"The Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) project has been the Office of Population’s leading project for communication and behavior change since 1982. Now working under its fourth cooperative agreement* with USAID, JHU/PCS and its subcontractors provide technical and financial support for communication projects in all stages of design, implementation, and assessment, including audience identification, message design, determination of appropriate media mix, materials development, and program evaluation. Previous versions of the PCS project (i.e., those carried out under the first three PCS projects) emphasized production of and training for the development of posters, brochures, flip charts, and other materials for providers and facilities materials which were largely lacking at that time. The earlier projects also pioneered the use of mass media, music, and drama for family planning and health promotion. The design of the current PCS project recognizes the importance of community mobilization and interpersonal communication and counseling (IPC/C), and incorporates all three elements in a three-pronged strategy wherever possible. In addition to these planned additional areas of responsibility, PCS IV has become increasingly involved in functional areas that were not anticipated when it was awarded in 1995. These include child survival (including polio eradication), prevention of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), environmental health, and—representing the most obvious departure from the project’s traditional orientation—democracy and governance. PCS has assumed responsibility for virtually all of these unanticipated new tasks in response to field support–funded requests from USAID Missions. Indeed, the field support–driven nature of the PCS project is one of its central characteristics. At present, approximately 80 percent of PCS funds are derived from Mission field support funds—a substantial portion of which (approximately 30 percent) has been provided to address communication needs in the areas beyond family planning/reproductive health noted above. The evaluation presented herein was designed to assess JHU/PCS performance in meeting the objectives set forth in the current cooperative agreement, as well as to examine the project’s effectiveness in responding to these new and unforeseen challenges. The evaluation team was asked to review the tools and methodology that JHU/PCS and its partners apply to these tasks, as well as the communication science that underlies PCS’s strategic approach." (Executive summary)