Generating research literature on strategic planning of Communication and Development

by the global South

Bella Mody, PhD

Chair in Global Media

University of Colorado Boulder

• Documenting the substantial “Strategic planning” of information inputs you do in Uganda

-Responding to opportunities in our life-contexts,

-Being wary of threats-Systematically building on our strengths-Being wary of our weaknesses

• The need to document our work and build our own literature on realities in Africa, Asia, Lat America and the Middle East

-distinct histories, economics, politics, culture, technologies

• Building our own communication lit:Media training and capacity can be

improved, yes, but: Lack of political redress and response to our

investigative reports is not something you and I can fix in the short run, e.g.

reports on election malpractices, reports on mass killings and no UN

response

• Which borrowed concepts have we found appropriate for use in our life-contexts?

-deliberation?

-self-efficacy?

-globalization over development?

-targeting opinion leaders, using discussion groups?

• Which media do we use most for social marketing and development support? How?

• As class differences increase, some groups have Internet skills, many still rely on local language radio

• Social disparities result in high educ-income groups learning more

• How about free media?

• Which research methods from the West/global North have problems in our contexts?

-sample surveys (Social desirability-inflated baselines) versus ethnographic observation

• Documenting and making available what only we know from our work here, exs:

Why did condom use increase, why is it declining among married men with multiple partners in Uganda and Nigeria

How we are testing components of web designs for our unique users

How development subject experts, audience researchers and media production people work together to meet behaviour change goals

• Building our own literature, documenting our work continued:

How have different ownership and financing sources performed on development communication

-the state?-the private sector: foreign, domestic?-foundations?-bilateral donors like USAID, DANIDA?-multilateral donors like the World Bank?

• Documentation continued:

How do our power structures influence our media

Eg Rwanda

Kenya

• Where are the CDS, what URLS show research by the South on problems of the global South?