Designing & Implementing an RPC Communications

Strategy

Annabelle South

19th May 2009

Contents• Background - partners• Process of developing the strategy• The communications workshop• Supporting partners to implement the strategy• Communications community of practice• Challenges• Lessons learnt• What next?

Background• Aim to influence policy &

practice• 7 partners – UK, Africa and

Asia• Academic organisations,

research institutes and NGOs• Varying levels of comms

experience and capacity

Developing the strategy

• Initial strategy developed by LSHTM & AIDS Alliance during inception phase

• Comms leads appointed for each partner

• Preparation by partners for workshop

• Comms workshop held

• Strategies finalised by partners

• Overall strategy agreed

The workshop• Purpose:

– Develop country-level strategies

– Strengthen comms capacity

• Attended by comms leads for partners

• External facilitators (ODI) & internal expertise

Workshop contents

• Identifying the audience• Identifying the changes• Forces for & against change• The message & the

messenger• Internal communications• Knowledge & learning• Communities of practice• Writing for impact

Supporting partners to implement the strategy

• Community of practice (Comms CoP)

• Comms manager– Lead & facilitate comms CoP– RPC-wide activities & products– Capacity strengthening– Support partner-specific activities & products

• Capacity strengthening

Comms CoP• Purpose: to improve the comms

performance and capacity of partners

• Regular teleconferences: update on activities, share experience & ideas

• Valued by partner comms leads (& comms manager)

• Formal evaluation to take place next week

Challenges• Workshop costs – travel, facilitators

• Limited time & human resources for carrying out comms activities

• Partner not able to attend main comms workshop less active in Comms CoP

Lessons LearntWorkshop:• Multi-partner workshop worked better in long-

run than single-partner workshop• Workshop was a good way of generating buy-

in & enthusiasm• Timing

Strategies:• Need to fit with partner’s overall priorities

Lessons LearntComms CoP:

• Useful support mechanism

• Important to find the right way for the group to function

• Best for specific, concrete plans rather than conceptual discussions

Lessons LearntComms leads:

• Clearly identified leads facilitated process of strategy development & implementation

• Dual role (research & comms) means time-pressure substantial

Other:

• Need to take account of time needed for internal approval (within partners)

What next?• Updating comms strategy

• Evaluating comms CoP

• Capacity building

• Continuing implementation