The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative

After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. 

Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future. 

On the transfer, co-founder Victoria Martin expressed her pleasure to see this work continue under Wits' leadership, knowing that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction. 

As Wits, we honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades and look forward building from that strong base. This includes co-founders Warren Feek (1953-2024) and Victoria Martin as well as La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA), which continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com with links to The CI Global site. We are also eager to forge new partnerships and entertain new ideas as we consider how best to contribute to social and behaviour change in our rapidly evolving environment.

If you are joining the International Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Summit in Panama, please join Wits and CILA on Monday, 22 June, to share your thoughts and suggestion for the relaunch of the Communication Initiative. We will be in Pacifica 5 from 12-1:25 for the Refuel, Reflect, and Renew Lunch Series: The Communication Initiative: celebrating a driving force for Communication for Social Change and the way forward. We will reflect on the legacy of Warren Feek and family in creating the Communication Initiative, consider the contributions of CI over the years and then turn our attention towards the future in this dynamic session. 

If you are unable to join us in Panama, we still want to hear from you. Please contribute your thoughts by following this link: https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026 or reaching out to ci_surveys@commint.com. 

You can also follow the QR Code:

 https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026

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Social and Behavior Change 101: An Introduction

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"Never stop learning. Change the world."

This video is a "skill shot" or a short course for programme managers, donor organisations, and family planning (FP)/reproductive health (RH) practitioners in learning how social and behaviour change (SBC) interventions can guide and amplify the effectiveness of FP and RH programmes.

Its modules are structured around the three steps of the SBC Flow Chart developed under Breakthrough ACTION: define, design and test, and apply. The SBC Flow Chart harnesses the Breakthrough ACTION consortium partner disciplines, thought to be necessary for impacting real and meaningful SBC: community development and engagement; marketing science; behavioural science; SBC communication (SBCC); and design thinking.

  • Click here [PDF] for a 17-page presentation that outlines the disciplines, explains their underpinning methodologies, and explores the tools and techniques that comprise the SBC Flow Chart, while providing an overview of the three phases.
  • Click here [PDF] for the 12-page course handout: the SBC Flow Chart Checklist. Its closing pages include links to resources that may be helpful in designing, evaluating, and advocating for FP SBC strategies and interventions.

With practical examples and short exercises, the video-based capacity-building course illustrates the importance of strategically designing SBC programmes for FP/RH, including monitoring and evaluation. It allows for pauses so that the learner may complete the course's short exercises.

The course was developed by Breakthrough ACTION under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

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