The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative
As of March 15 2025, The Communication Initiative (The CI) platform is operating at a reduced level, with no new content being posted to the global website and registration/login functions disabled. (La Iniciativa de Comunicación, or CILA, will keep running.) While many interactive functions are no longer available, The CI platform remains open for public use, with all content accessible and searchable until the end of 2025. 

Please note that some links within our knowledge summaries may be broken due to changes in external websites. The denial of access to the USAID website has, for instance, left many links broken. We can only hope that these valuable resources will be made available again soon. In the meantime, our summaries may help you by gleaning key insights from those resources. 

A heartfelt thank you to our network for your support and the invaluable work you do.
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The Drum Beat 269 - The Communication Initiative

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269
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As an introduction to this issue of The Drum Beat, our regular annual update, we wanted to introduce this summary of our aims and activities and solicit your feedback on how you think it represents our work.

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The Communication Initiative network is an online space for sharing the experiences of, and building bridges between, the people and organisations engaged in or supporting communication as a fundamental strategy for social development and change. It does this through a process of initiating dialogue and debate and giving the network a stronger, more representative and informed voice with which to advance the use and improve the impact of communication for development. This process is supported by a web-based knowledge base of summarised information and several e-publications, as well as research, review and discussion platforms providing insight into communication for development experiences. Currently, The CI network process includes: The Communication Initiative - in English, with a worldwide overview and focus; La Iniciativa de Comunicacion - in Spanish, with a worldwide overview and focus on the Latin American experience and context; and, Soul Beat Africa - in English, with a focus on the African experience and context.

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We look forward to your comments - please contact Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

What follows represents just some of what The CI has been working on over the past year.

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NETWORK REACH

1. Soul Beat Africa - this period saw the full operational launching of the Soul Beat Africa process in partnership with Soul City and working from an organisational base at SANGONeT in Johannesburg, South Africa. Soul Beat Africa aims to respond to the specific interests and requirements of the development communication community within Africa. This first year of operation included the knowledge website (over 6,000 pages), an e-newsletter (The Soul Beat) and expansion of the network (approximately 6,400 people/organisations). For further information, contact soulbeat@comminit.com

2. The Network - The CI network continues to grow as more and more people and organisations subscribe to our e-publications and comparatively few people unsubscribe. The total network now numbers 57,324. This includes the following subscribers [at Sept 1 2004] to:

  • The Drum Beat: 29,072;
  • Son de Tambora: 21,963; and
  • The Soul Beat: 6,503.


Some people have asked to be in the network database but not to receive the e-publications as they will read them online. From available data, there are people in over 195 countries working on the full range of issues [from AIDS to ageing] and with the full spectrum of communication instruments [from local drama to global television] and strategies [from advocacy to community participation] and from a broad set of organisational bases [from the UN system to unpaid work in a local community]. Approximately 65% are in non-Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) participating countries, approximately 80% are development communicators and approximately 20% work through other disciplines with an interest in communication.

ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS

3. The Drum Beat - There have been 51 issues of The Drum Beat since Oct 1 2003. This past year has seen a heavier emphasis on issues of The Drum Beat that focus on a particular theme, issue or programme. Our general pattern has been: two issues of The Drum Beat each month are on special themes, one is an Analysis [see below] and the other is general. Four examples of themes covered include:

We continue to share through the website much more information than we can cover in issues of The Drum Beat. To subscribe, click here For further information, contact Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

4. The 'Analysis' Drum Beats - one innovation this past year has been the initiation of 'analysis' Drum Beats. Warren Feek, Director of The Communication Initiative, wrote the initial 6 of these [e.g., The Power of Movement] in an attempt to establish a style and tone for the contributions. Others have followed from people within the network including the current analysis by Linje Manyozo [Malawi] - click here - and a recent one by Tawanda Chisango [Zimbabwe] - click here - with future contributions coming soon from Karin Wilkins [USA], Clemencia Rodriguez [Colombia] and Rob Vincent [UK]. We will continue to strengthen this shared insight and analysis process through the one issue of The Drum Beat of each month. For further information or to contribute, contact dheimann@comminit.com

5. Son de Tambora - 23 issues of Son de Tambora have been issued since Oct 1 2003. The Son de Tambora has followed a very similar pattern to The Drum Beat with an increasing emphasis on balancing theme and general issues and the recent introduction of 'analysis' issues. Theme issues have included:

To subscribe, click here For further information, contact Juana Marulanda jmarulanda@comminit.com

6. The Soul Beat - 22 issues of Soul Beat have been issued since Oct 1 2003. The Soul Beat has an emphasis on theme issues including:

Though 'Analysis' Soul Beats have not yet been launched, plans are to do so within the next year. To subscribe, click here For further information, contact soulbeat@comminit.com

KNOWLEDGE BASE

7. Knowledge Sharing - one main aspect of The CI network process is the summary of the experiences, opportunities, challenges and thinking in the development communication field. Our aim is that this information flow primarily unrequested to us from people and organisations in the network - people seeking to have their communication programme initiatives, research results, training programmes, books, papers and other knowledge shared and used by their peers through The CI interactive and dissemination processes. Following our editorial policies (click here), we continue the principle of attempting to put all knowledge submitted onto the relevant site based on the principle that users themselves will decide what is most useful and relevant to them. It is not our purpose to select and promote what is best through the website. The CI provides the knowledge base and search processes so that people in the network can very quickly find and share what is most useful to them. For further information, contact dheimann@comminit.com

8. Changes in Website - we are in the process of completing some changes in the structure and distribution of the information on our three main websites. You may have noticed some changes in URLs through this time. Every effort has been made to make sure that all of the information on the websites is still available to you, regardless of these changes. Please a) search the site for information on your work, b) let us know if you are having difficulty finding things, and c) send us new information on your work:


9. Windows - in order to provide quick and simple access to the information that is most relevant to people in the network we continued to maintain and expand the number of 'Windows' on The CI and La Iniciativa de Comunicación. New Windows include:

  • Educacion [Education] no longer active
  • Juventud [Youth]
  • Human Rights no longer active
  • Health Journalists no longer active


10. Developing Country Newspaper Database - in response to the growing number of journalists [particularly from The South] becoming engaged in The CI network we have developed a database of developing country newspapers that can be searched by journalists and others for stories of relevance to them. Through this facility journalists can see how their peers are reporting issues and stories of interest to them. Currently, this database is a part of two specific 'Windows' on The Communication Initiative: the Health Journalism Window and the Immunisation, Vaccines & Polio Window. For further information, contact Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com

11. Clicks & DB Clicks - as well as the main e-publications, we issue periodic specialised electronic updates [Clicks for La Iniciativa de Comunicacion - in Spanish, and DB Clicks for The Communication Initiative - in English] that are sent monthly to people in The CI subscribers' network with a particular interest or engagement in those issues. For example, the DB Click: Children is sent to those working on children-related issues worldwide and the Click: Salud to those working on health issues in Latin America. A total of 14 are usually developed and sent each month - 11 global and 3 Latin America. Soul Beat Africa is discussing commencing something similar for Africa in the upcoming year. Generally [though there are exceptions] the Clicks and DB Clicks are related to and synergistic with the Windows.

12. Impact & Evaluation Data - recognising the importance of quality summaries of available research and evaluation impact data for both improved effectiveness and better positioning of this field, steps have been taken to provide a better information set of evaluation results. Recently, new summaries have been made of existing impact evaluation data. There is a new format with more extensive data especially on the evaluation/research methodologies used.

RESEARCH, REVIEW, AND DISCUSSION

13. Page Reviews - over 17,000 pages were reviewed from Oct 1 2003 to Sept 1 2004 in a representative field assessment of peer knowledge. Many of these "reviews" indicate the value of programming experiences, impact data, etc., and make reference to whether the information is helpful or not in improving the quality of the reviewer's work. For individual pages the review results and rankings are highlighted and links can be made to the comments received.

14. Red Salud - working with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), La Iniciativa de Comunicación is developing a community of practice with health journalists and people within development agencies seeking to engage health journalists. Red Salud includes: public access and password protected sections; a customised discussion forum with the possibility for 'side-room' discussions; a searchable members database; an e-newsletter; a place for submission of journalists' articles on health themes; the ability for members to rate those articles within a ratings schema; as well as the normal content knowledge base and search capabilities of La Iniciativa de Comunicación. This community has engaged around a series of health themes - e.g., youth and HIV/AIDS - with discussions moderated by leading Latin American journalists and related newspaper articles written by journalists in the network. The network currently consists of 444 members from 29 countries with more joining on a regular basis - 184 of these members are editors, journalists, correspondents or reporters whose specialty is health. For further information, contact jmarulanda@comminit.com

15. Health e Communication - was developed with the Health Communication Partnership (HCP) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Based on the advice and comments of a worldwide group of health communication practitioners, HeC provides an on-line resource for health communication practitioners which is designed to grow and evolve as resources are first identified by The CI or HCP or submitted by users of the website and then peer-reviewed. Reference tools help to quickly access key health communication information as submitted and assessed. For further information, contact Chris Morry cmorry@comminit.com

16. Transnational Communication - working with The Rockefeller Foundation, La Iniciativa de Comunicación has recently focused specifically on the nature, issues and actions related to transnational communication between selected Latin American countries and communities and the USA including Mexico: Oaxaca - California/Florida; Mexico: Puebla/Veracruz - New York; Mexico: Zacatecas - Illinois/California; Dominican Republic - New York; El Salvador - Los Angeles/Washington DC; Central American internal migration (Nicaragua - Guatemala - Honduras - Mexico); and Haiti - New York/Florida. This initiative is nearing completion with extensive summaries of the transnational communication issues, debates, and experiences, academic literature, the regulatory environment in the focus countries, and an overview summary. For further information, contact jmarulanda@comminit.com

17. Polio & Routine Immunisation - working with USAID and UNICEF, The CI has been provided with an opportunity to develop an extensive community of practice with those people and organisations using communication strategies on routine immunisation and polio issues. This work includes:

  • peer review and commentary of polio and routine communications strategies;
  • a virtual group of 60 key policy makers, funders and programme implementers in polio and routine communication that provides a place for dialogue, debate and sharing on the main issues;
  • increasing knowledge of polio and routine communication action (answering the question 'what is happening?'); and,
  • developing a planning and coordination platform for this community of practice.

For further information, please contact Warren Feek wfeek@comminit.com

18. Pulse Polls - there were 7 pulse polls initiated by La Iniciativa de Comunicación and 11 initiated by The Communication Initiative within the past year - attracting votes and opinions from 821 participants. The issues ranged from the necessity for children's participation in developing any media that addresses them to whether journalists are development communicators. Participants are from all over the world and the comments submitted with votes are generally substantive and stimulating. There is also significant anecdotal feedback that the posting of these questions is stimulating dialogue outside of the virtual forums - for example in team meetings and planning groups. There has been a recent shift to relating these polls directly to the 'analysis' Drum Beats and Son de Tamboras in an effort to promote dialogue and debate on the specific topics addressed through these e-publications.

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The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann@comminit.com

To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, see our policy.

To subscribe, click here.

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