The SDG Communicator

Overview

This is the first in a three-part series that will explore the key takeaways from the Annual Meeting.

In Part 1, we will focus on how to align strategies with organisational missions.

Be sure to check back over the next two weeks to read the rest of the series!

Aligning strategies with organisational missions

Development organisations are stretched. They need to pursue long-term objectives like the Sustainable Development Goals but are increasingly called on to address a diversity of humanitarian emergencies, conflicts, and other crises.

This new “crisis mode” has enormous implications for development communicators, who need to elaborate a coherent narrative and organisational brand, but also need to respond nimbly to unexpected short-term events that attract high levels of media attention.

Media-savvy reputation management and crisis communications have become mission-critical: an organization cannot operate if it cannot be trusted.

The tense geo-political landscape creates further challenges, with many providers of development co-operation facing a lack of trust in partner countries. Their communications efforts have traditionally focused on audiences “at home”. Today, they need to help their organisations strike a complex balance abroad: promoting values like human rights, gender equality and democracy, while also building alliances with actors who do not necessarily share those values.

Organisations also need to operate in a media environment marked by disengagement from the media and mis- and disinformation on an unprecedented scale. Fear has opened the door to conspiracy theories, which often win out on digital platforms with algorithms that prioritise sensational content and engagement.

All of this means that communications is no longer just a “nice to have”. The distinction between development communications and corporate communications is no longer valid. Discussions focused on three ways for communicators to help their organisations achieve core objectives.

1. Anticipate and prepare for crises

Many organizations do not yet have a crisis communications strategy. Without such a strategy, communicators can be taken by surprise. They risk accidentally sharing incorrect information or failing to share any at all. This leaves organizations looking unprepared or out of touch.

Better anticipating crises can help communicators free up space to focus on consistent messaging on the long-term goals of development co-operation. Participants shared several suggestions for getting ahead of crises:

• Don’t be afraid to communicate: Though it may be uncomfortable, extreme situations may require organisations to communicate with the public and the press before they have as much information as they would like. This can be as simple as acknowledging the unfolding crisis and assuring the public that the situation is being closely monitored.
• Prepare where possible: While no one can predict the future, there are ongoing geo-political tensions for which organisations should have relevant facts and figures at hand. Communicators can prepare an hour-by-hour response playbook, with details on what kind of messages need to be shared and when.
• Work together and learn from others: Where possible, coordinating responses with other organisations can be a powerful amplification strategy, and can ensure that more people hear one coherent message. NGOs can be good examples to follow as they have considerable experience responding quickly to crises.

2. Fight mis- and disinformation

The fight against disinformation will be particularly important in 2024, a “bumper” election year in which billions of people around the world will exercise their democratic rights and vote. Here are some ideas that arose during the Annual Meeting:

• Make it resonate: Organizations that spread mis- and dis-information on social media use human stories to tug at people’s emotions – an extremely successful communications strategy. While never leaving facts aside, development communicators need to be able to engage with audiences on an emotional level.
• Make it fast: Development communicators need to get to audiences before false narratives have a chance to spread, pushing back on them as soon they appear. This means closely monitoring the digital conversation to quickly spot disinformation and understand what is being said to whom.
• Support journalism: Communicators can help create an environment where mis- and disinformation is harder to spread. This includes supporting an independent media, including through media partnerships. These partnerships should provide journalists with more direct access to key initiatives and information that they can report on.
•  Help create a more humane internet: Current business models need to change. We need online safety standards and privacy by design. And development communicators, too, have a key role to play. Communicators can help by:
  • Tracking and mapping the spread of mis- and disinformation.
  • Designing communication strategies that keep citizens informed and debunk myths.
  • Building environments where mis- and disinformation cannot spread. This includes efforts to support global campaigns designed to promote a more humane internet.

DevCom resources on the media landscape

Discussion Note: Fighting Mis- and Disinformation: 7 Steps for Development Communicators Comms Guidance: Communicating in a New Media Landscape: 5 Ways to Help Journalists Help Us Interview: Shaping Development Stories: A Q&A with OECD Communicators Guest blogpost by Jo Elsom, Lead, and Prashanth Pillay, Research and Evaluation Manager at ABC International Development:From “Talk & Tell” to “Listen & Learn”: Building Media Partnerships in and with the Pacific Region

3. Strengthen organisational set-ups and workflows

Implementing good communications governance in a complex international organisational setting is a challenge.  They also need coordination mechanisms with country offices around the world, to help understand audiences in different countries and tailor messages to them.

But what does this look like in practice? Here are some recommendations we heard at the Annual Meeting:

• Trust country offices: For organizations working across multiple countries, local staff are best placed to explain local audience perceptions understand local media landscapes. They should be involved in strategic planning on communications.
• Provide a frame and get out of the way: Staff in headquarters should orient and enable, but also need to cede control of the message. Country-based experts offices can tailor language and messages to resonate with local audiences.
• Give local staff the right tools: Guidelines and toolkits, produced collectively, can help unify tone and style across country offices. Local staff also need regular training. They can also benefit from peer learning via platforms like MS Teams.
• Coordinate on operations and policy: Communicators in headquarters need effective systems to collaborate with colleagues in operations and policy, ensuring that they are well aligned on strategic goals.