usaid creating economic opportunities project

This document was produced by Palladium for review by the US Agency for International Development. The views expressed in this

document do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

USAID CREATING ECONOMIC

OPPORTUNITIES PROJECT STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

FINAL Submission date: 8 January 2019

Contract No: 72052018C000001

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN | i

CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1

1 Communications Environment for the Project ............................................................................. 2

2 Communications Objectives ............................................................................................................ 3

3 Strategies ........................................................................................................................................... 3

3.1 Compliance ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

3.2 Development of Materials and Support to Program Activities ........................................................................ 4

3.3 Social Behavior Change Communication interventions ..................................................................................... 5

4 Target Audiences .............................................................................................................................. 7

5 Key Messages ..................................................................................................................................... 8

5.1 General Messaging ....................................................................................................................................................... 8

5.2 Audience-Specific Messaging ..................................................................................................................................... 8

6 KEY COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES ....................................................................................... 9

6.1 Start-up activities ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

6.2 Informing Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................................. 10

6.3 Strengthen collaboration and coordination among stakeholders .................................................................. 10

6.4 Social Behavior Change Communication Campaigns ........................................................................................ 10

7 Communications Channels and Tools........................................................................................... 11

7.1 Internal Communications and Reporting ............................................................................................................. 11

7.2 Physical Materials – Hand-outs ............................................................................................................................... 11

7.3 Visible Materials – for events .................................................................................................................................. 12

7.4 Press Materials............................................................................................................................................................ 12

7.5 Social media and campaigns ..................................................................................................................................... 12

8 Measurement ................................................................................................................................... 14

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN | 1

INTRODUCTION

The Creating Economic Opportunities Project is based on a theory of change that if public and private sectors

work together to generate tailored solutions to increase economic production and employment, poverty can

be reduced and living conditions improved. These in turn will diminish the drivers of irregular migration,

especially of youth and women and indigenous people.

This Strategic Communications Plan starts from the premise that communication for development has merged

traditional information-focused communications interventions with a new paradigm of participation and dialogic

communication which adds value to programmatic interventions. Communication includes a broad range of

activities from sharing information and communicating key messages to hard-to-reach audiences, creating

constructive environments in which stakeholders can participate in the definition of problems and solutions,

and supporting reflection and new thinking to enable program interventions to take root and thrive. “ …

failures of development initiatives have been ascribed to different understandings and perceptions about the nature of a

problem rather than to the problem itself.”1

One of the underpinning concepts of communications in the Project is as a process which draws together the

programmatic threads of different Components – national policy and strategy with municipal ones; financial

institutions with political and economic ones; business culture with indigenous and youth cultures; financial

inclusion with social inclusion -- in order for all stakeholders to understand the dynamics of, and participate in,

opportunities to achieve real and lasting economic change.

In this sense, communications is one of the ‘knowledge brokers’ in the project. Communications can help to

make visible the varied pieces of knowledge which different actors hold – private sector know-how and

experience of market forces and opportunities: government knowledge of public policy and long-term national

development aims; community knowledge and perceptions, academic knowledge gained through systematic

analysis – and can facilitate spaces in which this combined knowledge forms new understanding of economic

opportunity and how multi-sector collaboration can bring these opportunities to full fruition.

Principles of Communication for the Project

• Clarity – the project will promote wider understanding and knowledge of key concepts, and seek to

dispel misconceptions about economic opportunity which can transform regions

• Collaboration – the project will promote engagement between private and public sectors, between

economic and political institutions and civil society to aggregate knowledge and experiences and build

positive working relationships

• Inclusion – the project will seek ways to engage with specific target groups in ways that are culturally

pertinent, motivational and useful

• Strengthening the evidence base – the project will systematically document experiences with new

technologies, organizational arrangements, and foment learning geared towards sustainability for

project results

1 Paul Mitchell, Development Communications Manager, The World Bank, cited at the 9th UN Round-table on Communication for Development, Rome, September 2005, Development Communications Sourcebook, 2008, p 58

2 | STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

1 COMMUNICATIONS ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PROJECT

Though Latin American is the second most press-free region after Europe,2 Freedom House characterizes

Guatemala as having a “partly free” media.3 This is based on an evaluation of legal, political and economic

variables affecting press freedom, which gave Guatemala a score of 58/100 in 2017.4 The study citied

“substantially increased” press freedom violations in the run-up to the 2015 elections and the deaths of two

journalists for their reporting. But in spite of this potential for violence—the Human Rights Ombudsman’s

Office identified six murders of journalists in 20165—major corruption enquiries have been sparked by national

journalism, and independent periodicals have appeared also in recent years.6

The only major study of mass communications specific to Guatemala was completed by DOSES in 2002,7

concluding that the mass media was largely urban in a largely rural country, latino in a largely indigenous nation,

and gender-biased against women. The study identified weaknesses in journalism training, especially for

journalists based outside the capital, and focus groups identified biases in media according to the political and

economic interests of their owners. A substantial telecommunications liberalization in 1996 opened the doors

to mobile phone access and internet, but also created a television monopoly in the country, and severely

hampered the operation of many small, informal community radio stations.8 The weak reach of mass media

may be one reason a study found higher credibility and access to more local forms of informing populations:

community radio: loudspeakers, community assemblies, listening to village leaders.9

At the same time, internet connectivity and exploding smartphone use in Guatemala are providing new media

opportunities to reach audiences that traditional media cannot match. Guatemala is the fifth country in Latin

America in terms of phones per person, with 17M phones for 14M people (2013 data).10 Almost half of social

network users are under-30, studying at university, and employed or self-employed.11 Eight out of ten users

cite the internet as their principal source of news; 22% find entertainment in their spare time online; more than

one-third spend more than three hours per day online.12

The third communications space relevant to this Project, after traditional mass media and new media platforms,

is that of the public sphere. Studies, including by UNDP13, identify Central American democracy as weak in part

because political arrangements involve citizens little in planning and evaluation, because decision-making

processes do not emphasize the role of data and analysis as crucial, and because decisions are rarely and poorly

shared with the wider public, who therefore have little confidence in authorities. Recent USAID reports that

include youth and women in the Highlands concur that participation rates of these groups are low, citing

2 Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/regions/americas

3 https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/guatemala

4 https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2017/guatemala Guatemala scores 58 out of 100 – not as well as Honduras’ 66; and much better than El Salvador at 41

5 Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH in Spanish), Annual Report for 2016, especially p. 201 on journalists;

https://www.pdh.org.gt/biblioteca/informes/category/9-informes-anuales.html

6 2016 Report, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/guatemala

7 DOSES is the Development, Organization, Services and Socio-cultural Studies Association (DOSES in Spanish), led by key media analyst Gustavo Braganza (now involved in ContraPoder); http://www.dosesguatemala.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/03/Los-medios-de-comunicaci%C3%B3n-y-la-

sociedad-guatemalteca-2002.pdf

8 “Mapping Digital media: Guatemala” by the Open Society Foundations, November 2013, https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/mapping-digital-media-guatemala-20140115.pdf

9 USAID Audience Research for Development, 2017, pp 13-14. This study surveyed participants and beneficiaries in USAID projects, many of which were in rural Guatemala. https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1862/final-report-audience-research-development-communication

10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_mobile_phones_in_use

11 iLifebelt report, 2017, pp 6, and 7, https://ilifebelt.com/7ma-edicion-estudio-anual-redes-sociales-centroamerica-caribe-2017/2017/11/

12 Ibid pp. 13 and 9

13 UNDP, Democracy in Latin America: Towards a Citizen’s Democracy, 2003; UNDP Our Democracy – Latin America and the Caribbean, 2011,

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2010/10/12/informe-analiza-deficiencias-y-debilidades-de-las-democracias-latinoamericanas.html

https://freedomhouse.org/regions/americas

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2017/guatemala

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2016/guatemala

https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1862/final-report-audience-research-development-communication

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_mobile_phones_in_use

https://ilifebelt.com/7ma-edicion-estudio-anual-redes-sociales-centroamerica-caribe-2017/2017/11/




requirements of work and families that conflict with decision-making processes, lack of opportunities for

effective participation, and discrimination in public processes that favors men over women and youth.14

This Communications Strategy will take into account these existing communications systems, using mass media

to inform urban populations and leaderships, using social media to engage those target populations which do

not rely on mass media for information, and strengthening communications capacities in institutions and

entities within intervention areas, where appropriate. The Project will also analyze specific understandings and

attitudes of particular individuals, groups and institutions with a view to developing campaigns to change

knowledge, attitudes and behavior in ways which deepen and amplify impact of interventions.

2 COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

Development is about change, and change cannot occur without communication15

The Project recognizes the importance of communications in delivering expected results and facilitating the

transformation of economic opportunity in target areas, by having a dedicated and professional team to lead

development of materials, management of the project image in public events and activities, and through specific

communications activities which strengthen the impact and reach of program interventions.

The Communications Team will lead in informing donors and stakeholders in a timely and accurate manner

about project progress and ensure the effective and efficient application of the Branding Strategy and Marking

Plan in project implementation. Communications promotes knowledge management and learning by developing

Success Stories and Case Studies, synthesizing best practices, producing materials and supporting processes

which promote internal and external learning in the program cycle.

The Team will support program goals and activities by devising materials and informational processes which

strengthen coordination and collaboration among stakeholders, and which generate confidence in decision-

making; and in developing multi-faceted communications campaigns aimed at changing knowledge, attitudes

and/or behaviors of specific target audiences, and strengthening the impact and sustainability of specific

program interventions.

To fulfil these different tasks, the Strategic Communications Plan identifies these objectives:

• Inform stakeholders about project progress in a timely and accurate manner and ensure key project

concepts and messages are coherently and correctly conveyed across all activities and audiences

• Strengthen collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, including local authority-led processes,

and foment confidence in decision-making processes which create economic opportunity

• Design and implement Social Behavior Change Communications interventions to deepen and widen the

impact of specific program interventions

3 STRATEGIES

The project will take three approaches to communications: compliance; development and adaptation of

materials for visibility and program activities; and design and implementation of social behaviour change

communications to strengthen specific implementation activities.

14 Audience Research for Development, USAID; Participatory Youth Assessment, Plan/ Juarez in USAID Learning for Life Project, 2016,

https://www.planusa.org/understanding-the-youth-perspective-in-the-western-highlands-the-participatory-youth-assessment

15 Paul Mitchell, Development Communications Manager, The World Bank, cited at the 9th UN Round-table on Communication for Development, Rome, September 2005, Development Communications Sourcebook, 2008, Paolo Mefalopulos, p. 14


3.1 COMPLIANCE

The first approach encompasses developing a firm base of branding and marking the Project, internally within

the Consortium and externally, and delivering high quality information and reports to Donor and Home Office

on-time, which inform, add value to achievement of results and which support project reflection and learning.

Key activities for this Strategy include:

• Development and approval of the range of key initial communications materials for start-up

• Development of internal team processes to deliver inputs to deliverables

• Hiring remaining members of the Communications Team

• A launch event, including initiating a relationship with the national press

• Creation of a Project-specific Branding Guide, to ensure that staff and partners have clear, visual

guidance on materials and how to use them in activities and events: the Branding Guide will support

development of materials and management of activities by sub-contractors as well

• Development of a social media strategy in Spanish and English, focusing on immediate goals for visibility

and mid-term goals for informing and engaging with key social media-based audiences and influencers

3.2 DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS AND SUPPORT TO PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

The second approach covers most of the daily work of support to program activities but understanding that

the process of engagement with stakeholders at all levels is fluid: as the project begins, materials are more

explanatory, inviting interaction and involvement in the project. Subsequently, materials will be developed to

support processes which take the project to a deeper level of interaction and commitment with stakeholders,

leading to project results.

Figure 1: Process for Developing and Evolving Project Materials

Key activities for this Strategy include:

• Development of a full range of tailored materials for Project offices, Components and partners


• Development of mediatized materials and kits for target audiences (local authorities, business

chambers, youth/ women/ indigenous people, press), and toolkits and materials for specific processes

(introduction to the project, awareness-raising on key concepts or goals, strengthening of collaborative

processes, social inclusion, advocacy)

• Development of innovative materials and tailored sets for events and activities, at local, regional,

national or international levels

3.3 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR CHANGE COMMUNICATION INTERVENTIONS

The third approach is to support specific action lines in terms of social behavior change communication

strategies and activities, which have been proven to strengthen expected outcomes.

The concept and practice of Social Behavior Change Communication is to use communications techniques to

positively influence knowledge, attitudes and practices in target audiences. It is a coordinated two-way

messaging process which takes advantage of multiple communications media to reach different stakeholders

involved in the desired change. SBCC can be characterized or differentiated from other complex

communications processes by being systematic, evidence-based, participatory and strengthening capacity.16

Figure 2: Stages of Development of Social Behavior Change Interventions17

As can be seen in the diagram above, the systematic development of interventions, based on evidence, and with

monitoring and evaluation to measure change, marks SBCC from other types of communications campaigns.

The Situation Analysis, usually focused on perceptions and motivations, is the key first step to designing an

SBCC Strategy for a particular campaign, and guides the choices of audiences, messages and media.

3.3.1 KEY ACTIVITIES FOR SOCIAL BEHAVIOR CHANGE

These activities begin with development of Terms of Reference for the situation analyses, and from that

individual, specific SBCC implementation plans will be developed and implemented, which include evaluations.

In Year 1, it is possible to see a series of initial opportunities for implementing SBCC activities, in each of the

Components, and one cross-cutting issue, but other ideas may become apparent during implementation.

Component 1 – Promotion of Commerce and Investment

• Attitudes towards external investment are negative in some cases, or at least less open to being

embraced. In order to attract new investment and have local buy-in to the benefits of that investment

in local economies, there will need to be some work to overcome these negative perceptions. SBCC

can help demonstrate benefits of new investment and the multiplication of employment and

opportunity which investment can bring

16 Significant theory and resources on a Johns Hopkins University health program site: https://healthcommcapacity.org/

17 Source: USAID Communications for Change Project https://www.c-changeprogram.org/focus-areas/capacity-strengthening#framework

https://www.c-changeprogram.org/focus-areas/capacity-strengthening#framework


• Another aspect to local business which needs to be strengthened is around re-investing. It is important

to promote the idea that locals should be investing in their own economies, and that this demonstrated

confidence is one of the attractions of external investors. SBCC can help local businesses and potential

investors overcome their fears about investing locally in business opportunities.

Component 2 - Mobilization of Financial Services

This includes two areas where behavior change is already identified as necessary to increase access to and use

of financial services.

• The first is in terms of wider and stronger institutional offer of more modern and technology-based

financial services, which includes communications work in promoting awareness of new services and

their benefits, and then supports access and successful utilization of those services to create a critical

mass of understanding and use which will be sustained. The goal is that use of a wider variety and

depth of financial and technology-based services will be the new norm.

• The second area where SBCC can help C2 is in terms of changing patterns of remittances. It is the

desire of the project that remittances – which totalled $8,192 million in 2017 in Guatemala18 – be used

for more productive purposes that consumption. The economic benefit of this great income in rural

Guatemala is lost in large part because it exists outside the financial system. SBCC can help raise

awareness about the need to save money in financial institutions, to use remittances more wisely to

increase productivity of family businesses for example and increase wealth.

Component 3 – Updating Productive Infrastructure

• Many stakeholders – including municipal officials and the population at large – have little understanding

of the role of infrastructure in promoting a thriving local economy, even if everyone recognizes that

potholes slow down the traffic. SBCC can help widen the understanding of, and buy-in for, large

infrastructure projects which are essential to the economic transformation the project will bring.

• Secondarily, there is some work to be done to change attitudes about decision-making practices in

local governance, to overcome prejudices about non-transparent processes. SBCC can help promote a

wider involvement of civil society in decision-making about productive infrastructure options and

choices and demonstrate more widely the multiple benefits to many of specific publicly bid projects.

Component 4 – Improved Business Competitiveness

This component includes two areas where SBCC interventions can help deliver expected results and promote

sustainable change behavior in key audiences.

• The first is in raising awareness about, and changing attitudes to, growing businesses from informal

structures to formal ones, from micro to small to medium sized entities. Given that this growth

pattern will be responsible for job creation and production increases in value-chains, communications

materials, experiences and events are important to promote incentives and dispel disincentives in this

area.

• The second is in terms of promoting education and training opportunities which respond to local

market needs, with the specific aim also of promoting participation of youth and women/ girls in these

opportunities. This intervention may include engagement with schools and vocational institutes,

18 Prensa Libre, 8 de marzo, 2018, http://www.prensalibre.com/economia/envio-de-remesas-supera-us1-mil-264-millones-en-primer-bimestre


communities and community leaders, and development of materials which demonstrate material

benefit to individuals, families and communities of education and training in these market-based areas.

Cross-Cutting: Gender and Social Inclusion

This is a key cross-cutting issue in the project and while gender and social inclusion will be considered in each

SBCC campaign, there are specific themes that may be best addressed by specific SBCC campaigns:

• Promotion of girls and women in training and employment skills-building, especially in innovative and

technological courses. Women face discrimination in the workplace, and society and employers need

to be more open about women’s capacities to add value at every level of the value-chain, including

senior management.

• In Guatemala’s highlands, there is work to be done at many levels to foment economic opportunities

which are culturally pertinent. This will require some reflection about what this means, and to consider

how cultural and economic opportunity can increase together within the Economic Corridors which

are central to this project, and how cultural pertinence may be different for men, women and youth.

4 TARGET AUDIENCES

The Communication Strategy rests on delivering key information to a range of stakeholders and audiences,

divided for convenience into Primary and Secondary Audiences. Key messages and materials will be tested with

focus groups and/or key informant interviews before wider distribution.

Primary Audiences:

• Guatemalan Government Ministries and agencies, including the Ministries of Public Finances, Economy

and Labor, the Presidential Secretariat of Planning and Programming, the Presidential Secretariat of

Women, the National Youth Council, The Presidential Council Against Discrimination and Racism

(CODISRA)

• Private Sector Partners and agencies, including AGEXPORT, FUNDESA, CACIF, local Chambers of

Commerce, business leaders in specific prioritized sectors, in-country representatives of international

business interests (US, Mexico, Central America, India, Germany, Gulf States)

• Municipal Corporations in target areas, including municipal institutions such as Municipal Development

Committees, Municipal Planning Departments, Municipal Department of Women, Municipal Youth

Offices, and Social Communication offices

• Academic institutions and think-tanks with interest in economic growth, youth employment, migration

and other relevant issues

• Civil Society and organized groups which represent specific target audiences (women, youth,

indigenous people), in target areas.

• National media, local representatives of national media, municipal media in target areas; international

media based in Guatemala and invited from overseas

• Women-owned businesses and indigenous organizations

Secondary Audiences:

• USAID, USG agencies with interest in economic development especially in Project target areas


• US-based media interested in economic issues and development in Guatemala

• USAID project peers implementing projects in target areas or in themes relevant to economic growth

5 KEY MESSAGES

All communication materials and activities will use exclusive USAID visual, textual, and/or verbal branding. As

such, all materials and activities will acknowledge that they were produced with support “from the American

people.” Guidelines for visual branding and marking are contained in the USAID Graphic Standards Manual and

Partner Co-branding Guide (March 2016), and Tetra Tech will use the following verbal and textual branding:

Examples:

USAID’s Creating Economic Opportunity Project

[Name], Director of USAID’s Creating Economic Opportunity Project

Or

Proyecto Creando Oportunidades Económicas de USAID

In cases where a host-country language predominates over English, the appropriate translation into the host-

country language will be used in branding and marking the project. The Urban Municipal Governance Project

will follow specific procedures for including the Branding Implementation Plan requirements as stated in the

mandatory internal reference Branding and Marking in USAID Direct Contracting in the Automated Directives

System, Chapter 320.

The Project Theory of Change is as follows: If municipalities in the targeted departments utilize the Sistema

Nacional de Planificación (SNP) in coordination with the private sector to generate tailored solutions that

address “economic opportunity” and thereby reduce poverty and improve living conditions, then youth and

other potential migrant populations will choose to stay in Guatemala rather than assume the risks involved

with migrating to another country and irregular migration will decrease.

5.1 GENERAL MESSAGING

The principal message for the project is based on the idea that efforts to advance broad-based economic

growth – strengthening business environments to increase production and employment, diversify financial

services and channel remittances to productive development, increase investment in productive infrastructure

and improve business competitiveness -- will result in an environment of prosperity in which all citizens may

choose to remain and thrive.

To communicate the overall purpose and goals of the project while avoiding the development of a separate,

strong project identity, we will incorporate the phrase “Creating economic opportunities” into broader

messaging efforts. As a USAID activity, the project will be:

• Creating economic opportunities for Guatemala

• Creating economic opportunities for a prosperous Guatemala

5.2 AUDIENCE-SPECIFIC MESSAGING

Similarly to general messaging, we will leverage the phrase “creating opportunity” and its variations to

emphasize the action and objectives of the USAID-funded project without advancing a strong project identity.

Specific audience messages are summarized in the table below.


Table 1: Audience-specific messaging

Project Audience/Stakeholder Targeted Message

Business leaders, government officials

in Economic Corridors, and

community members

• Creating opportunities in economic corridors with high potential to attract

investment and create employment

• Creating economic opportunities by linking competitive anchor firms with service

providers with improved capacities

• Creating economic opportunities by liberating productive potential and attracting

investment to the country

Financial institutions, potential users

of financial products and services

• Creating economic opportunities with products and services adapted to market

demands

• Creating economic opportunities promoting integrated financial services and

amplifying the base of clients who use them

National and municipal authorities

implementing productive

infrastructure projects, communities

and leaders in economic corridors

where projects will be implemented

• Creating economic opportunities by integrating intermediate cities with improved

communication

Business leaders/ owners and

employees at all levels of productive

value-chains

• Creating economic opportunities fomenting ecosystems of innovation

• Creating economic opportunities by promoting formal education and training

based on the needs of the market

• Creating economic opportunities through effective alliances of businesses in value-

chains which expand the potential for production and exports

Youth • Creating economic opportunities which respond to market needs and the

aspirations of young people

• Creating economic opportunities inclusive of women, youth and indigenous

peoples

Women • Creating economic opportunities to empower women to be engines of

development in their communities, municipalities and country

• Creating economic opportunities which respond to the unique needs of women

• Creating economic opportunities which enhance women’s empowerment and

reduce gender gaps in the workforce

Indigenous peoples • Creating economic opportunities for Guatemala’s indigenous peoples

• Creating economic opportunities compatible with indigenous traditions and

cultures

• Working with indigenous leaders to create economic opportunities for their

communities

6 KEY COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES

The Creating Economic Opportunities Project contemplates a range of communications activities over the

course of its five-year duration. Some start-up activities will be particular to Year 1.

6.1 START-UP ACTIVITIES

• Development of Initial list of marked materials (administrative, programmatic) including administrative

materials, initial PPT presentations, FactSheet, Brochure

• National launch event (coordination with donor, Interior Ministry and municipal partners, media);

potential Departmental launch events

• Development of Strategic Communications Plan, Project Branding Guide


• Hiring Communications Team members

• Develop templates to facilitate collection of information and documentation of experiences

6.2 INFORMING STAKEHOLDERS

• Developing templates to facilitate collection of project information

• Reporting to donor (weekly activity reports, success stories, quarterly/ annual reports)

• Development of marked material for offices, for Components and for partners

• Development of tailored communications materials for the range of stakeholders (Factsheet, Briefs,

Brochures, graphic materials, social media etc.) which convey general information about the Project

and also key concepts (economic corridors, anchor businesses, value-chains and role of financial

services in them etc)

• Development of communications materials for public events such as Job Fairs, Municipal events,

Ministerial activities, Graduations, openings/ closing of Trainings, inaugurations of spaces or activities

• Development of social media platforms and spaces, with strategies and metrics for each (website,

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)

• Development of communications materials for the press, and management of Press Events, such as for

public events, Press breakfasts, site visits etc

• Oversight of co-branded materials produced for the project (Manuals, Guides etc produced by third

parties but printed with project funds)

6.3 STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION AMONG STAKEHOLDERS

• In close coordination with Component Leaders, identify opportunities to strengthen collaborative and

dialogic processes with communications inputs and processes. These could include:

- Bulletins for different processes and audiences, starting with a Project Bulletin that leads off from the

Key Stakeholders Committee/ Consortium and Quarterly Report highlights, but could include bulletins

in the Departments highlighting achievements across Components, and/or bulletins for Economic

Corridors, for Municipal authority-led processes, for community groups

- Information kits and communications products to strengthen common understanding and build

consensus. These could include physical materials, videos, testimonials, animations and internet or

phone-based informational/ promotional pieces

- Training for specific communicators involved in specific processes, such as for Social Communications

staff in participating municipalities, or journalists operating within Economic Corridors

6.4 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR CHANGE COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS

• As noted above, SBCC interventions have a design and implementation process of their own, which

begins with close collaboration with Component Leaders to establish a data-collection process which

captures basic information on perceptions and motivations of target audiences or institutions in terms

of specific understandings, beliefs and behaviors. That information will inform a strategy and the

development of a basket of interventions in order to achieve the desired change with the desired


target audience. All SBCC activities will include an evaluation piece, to measure to what extent the

change the achieved watermark

7 COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS AND TOOLS

The Communications Team will lead the design and production, and correct use of all materials used in the

project, by Consortium members, partners and sub-contractors. All materials will require approval by USAID

before production. Among the range of materials to be produced, the following can be highlighted:

7.1 INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTING

Deliverables: Weekly Reports, Quarterly/ Annual reports and Success Stories are the principal

communications deliverables.

Documentation of Key Activities: the importance of Learning to the project, and transparency in

information requires the project to design and produce materials which share progress effectively and

efficiently among a range of audiences. In the first instance, the Project will be producing many reports, analyses

and studies, and these need to be synthesized and validated within the team, so that key points can promote

program learning.

Bulletins: The report will develop bulletins for specific audiences and processes, in order to keep high-level

and mid-level officials and leaders apprised of project concepts, progress and processes. One bulletin may flow

from the Key Stakeholder Committee meetings down to senior business and public-sector leaders; another

example may be for Economic Corridor processes and/ or local geographic locations.

Internal WhatsApp: this social media has proved in other projects to be an immediate and valuable way to

share information and images in real time from field activities. This enables more effective external social media

visibility and empowers all staff to communicate about activities and achievements.

7.2 PHYSICAL MATERIALS – HAND-OUTS

Initial presentation package: in the initial stage, a series of documents will be produced to introduce the

project to municipal and national authorities. These include a Trifold Brochure, a PowerPoint presentation and

a one-page description.

Presentation kits for different audiences, on different themes: Due to the wide range of new and

complex issues which this project will be grappling with – from Economic Corridors and Value-Chains to

Financial Literacy and Business Competitiveness – Communications will work with Component Teams and

others to develop information kits (physical, audiovisual) for respective audiences, tailored to their needs. Each

kit will be validated with focus groups; some kits will be developed in Mayan languages.

Materials for Component workshops and capacity building: a series of marked materials will be

developed to support branding and key messages of the Project and Components, which will include: folders,

notepads and pens. Printed guides and workbooks will be marked as per the USAID Branding Guide.

User-friendly Guides – A series of Guides will be produced for community audiences, on different themes

relevant to the Project, such as on key project concepts (Financial services opportunities and benefits (for

youth, for women): productive opportunities for remittances; financial education opportunities and benefits;

productive infrastructure opportunities and benefits; process for and benefits of formalizing/ growing a

business: key elements of competitiveness and opportunities to improve; role of technology in growing

businesses; how value-chains work: education and training for today’s workplace and opportunities; role of


women in leading development and business growth), key elements of the legal framework (proposed laws we

are interested in; municipal instruments and policies which support productive infrastructure), among others.

7.3 VISIBLE MATERIALS – FOR EVENTS

Introductory Materials: designs will be produced for generic banners, roll-ups, photo-slideshows and other

materials for public events and normal project activities

Specific materials for particular events: Communications will design and produce materials to support

dissemination of messages about the project, such as posters and flyers, videos, animated graphic and

animations for use in municipalities, communities or in public activities such as Municipal Fairs, Job Fairs and

other high-level public activities. IEC materials may include audience-friendly versions of public policies

(National Competitiveness Policy, Municipal Women’s Policy) or briefs on proposed legislation relevant to the

project. The project also expects to support Guatemalan business participation in international events and fairs,

and materials for stands will be designed on a case-by-case basis.

7.4 PRESS MATERIALS

Media strategy: as the Project develops, Communications will identify opportunities for presenting the

Project and its achievements within the context of national and local media. Under the guidance of USAID, this

strategy may include: identification of key economic issues reporters (print, radio, television); identification of

key opportunities to showcase Project issues and advances (television talk-shows; radio-panels; newspaper

feature stories); protocol and processes to prepare for, manage and evaluate opportunities.

Press releases: a generic press release will be created for the project, and a protocol for its use under the

terms of the contract

Press Events: based on the experience at the National Launch, relationships will be cultivated with specific

media and members of the press, to further the reach of project goals for the public. It is expected to hold

press events regularly – at Departmental or National levels – which could include informational breakfasts or

launches or press visits to the field.

Training Materials – basic kit to introduce project concepts to key audiences of communicators –

national/local press and municipal social communications staff with the aim of improving the kind and quality of

coverage and information produced by these sectors on project progress

Int’l Press Events: a strategy for interaction with media outside of Guatemala will be agreed with the donor.

As the project advances, it is expected to host occasional visits from the media, either accompanying other

visitors or by invitation. These will be organized and managed in accordance with USAID regulations.

7.5 SOCIAL MEDIA AND CAMPAIGNS

Social media: Project proposes to have its own Facebook page and Twitter account and will be posting

information regularly about advances in each target area but will also develop a strategy for promoting key

messages, processes, events and achievements, through internal social media channels (staff and partners) and

external ones.

Awareness-raising Campaigns: Communications will support wider and deeper understanding of key

concepts and terms through information campaigns in target areas. Specifically, information campaigns (briefs,

posters, radio interviews and PPT) geared to ensure that key project messages are introduced and understood

by key audiences. As the project enters Departments and begins to work with stakeholders in Economic

Corridors this kind of information is important at the beginning, and before/after key advances.


Social Behavior Change Communication Campaigns: this kind of activity requires separate strategizing

and design for each application. Four opportunities have been identified for the first 12 months of the Project,

and these experiences will help pilot and streamline a process which can be replicated for other opportunities

which arise.

Below is a cross-reference of the kinds of materials which will be developed for specific audiences.

Audiences Channels and Tools

National authorities, such as

Ministries, institutions with an

interest in economic growth and/or

project target populations

• Basic project information kits

• Bulletins on project progress, activities

• Materials adapted from authorities for use in project activities

• Public events to inaugurate workshops, diplomas, and spaces

Private sector institutions and

organizations representing key

sectors and partners


• Specific information kits and packages to promote key project concepts and activities

(economic corridor, special economic zones, role of productive infrastructure etc)


• Bulletins on project progress, activities within a sector

• SBCC campaigns

Municipal authorities and municipal

level institutions



(municipal role and opportunities in economic corridors, special economic zones, or

productive infrastructure: presentations, posters and other media for Committees

involved – CODEDE/ COMUDE: Women’s Department, Youth Committee etc)


• Bulletins on project progress, activities within the municipality

• Training opportunities for Social Communication staff or representatives of the

independent media

• SBCC campaigns

Academic Institutions • Basic information kits

• Synthesized reports on studies and investigations led by the Project

• Forums and dialogues led by academics and others on key project concepts and

experiences

Civil society institutions and

representatives



(opportunities for women, youth and indigenous peoples) – mediatized through

focus groups

• Public events to inaugurate workshops, activities, and spaces for target groups

• Training opportunities for civil society leaders or representatives in communication

skills

• SBCC campaigns

National media • Basic project information kits

• Specific information kits and packages to promote progress and achievements,

nationally or locally

• Press events to promote project progress and achievements, such as during

Municipal Fairs, specific days important to media and target groups (Int’l Youth Day),

or related to important Component-led events and activities (forums, seminars,

inaugurations)

• National Press conferences related to VIP visits or VIP events

• Specific site visits for recommended press


8 MEASUREMENT

Communications activities can be measured in different ways, according to the needs and budgets of projects.

In general terms, most communications activities seek to measure implementation, reach, engagement and/or

impact. The Communications Director will report out every Quarter on implementation achievements,

compared to planned activities.

The Team will seek consultancies to measure reach of key messages, for instance in municipalities, within

value-chains using different approaches according to the media being measured. Companies can measure reach

in urban centers when using media such as local cable, press or radio. Technology based services (EngageSpark)

can develop phone-based and free short surveys for the general public to test exposure to key messages.

In terms of engagement metrics, staff can administer tablet-based questionnaires to municipal staff and officials,

participants in productive value-chains and staff and participants in financial service institutions to see how

effective communications efforts have been in terms of informing specific target audiences.

Finally, each SBCC campaign will include an initial survey of target populations’ perceptions and motivations to

help design the interventions, and a post-campaign survey to test changes in attitudes and behaviors.

In short, the Communications Team is expecting to be able to add its own qualitative and quantitative data to

the project, and support learning in a variety of ways.

usaid creating economic opportunities project

Documents