.-based partner, the Pacific Institute for Women's Health, had recently conducted a worldwide evaluation of 56 independent women's groups, in collaboration with The Global Fund for Women. From that evaluation we chose ACFODE (Action for Development,) an indigenous women's empowerment organization in Uganda, as our partner. ACFODE's primary commitment has been to improve the status and lives of women in Uganda by disseminating messages and providing outreach and advocacy around issues such as inheritance rights, law reform, and equitable representation in local and national government. We have been working with the women of ACFODE for the past year and a half to develop our project through discussions, technical assistance, financial support and equipment.

The Methodology

The design for this model project had two equal and connected elements. One is the use of strategic planning in communication campaign design; the second is technological innovation through the introduction of e-mail, Internet accessibility and web page setup. Both elements aid capacity- building by strengthening communication abilities within the organization.

We traveled twice to Uganda in 1997. On our first trip (July) we:
Connected ACFODE to e-mail and the Internet.
Provided training in the use of e-mail and the Internet, and led discussions about the potential and implications of the new technology.
Set up a support committee within the organization to spearhead the innovation.

Identified local Ugandan consultants to work with ACFODE to supply additional technical and upgrading information to the group as would be needed. Provided extensive training in communication campaign design and implementation issues to ACFODE members and other related and interested women's groups.

During our second trip (November) we:
Evaluated ACFODE's progress with the new technical innovations both through observation and interviews, as well as by reviewing the group's e-mail and Internet records.
Led workshops to help ACFODE articulate its need for a web page, instituted training in basic web page design and management, and set up ACFODE's web page online.
Responded to ACFODE's request for more support in articulating its advocacy efforts, which was in part a response to our initial communications campaign design workshop.
Provided an additional workshop on advocacy techniques, as a follow- up to the one held during our first visit.

Major Findings and Conclusions:

This model intervention has led us to a number of preliminary conclusions that are supported as well by both prior experience and additional research:

1. Duel focus: communication strategy and technology. By focusing on both communication strategy and new technology simultaneously, an intervention can have substantive impact in group capacity- building. Through this combined approach an organization can look at its communication mission more broadly and identify its strengths and weaknesses in its own terms. The new technologies can enhance an organization's ability to speak to other similar groups, both regionally and internationally. Organizations can feel less isolated and learn from each other.

2. Organizations may often be wired but not connected. ACFODE had numerous computers which they used for donor reports, accounting and word processing, but they were not connected to each other, much less to countries outside Uganda. The group was not using digital technology to expand its communication capabilities or to work with other similarly connected groups with shared values and approaches.

3. Saving money. Technologies like e-mail and the Internet are extremely cost-effective in situations such as ACFODE's where electricity, phone lines, technical support and Internet service providers are available at relatively reasonable costs . Before the Women Linking project, ACFODE spent $150 (U.S.) a month on international phones and faxes. The combined e-mail and Internet connection will cost only $50 (U.S.) a month.

4. New technology changes organizational dynamics. Introducing new technology into any organization will cause changes within the organization by putting pressure on systems, relationships, communication, and management styles. Typically, computers are tools for secretaries, not for management. E-mail and Internet convey a new power to anyone using the computer, and so can have a profound effect on power structure and communication within the organization. With limited resources or lack of a network, who will have access to the Internet and e-mail? Will the system of one person opening up regular mail be transferred intact to opening up e-mail? It may become necessary for many people within the organization to develop computer and new technology skills. Therefore, it is important to identify local training and support resources, and to provide these resources in order to strengthen the organizations.

5. Sharpening the communication strategy. Organizations often use media and develop messages without a strategic planning, research or evaluation component. This can be costly and inefficient. ACFODE had distributed numerous posters dealing with inheritance rights and physical abuse but had never pre-tested any of them. By learning strategic thinking and asking appropriate questions, organizations can strengthen their message outreach, measure their results and question appropriately their future agenda and mission. Often the result of this will be new outreach ideas and reflection on the purpose and thrust of the organization.

6. Time and follow-through. Communication interventions that involve complex technology and strategizing take an extended amount of time to implement and measure — optimally two to three years. This is especially true in countries where telephone lines and power are not yet reliable. Organizations need ongoing attention and timely visits and input. We will continue working with ACFODE over the next few years — but that will be easier now that ACFODE is linked via e-mail and the Internet.