Communication
Overview
We are a communication organisation and we support others to communicate well - finding the best ways for partner's to share health information.
We make use of existing opportunities, networks and communication channels while supporting organisations to develop new ways of engaging the communities they work with.
Working together with our partners we find ways to repackage and disseminate health and disability information, suitable for local audiences and we support local organisations to develop their capacity to do this. We guide organisations through the processes to develop tools such as websites, training manuals, newsletters, videos, resource directories and much more.
Our work at regional, national and international levels, includes strengthening the influence of research on policy, devising national communication strategies for government agencies and developing communication networks.
Our work includes:
- Participatory communication training
- Electronic communication tools
- Online discussion groups
- Print publications
Participatory communication training
Our partners' various communications materials are often developed though
Quest communication training workshops. For example, a recent participant
of a Quest workshop in Zimbabwe used the skills she had developed to
evaluate and re-design a flyer for her organisation, the Southern African
Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD). She commented: " I always tell my colleagues
in the office that I am proud of the QUEST Workshop because I learnt
a lot and now I have a lot of confidence in doing things."
See the SAFOD flyer (PDF 2 pages, 56 KB)
More on
our communication training - Quest
Electronic communication tools
We
take organisations through a process of clarifying the need for a website
or CD-ROM, creating a strategy, identifying the primary and secondary
audiences, establishing key objectives, identifying key wording for navigation,
writing a brief for a web designer, establishing a plan for initial content,
the management of future production of content and evaluation.
Online discussion groups
We support the setting-up, management and moderation
of electronic discussion groups to help foster networks and improve
project communication, often part of larger projects discussion groups
feed into and enrich partners experiences.
See the Disability Knowledge and Research programme discussion forum
Print publications
We
guide organisations through the process of developing and disseminating
effective print and electronic publications. This includes providing
services in content development; designing training materials, newsletters
and other practical publications; documenting local experiences; repackaging
information for local audiences; and designing dissemination strategies.
We also provide production services for development organisations where
the publication has a clear need and is making a recognisable contribution
to development. Recent examples include the editing, design and production
of the publication ‘The House of Dreams: Building a positive future’ for
the International Community of Women living with HIV and AIDS.
More on the positive women: voices and choices project