Planning Impactful Community Development in the Field of Communication

Communication community development is critical to establishing inclusive societies, bridging barriers, and empowering individuals. Effective planning is required to guarantee that projects are not just well-intended, but also long-lasting and impactful.

On 24 October 2023, we invited Moch Syifa Masduqi, a Communication Professional in Disaster Management from the AHA Centre, ASEAN to share about planning impactful community development. He shares the following key points:

1. Development and Modernisation

The terms “development and modernization” relate to processes that strive to better and advance society, economies, and technologies. These phrases can refer to a variety of situations, such as economic development, technological advancement, social progress, and organizational growth.

2. Audience/Community Mapping

The audience/community becomes an important element of the development process. Community development programs or projects may fail if the target audience is not identified.

3. Communication and Development

There’s a specific need to communicate information related to projects/programmes to the community. The right communication channels/strategies will help achieve behavior change of the targeted community. Development of communication technologies, i.e. mobile phone, internet, social media, etc.​ Various issues need to be communicated properly – environmental communication, health communication, disaster management communication, etc.​

4. Trends in Community Development

Localisation  Each community has its own local wisdom, needs, and uniqueness. The more local, the better.​ Communication for Social Change has become one of the most important components in development sector.​ Climate Change, Disaster Management, Protection Gender Inclusion (PGI), Environment, are some of the ‘sexiest’ issues in development sector, which attract more donors to fund the projects.​

5. Ethical Challenges

Greenwashing is it OK or not OK?​ Sensitivity, political, racial, religion, cultural, gender. All programmes in development sector must consider cross-cutting issues. Projects/Programmes implementation may take more than five years to achieve the goals. Behavior change always takes time.​

A holistic and community-centered strategy is required for effective community development in the field of communication. Communication initiatives can significantly contribute to the holistic development of communities by understanding the unique needs, engaging stakeholders, being culturally sensitive, responsibly leveraging technology, focusing on education and skill-building, measuring impact, and prioritizing sustainability. Communication, with careful preparation and execution, may become a strong force for positive change, promoting inclusive and empowered cultures.

Contributor: Dian Sarwono

Editor: Dian Sarwono