MEASURE Communication Final Report - Population Reference ...

22 MEASURE Communication Final Report
place and time. I have also made this information
available in our small library … for other female
journalists willing to specialize and improve their
research and writing skills.”
IR.3: Capacity Building
PRB staff’s commitment to capacity building laid the
groundwork for the media activities:
● Philippines. The journalist from that country says
her five years in Women’s Edition made her a better
journalist, “because now my commitment to exposing
women’s concerns has been bolstered with facts from
experts and resource persons grounded on the issues.
Passion supported by information now guides my
writing.”
● A Zambian journalist in ESAWomen said she spoke
for the group when she remarked after the network’s
second seminar that the information they receive has
raised their level of awareness to reproductive health
and gender issues, which in turn raises the public’s
awareness: “We’re doing stories that two years ago we
would not have done.”
● Nepal. The member of Women’s Edition from that
country said that the information and training she
received from PRB has “set a solid foundation” in her
professional life with her radio programs and as
deputy executive editor of the government daily,
Gorkhapatra, enabling her to wield more influence in
decisions on what issues to cover. “Now I think globally
and write locally. Thanks to PRB/Women’s
Edition, now I am more confidant, competent,
empowered and more skillful.”
● Ghana. A participant from that country says
Women’s Edition as been “the one consistent training
ground which has given me the opportunity to sharpen
my journalistic skills and strengthen my commitment
to bringing my profession to bear on the whole
agenda of improving the conditions of women and
children.”
Capacity Building
One of MEASURE Communication’s key objectives was to
improve the capacity of developing country institutions
and individuals to communicate effectively and use data
for planning, management, and policy purposes. PRB
staff developed a training program to transfer these skills.
Over the life of the project, the team conducted 32 workshops
(1-4 weeks long) for 483 researchers, program
managers, communication specialists, and graduate students
from 66 countries. Attachment 6 provides information
on these workshops.
MEASURE Communication’s training helped participants
to understand how research can influence the policy
process, what types of data and information are
critical for decisionmaking, and what policy communication
strategies ensure data and information use. The
workshops explored several aspects of the research-topolicy
process, emphasizing long-term planning and
communication strategies to ensure that research findings
have policy impact. Specific components included:
(1) examining the research-to-policy gap and the fundamentals
of the policymaking process; (2) identifying key
findings from data and their policy and program implications;
(3) developing a policy-level communication strategy
and action plan based on participants’ own research;
(4) preparing concise written materials that summarize
research findings and present clear policy recommendations;
(5) learning techniques to reach policymakers
through the media such as writing press releases and
interviewing; and (6) creating and delivering oral policy
presentations using PowerPoint. Each participant
brought relevant survey or research findings (often drawing
on information from the other MEASURE partners)
and worked to produce a range of products with these
data throughout the workshops.
Training Programs
MEASURE Communication developed regional, U.S.-
based, and in-country training programs. (The in-country
programs are described in the section on country
work, pages 7–13).
Regional training programs
At the regional level, the goal was to establish and sustain
policy communication training by
● Conducting short-term workshops for regional population
and health researchers and program officials at
well-respected universities; and
● Developing and incorporating policy communications
curricula into the universities’ masters programs
as full courses.
MEASURE Communication achieved its regional
training goals. Over the course of six years, the project
built teams of faculty at three prestigious developing -
country universities—the University of Costa Rica, the
University of Makerere in Uganda, and the University of
Mahidol in Thailand—which are now capable of conducting
policy communication workshops without technical
assistance. Two of them, the University of Costa
Rica and the University of Mahidol, have added master’s
courses on policy communication and data use. 14
To build sustainability, the project team sought to
leverage funding from USAID missions, CAs, and other
donors to support participants. As a result, a high per-