Communicating through Partnership

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Communicating through Partnership

• A good idea
• BUT
• does it work in practice?

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Background to AHRTAG

• Formed in 1977
• Recognised for newsletters
• Practical, accurate and relevant
• Excellent distribution
• Sophisticated feedback mechanisms

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Information Dissemination Model
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But.

• Is Western expertise relevant?
• Are messages always appropriate/needed?
• Are newsletters the best way of communicating?
• Is information the main constraint to improved
  practice?
• Are resource centres accessible to health
  workers?
• Is health worker performance the main determinant
  of community health?

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Learning from Experience (1)

• Evaluation of Child Health Dialogue 1998
• Evaluation of Health Action 1998
• Evaluation of AIDS Action 1998
• Evaluation of resource centre project with KANCO
  1997
• Evaluation of Middle East Programme 1996

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Learning from Experience (2)

• Importance of network of international contacts
  and feedback from various levels
• Value of newsletters as resource for training
• Strong call for more locally-tailored content and
  decentralised production
• Continued need for print media
• Role for partners beyond translation only
• Northern informational input may undermine
  Southern capacity development
• Healthlinks role to be support and capacity
  building

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Positive Examples

• Middle East Programme - no international
  newsletter. Focus on training of resource centre
  staff, university course in primary health care
  and in-country production of materials and health
  information systems
• A Brazilian partner (ABIA) working on HIV/AIDS
  produced a lot of their own materials including
  photographs, descriptions of local experiences
  and lists of local support services

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Communicating through Partnership Model
Links with international agencies
Supportive state policies
Advocacy
Resources made available
Increased capacity of Southern partners
Healthlink staff are skilled in capacity building
Varied Communications
Improved health in the community
Improved health worker practice
Network of partners
Work with other development workers e.g.
HIV/AIDS, disability
Feedback identified needs and gaps
Work with other sectors e.g. education
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Is this all spin?

• Changing funding environment
• Lower priority given to print media
• Difficult to get funding for newsletters
• Is this because of greater emphasis on electronic
  media?
• Difficulties of demonstrating impact?
• Failure to link print to other programmes, e.g.
  training?

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All change...

• Major restructure in April 2000
• Cessation of international newsletters
• Merger of London resource centre with CICH to
  form Source
• Abolition of thematic, vertical programmes
• Formation of regionalised partner support team
• Greater emphasis on electronic media
• Shift from message delivery to giving voice

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Focus on...

• Source material - Reuters-like approach
• Signposting
• Reversed coffee filter

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Reversed coffee filter
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Experience to date (1)

• Allowed difficult questions to be asked
• Required key symbols of the organisation to be
  questioned, e.g newsletters
• Established ways of working within Healthlink and
  partners
• Need to build understanding and confidence of
  staff members

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Experience to date (2)

• Locked into funding agreements
• Lack of unrestricted funding, e.g. for partner to
  participate in this meeting
• Pressure from funders for short-term products
• UK costs of capacity building perceived
  expensive

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Experience to date (3)

• Identified other sources for support for staff
  development, e.g. Investors in People
• Doesnt suit all partners - consider starting
  capacity
• Attracted other new partners, e.g. SAfAIDS

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Experience to date (4)

• Affects selection of new partners
• Some partners, e.g. HAIN have found it harder
  than expected
• Greater need for skills sharing
• Tensions involved with partners driving project
  design more
• Allows more scope for interaction with
  international agencies, e.g. WHO IMD

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Experience to date (5)

• Many partners have responded positively, e.g.
  KANCO seeking to recruit new staff
• Key difficulty - moving beyond description to
  analysis and principle identification
• Importance of linking information materials with
  other activities, e.g. training
• Importance of learning and reflection, monitoring
  and evaluation, feedback mechanisms

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New funded projects

• Strengthening HIV/AIDS care initiatives in Latin
  America and the Caribbean (2001)
• Strengthening civil society in Palestine (2001)
• Information for mental health Influencing policy
  and practice (Palestine) (2001)
• Strengthening voice of vulnerable groups in India
  (2002)

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Conclusion

• It is a good idea
• It does work
• BUT
• Its hard work and quite a struggle