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policymakers to support programmes and policies that create opportunities for employment
and income generation. Adequate resource allocation for strategic communication
should be planned from the start.
7.2.1 Dimensions of strategic communication
Strategic communication has three dimensions: (1) external communication and organizational
advocacy, (2) communication for development (C4D), and (3) internal communication
and knowledge management.
External communication and organizational advocacy. In crisis and post-crisis
situations, UNDP’s external communication and organizational advocacy involves media
outreach and donor relations, with the intended result of raising funds and building partnerships
to support the recovery effort. By managing perceptions and rapidly responding to
partners’ concerns with the use of solid information, this type of communication enables
UNDP to maintain its credibility and strength as a key partner in crisis recovery. Primary
audiences are usually the decision makers among donors and other partners, and secondary
audiences are those who influence them (e.g., constituents, opinion leaders, lobbying
groups, chambers of commerce, or academic associations). Key messages include the
results of existing programming and plans for scaling up. Openness and honesty about
the recovery challenges and the limitations of UNDP’s influence are critical for managing
expectations and demonstrating that UNDP is realistic. Emphasizing the roles of other
partners is also important so as to avoid the perception that UNDP is “going it alone.”
Communication for development. In crisis and post-crisis situations where social
relations are fractured and the public lacks confidence in the government’s capacity
and integrity, communication for development (C4D) can build understanding around
recovery issues and enable crisis-affected people to influence public debate. C4D can
help crisis-affected individuals to participate meaningfully in governance processes by
providing them with the information they need to participate, raising their awareness of
their right to participate, and creating opportunities for them to do so.
Support for community radio stations is an example of a community-level C4D intervention
that can contribute to recovery. Community radio stations can communicate health
information and announce the re-opening of schools and other public services. Furthermore,
these radio stations can provide a platform for dialogue between local authorities
and community leaders, and they can serve as a channel for community members to
express their views and make demands (e.g., through call-in programmes). In post-conflict
situations, t these radio stations can create confidence in the peace process by airing
dialogue among former parties to the conflict.
Since media coverage reflects and influences every aspect of social, cultural, political,
and economic life, media capacity building is an important part of C4D in most crisis and
post-crisis situations. The shift by many donors towards direct budget support heightens
the need for the media to have sufficient capacity to serve its “watchdog” function.
Internal communication and knowledge management. Internal communication
and knowledge management involve (a) information and communication technology
(ICT) that enables storage and transfer of knowledge within an organization and (b)
strategies to ensure that knowledge storage and transfer take place. The Inter-Agency
Standing Committee (IASC) has established the cluster system—with eleven clusters,
Livelihoods & Economic Recovery in Crisis Situations