What are key factors that contribute positively to the communications efforts of a project in international development cooperation?

1 — Clear and measurable communication objectives

It is important to have clear goals for your communication efforts and to be able to measure whether or not you are achieving them.

2 — Engaging with target audiences

Understand the needs, interests, and values of your target audiences, and design your communication efforts in a way that will be relevant and engaging for them.

3 — Effective use of appropriate channels and platforms

You must choose the right channels and platforms for your communication efforts, based on the characteristics of your target audiences and the type of information you want to convey.

4 — Quality content

The content of your communication efforts should be clear, accurate, and informative, and should be presented in a way that is easy to understand and use.

5 — Consistency and coherence

Your communication efforts should be consistent with your project’s overall goals and objectives, and should be coherent with the messaging and branding of your organization and other stakeholders.

And what are the top 5 factors that make successful communications possible in the first place?

👉 1 — Having complete buy-in from leadership

This means that the leaders of an organization or project fully support and endorse the importance of communication in achieving the goals of the organization or project. This includes providing adequate resources and support for communication efforts, participating in communication activities, and promoting a culture that values content creation within the organization.

When leadership has complete buy-in for communications efforts, they recognize the value of effective communication in building relationships with stakeholders, conveying important information, and promoting the mission and values of the organization. They are willing to prioritize communication and make it a key part of a project’s overall strategy. This can help create a more cohesive and aligned project, as well as increase the chances of success for the project’s goals.

👉 2 — Complete commitment by the subject matter experts to make real communications efforts

This entails that your project’s experts are fully dedicated to the communication efforts started in their area of expertise. This can involve actively participating in the development and implementation of communication strategies and plans, providing input and guidance on messaging and content, constructive feedback on edits proposed by the communications people and collaborating with other experts and stakeholders to ensure that the information being communicated is accurate and relevant.

Subject matter experts who are fully committed to making real communications efforts understand the importance of effective communication in achieving the goals of a project or organization and are willing to invest time and effort in ensuring that communication efforts are indeed effective. They participate in communication training, engage with target audiences, and stay up-to-date on developments in their field in order to be able to communicate effectively about them.

👉 3 — Producing only content that reflects what the target groups want to hear, rather than what you want to say

This means that you are focusing on the needs and interests of your target audiences, rather than on your own objectives or agendas. This approach involves taking the time to understand what your target audiences are interested in and what information they need, and then tailoring your communication efforts to meet those needs and interests.

This aspect can be particularly decisive in international development cooperation projects, where it is important to build trust and credibility with local communities and other stakeholders. By focusing on what your target groups want to hear, rather than what you want to say, you can demonstrate that you are listening to and respecting their needs and concerns, and that you are committed to working with them toward mutually beneficial goals.

It is indeed not uncommon for local target groups in international development cooperation to feel that interventions are promoting the interests of the donor rather than their own. This can be a result of a lack of communication or engagement with local communities, or a failure to take into account their needs and priorities.

In order to avoid this perception, it is important for development organizations to prioritize the needs and interests of local communities and to ensure that communication efforts are focused on meeting those needs. This can involve actively engaging with local stakeholders, listening to their concerns and ideas, and being transparent about the goals and objectives of the project. By doing so, organizations can build trust and credibility with local communities and demonstrate that they are committed to working with them toward mutually beneficial goals.

👉 4. Having a full-time in-project communications manager who actually knows about communications and has the backing to focus entirely on content creation

This boils down to your project having dedicated a significant amount of resources to its communication efforts and having an individual responsible for overseeing and implementing those efforts. Putting your money where your mouth is — that is investing in dedicated communication resources, such as a full-time communications manager, can help to relieve project leads of the responsibility for overseeing communication efforts, which may be outside of their expertise or experience in the context of international development cooperation projects.

A full-time communications manager who is knowledgeable about communications and has the backing to focus entirely on content is likely to be well-equipped to develop and implement effective communication strategies and plans. They will have the time and resources necessary to research and understand the needs and interests of target audiences, and to create high-quality content that meets those needs.

Having this type of dedicated resource can be particularly important in complex or large-scale projects, where communication efforts may require a significant amount of coordination and planning. It can also be beneficial in situations where it is important to build trust and credibility with stakeholders, as a full-time communications manager is likely to be able to communicate effectively and authentically with those stakeholders.

👉 5. The capacity to read communications-related metrics and a willingness to make adjustments accordingly

Having this capacity means a project collects and properly analyzes data on the effectiveness of its communication efforts, and is willing to use that data to make changes and improvements as needed. Some metrics you might want to track include the number of website visits or social media followers, the engagement levels of those visitors or followers (e.g. likes, comments, shares), and the conversion rates for any calls to action (e.g. sign-ups, donations). By tracking these metrics, an organization can get a sense of how well its communication efforts are working and whether or not they are achieving their desired goals.

Having this capacity and willingness to make adjustments is critical since it allows you to be flexible and responsive to the needs and preferences of your target audiences. You can continually improve communication efforts over time, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Visual

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash