"Written by two practitioners with deep professional experience, this book introduces readers to public interest communications, which takes an evidence-based approach to using strategic communications to drive positive social change. Each chapter includes accessible, applicable insights, exercises
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and real-world examples undergirded by theories and research from a range of academic disciplines: social and cognitive science, communications, systems thinking and human-centered design. The authors provide step-by-step frameworks for practicing public interest communications and illustrate each framework with multiple perspectives through practitioner interviews. Through a focus on fairness and ethics, the book helps readers acquire the mindset of a public interest communicator. This book is an ideal resource for students in strategic communications, health and environmental communications, public relations, journalism, social entrepreneurship, political science and advertising, and in public interest communication courses specifically, who wish to promote lasting change on issues that advance the greater good. Accompanying online materials include worksheets and links to further resources such as videos and podcasts." (Publisher description)
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"The Media Viability Manifesto (MVM) provides an urgently needed common framework for joint action from the global media development community. Its aim is three-pronged: To foster conceptual clarity, to strengthen strategic collaboration between multiple stakeholders, and to align practical implemen
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tation in the field of Media Viability. The MVM is the culmination of input from 152 individuals from 55 countries and 86 organizations. It paves the way for more systematic exchange and learning, and for more strategic and coordinated action. To solve the multi-faceted journalism crisis, we need to work together." (Page 1)
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"El Manifiesto sobre la Viabilidad de los Medios de comunicación (MVM, por sus siglas en inglés) proporciona un marco común, urgentemente necesario, para la acción conjunta de la comunidad mundial de desarrollo de los medios. Su objetivo es triple: fomentar la claridad conceptual, reforzar la co
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laboración estratégica entre las diferentes partes interesadas y adaptar la implementación práctica en el ámbito de la Viabilidad de los Medios de comunicación. El MVM es la culminación de las aportaciones de 152 personas de 55 países y 86 organizaciones. Prepara el camino para un diálogo y un aprendizaje más sistemáticos, y para una acción más estratégica y coordinada. Para resolver la polifacética crisis del periodismo, tenemos que trabajar juntos." (Página 1)
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"Le Manifeste sur la viabilité des médias (MVM) établit un cadre commun, dont le besoin est urgent, pour une action conjointe de la part de la communauté mondiale du développement des médias. Son objectif est triple : Promouvoir une vision claire, renforcer la collaboration stratégique entre
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les parties prenantes et coordonner la mise en oeuvre pratique dans le domaine de la viabilité des médias. Le MVM est le fruit des contributions de 152 personnes provenant de 55 pays et de 86 organisations. Il offre une opportunité d'échange et d'apprentissage plus systématiques, et promeut une action plus stratégique et mieux coordonnée. Pour surmonter la crise multiforme du journalisme, il est impératif de travailler ensemble." (Page 1)
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"The impact framework is a set of tools and guidelines that helps to define targets for, track, and assess the impact of activities under the supported media projects in a clear and organised way; it can also be used for other media projects. Its methodology embraces a user-centric approach, links p
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roject activities to key performance indicators (KPIs) and outcomes, and helps to identify and collect data from the beginning to the end of the projects. The impact framework also allows the programme’s media outlet teams to assess risks, track projects’ progress towards established targets and, if necessary, correct their course in a timely fashion." (Page 3)
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"This tool supports WIEGO programme teams in deliberately seeking to document the influence of our research, that is, outcomes our research has contributed towards. The pathways of influence of research findings are complex and unpredictable. The tool considers what we know about how research influe
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nce works, and by implication, where to put our strategic energies and where to look for outcomes." (The Focus of this Tool)
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"This document serves as a guide for how to develop a Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Strategy or Plan for a single-country or multi-country SBC programme. Developing an SBC Strategy hinges upon understanding the unique circumstances and world views of the individuals the strategy seeks to serve.
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These insights will help you design customised solutions for local challenges. By understanding the barriers to certain behaviours, services or a system from the perspective of community members, you will be able to develop more sensitive, evidence-based and human-centred solutions that respond to people’s needs." (Objective, page 1)
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"This paper presents comparative learning from the evaluation of six international development initiatives that applied various forms of Process Tracing. While these initiatives span across diverse contexts and pursued different aims, they are connected by a common thread: all six case studies centr
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e around efforts to influence others - often decision makers and those in power - around aspects such as practices of consultation and inclusion; public policy; and resource allocation. The paper is organized in the following manner. We first explain Process Tracing and review common definitions. Secondly, we consider the potential value added of an explicitly Bayesian approach to Process Tracing. Next, we discuss the six cases where Process Tracing was applied, noting similarities and differences. Then, we explore key practical learning emerging from the cases and insights from the use of different forms of Process Tracing across different programming contexts. These reflections are organized under four meta-themes of participation, Theory of Change, methodological decisions, and mitigating bias. Finally, we present our key recommendations, ending with practical tips, targeted at practitioners and evaluators interested in applying Process Tracing, especially for initiatives falling under the ‘influencing’ umbrella." (Introduction)
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"What really differentiates community media from their local commercial counterparts is that they see themselves, from their foundation, as part of the community. They do not just serve the community, or reflect the interests of the community, they engage directly with the community and the communit
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y engages directly with them – they are inseparable. It is not just about capturing the attention of listeners, it is about listening to the community, being part of the community by engaging in activities, amplifying the voices of diverse groups in the community, opening a space for volunteers to take part directly and indeed to manage and run the station. Most of all it is about contributing to the overall social benefit of the community, as part of and engaging with the wider local empowerment and development infrastructure. The bulk of this document comprises, in the long Annex, a diverse set of stories that describe, concretely, how the community and community stations interacting, in ways that benefit individuals and groups locally, and ultimately the community as a whole." (Page 1)
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"We present a Social Benefit Framework to help understand the kinds of benefits that, in principle, are generated by community radio. It goes through the distinct types, six in all, that have been identified by looking through the literature and research and talking to community radio stations and t
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heir organisation, CRAOL. As well as identifying the types, the Framework gives a summary indication of how a station actually achieved this benefit [...] The Framework thus describes types of benefits and examples of ways that specific community station actions – many of them unique to community radio - can contribute to each type. It is intended to be of practical use, and the next section Putting the Framework to Work gives a flavour of what it can do, but as part of the wider methodology developed in another part of this project. This briefly illustrates the main components of that methodology and where the stories fit in. After this, a more elaborate Theory of Change map is presented. This takes a further step, to look the wider logic and operations of a community station, and of the environment within which it is embedded, intersecting to enable the Station to bring about change. It is called a Theory of Change because it first looks at the overall objectives of a community station, and then, bearing in mind the challenges that it faces, it tries to map out the logical linkages and preconditions of how to get from the here and now, to the final objective sought i.e. to map out a theory of the how change can happen. In this case the final objective is to maximise the benefits that can be brought to the community by the Station, by means of the same six areas identified in the Framework [...] However, the real star of this report is the Stories from the Community Radio Sector. In researching and documenting these Stories, part of a wider process of developing a methodology to be able to measure social benefit of community radio the researcher was struck by two things when visiting radio stations: First how the station’s staff and volunteers would recount, often in passing, arresting anecdotes about people who have been in touch to thank them, and stories about how the Station engaged with all kinds of the amazing things going on in the community. And second, when pressed for detail, how little of this was actually documented." (Pages 6-7)
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"The Mothers Union (MU) was beginning to feel its age. Founded 140 years ago it had grown into a social movement of more than 4 million members. But in many places their members felt it had become increasingly inward-looking and ineffective. A radically participative theory of change process, called
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MULOA (Mothers’ Union Listening, Observing and Acting), that listened to over 200,000 people in 36 countries between 2017 and 2019, helped breathe new life into this global movement. The learning from this experience has significant implications for development actors, whether faith-based or secular. MULOA showed it is possible to listen at scale. Theory of Change does not have to be a top-down, office-based, process. Participatory activities created safe spaces for mind and heart dialogue, engaging deeply with people’s emotions and faith to catalyse personal transformation. Changes in individual members catalysed major shifts in MU’s identity, strategy, structures and ways of working. It created a member-led evidence base for MU global strategy that reflected localised priorities. Together with concurrent shifts in MU governance, MULOA contributed to a genuine shift towards a more truly global and interconnected movement. Becoming a more listening, trusting and strategic organisation has since proved vital in helping MU be more agile and adaptable in responding to the COVID-19 crisis." (Introduction, page 3)
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"Middle-level theory (MLT) has several uses in development planning and evaluation. It helps predict whether a programme can be expected to work in a new setting. It offers insights into what design features are needed for success. IIt provides invaluable information for monitoring to see if the pro
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gramme is on track and to fix problems that arise. It reveals the causal processes and related assumptions to be tested in an evaluation and helps identify evaluation questions. It helps in interpreting evaluation findings, assessing their relevance and locating a description of them that is useful for programme design and evaluation in other settings. This CEDIL methods brief outlines ten steps for building and using a middle-level ‘causal-processtracing’ theory of change to serve these purposes." (Page 1)
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"This guide can be used to prepare a process or a workshop aimed at formulating a Theory of Change (ToC) and also enables staff and partners to critically assess an existing ToC. This is not a traditional step-by-step guide: the document mainly aims to clarify the underlying ideas of the ToC." (Page
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2)
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"This document provides a synthesis of guidance specifically aimed at Theory of Change (ToC) processes in a Global Environment Facility (GEF) context, as part of a growing suite of Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) documents that support the design of interventions in meeting the GEF’
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s goal to apply leading practices to deliver transformational change. ToC interacts with many other elements of project and program design. In this primer, these interactions are only discussed briefly in terms of their implications for ToC and cross-references to other STAP, GEF or external sources are often provided for more detail." (Foreword)
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"Producing a Theory of Change and Evaluation Plan are requirements for achieving the Financial Education Quality Mark. Although they are not assessed as part of the Quality Mark assessment process, they will help the assessors understand the financial education resources you are offering. But they a
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re much more than this. In practice, they are really useful tools for you to get the most out of your financial education resources and be able to recognise success when it happens." (Page 1)
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"A theory of change is a concise, explicit explanation of: "If we do X, and Y holds true, then we'll achieve Z because a, b, and c." With this structure, the TOC makes clear how (if-then) and why (because) the project team expects or assumes that certain actions will produce desired changes for indi
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viduals, groups, communities or institutions in the environment where the project will be implemented. TOCs can be developed for different levels of the objectives hierarchy. A "high level" TOC articulates how successful achievement of the project's end-of-project objectives or outcomes (SOs) will be contributing to longer-term, broader, lasting change (project's goal). However, often TOCs are developed to describe the whole causal chain - from activities to outputs, from outputs to IRs, from IRs to SOs, and SOs to goal. In this case, the TOC typically splits into complementary "if-then-because" statements that focus on the changes that the design team is least certain about - where assumptions are greater, or evidence is less strong. Presenting a more comprehensive, multi-level TOC enables the design team to investigate and explain the interaction between various activities or strategies; in other words, it helps describe pathways of change. Pathways of change identify the connections between different preconditions, and how they relate to or mutually reinforce each other, and describe the sequence in which they are to be achieved." (Page 3)
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"Addresses the challenges of conducting program evaluations in real-world contexts where evaluators and their clients face budget and time constraints. The book is organized around the authors’ seven-step model that has been tested in workshops and practice environments to help the evaluation impl
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ementers and managers make the best choices when faced with real world constraints. The Third Edition includes a new chapter on gender equality and women’s empowerment and discussion of digital technology and data science." (Publisher description)
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"In this study, we have seen that, in contrast to causal models, narrative and overview models of Theories of Change are mainly used by donors and implementing organisations. However, causal models offer a lot more information that would help improve project planning, as well as monitoring and evalu
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ation. That potential is still untapped, although all of the organisations involved in this study have already started to formulate concrete steps that could be parts of causal models. Our recommendation is to work on causal models of Theories of Change as a standard tool in project planning, as it will give clear context-related insights into what can be expected from projects, and what is feasible in the specific environment. In our view, media support would be much more understandable and realistic. Through formulating result chains, many hidden assumptions come to light, and additional elements that need to be tackled before outcomes can be expected will become obvious. It would also be a pre-condition to provide impact evaluations that are lacking in the sector of media support for governance." (Conclusions)
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