program_strategy_workshop_comms


 * Comms session (day 1 morning)**
 * Participants**: Agathe Diama, Ewen Le Borgne, Jonathan Odhon, Simret Yasabu, Tsehay Gashaw.

What comms channels have we been using? See one-pager on comms tools in AR. We are using We are also using institutional channels (ILRI/IITA) of Twitter and Facebook etc. to share stories etc.

__Strengths__:
 * Having comms & facilitation mentioned in the program framework;
 * Having dedicated people working on comms (Simret, Jonathan, Agathe) and strong comms team;
 * Using online and offline tools (f2f meetings, printed materials);
 * Good to get stories published more through our institutional channels;
 * Comms is included in steering committees at program and project levels;
 * Strong cross-learning culture in the region and across the regions (annual learning events) and through the platforms we've shared... There's a growing culture of cross-posting and sharing among CG centres involved in the program;
 * Training of people on tools we're using means that the comms capacity of our research team is enhanced...
 * Good harvest of publications and outputs generally;

**A**: Yes would be very useful etc. for phase 2, even though it's only about access, not about usage or outcomes... We can mix this with qualitative interviews, surveys etc.
 * Q**: Figures about the results of our tools: can we share the stats (e.g. we train people on the wiki, we post stories etc.).

__Weaknesses__:
 * Stakeholder engagement has not involved the comms team very strongly;
 * We've been focusing (as comms team) on social media but we could have used more/different tools for targeting farmers (this was done partly in Ethiopia e.g. in Field Days);
 * Develop more offline publications that are translated in national languages (e.g. posters etc. - partly done in Mali);
 * We didn't use traditional media so much - how to support the scaling?
 * Disconnect between comms and research in terms of technologies that can be scaled up;
 * Some program level activities should have been planned more flexibly - e.g. SI visualisation;
 * Clarify the level of program budgeting - it's unclear for us when we want to fund some activities;
 * Very little influence on policy engagement;

__Opportunities__:
 * Get more frequent sharing of stats etc.
 * Revise social media engagement - engage personally more rather than just automating sharing...
 * Working more closely with the farmer/stakeholder engagement teams to influence the way we communicate with farmers...
 * Use traditional tools more e.g. radio etc.
 * Work with (existing?) knowledge centres in the districts? Develop proposals about them?
 * Work with researchers to find out which technologies to promote and scale up?
 * [ETH] GTP2 is good for our project...
 * Develop campaigns at program level a bit more?
 * Have a budget that is unallocated for program level activities?

__Threats__:
 * Is the learning event we've been doing enough for cross-learning?
 * Funding for comms? All funding is lumped together? Could we have separate comms budgets for regions?

**Comms & facilitation plan for phase 2**
//(We considered the comms framework that was developed at CGIAR level and looked back at the phase 1 program framework.//) To support the delivery of program activities and outcomes, Africa RISING will implement various communication, knowledge and information activities:

Experience shows that communication can strengthen the ability of farmers and communities to make informed choices about how they plant and sell agricultural products or engage in managing their natural resources. Success can be measured in terms of achieving their own livelihood goals, rather than adoption rates. In the phase 2 of Africa RISING communication will be much closer and intensive on the ground to engage and communicate with various actors (farmers, community members, district officials, private sector operators, NGOs etc.). What this objective aims at and looks like in practice:
 * Communicating with and for actors on the ground for the scaling out of technologies and practices [ELB] **
 * Communities, including women and marginalized groups, can use adapted information, new and traditional communication tools and approaches to engage more effectively in decisions around sustainable intensification, including through field days, radio programs, posters and other visuals, short written materials available in their languages, SARAR/PHAST materials, videos and digital stories, leaflets etc.
 * Knowledge centers are set up and help disseminate information to support these objectives.

Communicating Africa RISING outputs with policy makers at different levels (e.g. national, sub-national and district level) will ensure that the research is not just //about// development, or //relevant to// development, but will actually influence development. While aiming for communicating for policy influence implies adopting different strategies for the various policy makers in the Africa RISING project countries, we anticipate that the communications team at the program level would provide oversight for this. Through the (R4D/innovation) platforms, initial effort was initiated to engage policy makers, especially at the district level in phase 1. However this needs to be enhanced through other approaches in the second phase of the program. Some of the proposed approaches to be applied include:
 * Communicating and knowledge sharing for policy influence to (multiply Africa RISING outcomes) [JO] **
 * Delivery of briefing papers/policy briefs to strategic policy players within the various project countries and engaging them around these;
 * Ensuring the participation of certain strategic policy-makers for major Africa RISING project and program events (e.g. program learning event, review and planning meetings);
 * Policy panels and briefing sessions.

The Africa RISING program has been well communicated with partners and stakeholders during the first phase. However, with the renewal of the program for its second phase we assume we will have __different__ partners and stakeholders that should know about the program, what it does and what it will bring. More importantly our communication work will be devoted in communicating and sharing the science we do and the result we generated from the research activities that we have been doing. This will help facilitate learning __about__ and adoption of good practices and improved technologies beyond the program. Key activities:
 * Communicating about the program, the science and results throughout the program lifecycle [SY] **
 * Update branding (Feed the Future) and adapt all channels, platforms and templates accordingly;
 * Co-create and disseminate project news in a variety of formats and channels (program website, short videos, brochures, banners, evidence briefs);
 * Encourage and improve presentations at conferences and workshops.

Gender-sensitive communication is used to foster involvement, cooperation and collaboration to map the Africa RISING scientific and development partnerships and help everyone understand where they fit in this partnership picture. A collaborative culture is built that means all partners are sharing their work, questions and resources with one another and are subsequently better able to inform the progress and process of Africa RISING as a program. What this objective aims at and looks like in practice:
 * Communicating, engaging, learning and sharing for effective partnerships across scientists and development actors [SY/ELB] **
 * Facilitate shared (virtual and/or physical) interactive spaces and set up processes for learning and sharing between different partners and for building relations and trust: annual program learning event, exchange visits, 'grey literature' seminars;
 * Collaboration tools are set up that help core partners to collaborate closely across the regions;
 * Organise information management and curation of partnership information to follow the progress and process of partnership development, using the program wiki and CG Space;
 * Develop partners' capacities to communicate and engage with one another through training, mentoring, encouraging contributions to program communication channels etc.;

In the first phase of the Africa RISING program, a lot of interest for information about the program’s outputs was expressed by USAID Washington office. We therefore plan to enhance project communication and activities targeted at the donor and __their networks__ as a means of enhancing the understanding within USAID on the value addition and return on investment (RoI) of the Africa RISING program. A significant emphasis will also be laid on ensuring that the country missions are also fully integrated in these communication efforts. Some of the activities that will be implemented by the team to meet this objective include:
 * Communications for donor relations [JO] **
 * Publication of project success stories;
 * Exploiting the power of visualization (through videos and Infographics addressing various topics in Africa RISING;
 * Leveraging opportunities for participation by Africa RISING scientists in the donor-created knowledge sharing platforms like [|Agrilinks] and the [|USAID learning lab], USAID Frontline.

These activities will be undertaken across the program. Each regional project will have its own ‘local’ communication strategy and planning built into its activities. These are likely to focus much more on ‘communication for development’ – ensuring that communication opportunities are taken up as an integral part of implemented R4D activities - but the regional communication plans will consider all program communication objectives.

In addition, a program-wide component, led by ILRI, will:
 * 1) Commission a photo-journalist, infographics artist and science writer to document activities and results for wide audiences.
 * 2) Support, facilitate and act in a ‘secretarial’ role to the ‘program coordination team’ and other program-wide mechanisms intended to provide consistency and coordination across the program. [KEEP THIS HERE? MOVE IT ALONG CHANNELS/PLATFORMS?]
 * 3) Organize and facilitate an annual learning and/or scientific symposium bringing together partners from across the program and associated organizations. Participants will include researchers from the projects, other development actors, funders, and other national/regional actors likely to contribute to or benefit from the program’s various actors. This would also act as a review and planning mechanism across the program as a whole.
 * 4) Support ‘peer exchange/learning’ visits for national scientists in the different projects to spend time visiting related projects in other regions.
 * 5) Organize at least one cross-regional scientific seminar per year, featuring research from all three regions.
 * 6) Organize one bi-yearly program training course on comms tools and approaches and one yearly virtual seminar on comms mentoring - based on user preferences and needs.
 * 7) Build upon the channels and platforms from phase 1:
 * Provide an (updated) overall ‘external’ web face for the program – a web site where information about the program as a whole and the individual projects can be found. It will report on activities in the 3 projects as well as any cross-cutting activities. Regular news updates and announcements will be produced and communicated to international audiences.
 * Ensure that outputs from the program and projects satisfy emerging CGIAR and USAID guidelines on branding and that they are fed into the wider CGIAR knowledge base and digital dissemination systems.
 * Provide a framework and open platforms/tools to share products and results from the program and the individual projects. This includes an open photo and image-sharing space (on www.flickr.com), an account on www.slideshare.net for powerpoints to be shared, as needed a video sharing space (on http://YoutTube.com), a document repository (at http://cgspace.cgiar.org), for online engagement (on http://facebook.com and http://twitter.com using institutional channels), internal collaboration and sharing (at http://wikispaces.com and http://yammer.com).
 * Support and facilitate internal collaboration and communication across the program using online tools. The main priority would be to support exchange and communication across the program as a whole. Primary responsibility for internal communication in each project would be with the lead center in each region – we would encourage consistent use of tools and platforms across all the projects.

The Communications Team facilitates, on demand, program meetings and communications, leads on public awareness, and hosts, populates, and maintains the program website, collaborative workspaces, and related communication platforms. It:
 * Communications Team**
 * Is led by the ILRI-Addis Ababa CKM team;
 * Comprises three regional communication and knowledge management (CKM) specialists ensuring that the regional comms plan is implemented;
 * The team spans experience and expertise in various fields of communication: public relations/awareness, policy engagement, communication for development, event and process facilitation, engagement and collaboration, publishing and curation;
 * The team meets virtually on a monthly basis to discuss project progress and upcoming program priorities for communication;
 * The team entertains productive relationships with USAID FTF and other related communication initiatives;
 * On demand, it can provide facilitation services for all program and major project meetings.

//__**Key actions for the end of phase 1**__// (We also worked on identifying action points that need to be undertaken until the end of phase 1) Communications TeamThe Communications Team facilitates, on demand, program meetings and communications, leads on public awareness, and hosts, populates, and maintains the program website, collaborative workspaces, and related communication platforms. It: Is led by ILRI-Addis Ababa. Facilitates meetings and communications. Leads public relations, website, and wiki. Provides a coordinated and consistent communications approach/strategy across the three projects and publicly on behalf of the program.o Manage single program web site and collaborative spaces, with document repository and associated platforms;o Produce program information materials;o Build productive relationships with USAID FTF and other related communication initiatives;o Ensures, as far as possible, that outputs from the program are documented, published and made widely accessible;o Ensure compatibility with USAID and CGIAR communications guidance. Supports PCT and Annual Program Learning Event (and other cross-project learning as demanded). On demand, provides facilitation services for all program and major project meetings.
 * //Assessment of opportunities (and stock-taking) for traditional tools and face-to-face communication approaches...//
 * //Develop creative program-wide promo materials that explain the stories of success//
 * //Develop success stories for donors using compelling media (e.g. Slate)//
 * //Get this comms planning reviewed by the PCT or chief scientists//
 * //See if we can commission a photo-journalism trip using e.g. DuckRabbit etc.//
 * //Develop a Comms survey?//
 * //Get involved in discussions about prioritization of technologies to scale.//