PAGBABAGO
Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid
Perhaps more than anytime in the past, the country needs a more focused strategic plan for a more effective communication strategy.
After three years of fighting Covid-19 and other enormous challenges such as search for an alternative to an ineffective drug campaign, solutions to calamities such as floods, typhoons, erupting volcanoes, food insecurity, corruption, as well as other threats to national security (NDF-NPA, West Philippine Sea), etc. There is now an increasing recognition by government and other sectors of the urgent need to develop a more responsive strategy, one that resonates with the social and political climate of the times.
Too, it must be a strategy that is evidenced-based requiring participation of as many sectors of society, and one that departs from the traditional top-down to a dialogic approach as well as one that is multi-directional, and future-oriented.
This challenge has been taken up by several institutions involved in communication, among them a partnership between an academic entity — the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) and a private organization, the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) which had designed a graduate program that was recently approved for implementation by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
Courses in this 30-unit program which can be completed in 15 months include communication and related social science theories, communication audit, strategic communication program management, stakeholder relations management, ethics, media laws, and transnational agreements. Cognates include communication behavior and change and brand management. The Capstone Project in the Comprehensive Exam may consist of a reentry plant, concrete changes, lessons and competencies learned, and identification of research-based innovation strategies and factors in political governance. These will be evaluated on the basis of effectiveness of strategies in dealing with various types of conflict, impact on attitudes and behaviors.
Through its Anvil Awards held annually for over three decades or more now, PRSP has encouraged business partners engaged in creation, production and delivery of goods and services, to package their communication approaches utilizing a multi-media mix and focusing on existing societal problems or needs and desired outcomes. This is a much coveted award, with the outputs packaged with considerable creativity, and designed to communicate a message that would effect a desired social change.
Some examples of communication initiatives that had created impact at both the community level as well as national life, is the public-private partnership in fighting the pandemic. One that involves a “whole of nation approach” this partnership spanned prevention, testing, tracing, isolation, treatment, data management, analysis, training, and funding of the rollout of the vaccine program. Its membership grew to include virtually all the leading companies in the country working closely with the lead executive branches of the government.
Among the communication lessons learned is that the success of any strategy depends on ensuring the “seamless and transparent public-private partnership model, flexible enough to enable a possible shift in strategy. It must “build chemistry among partners and must keep communication channels open.”
Ana Patricia Non and her community pantry is perhaps one of the most successful communication and community initiatives born during these Covid times. It has been replicated not only all over the country but outside the country as well with some 6,700 community pantries operational. Perhaps its success was due to the fact that it was a small venture that answered a need of the hour which was to help those who had difficulty in sourcing food. It was a communication success even without the initiators utilizing the traditional media channels.
The Navotas model demonstrates a “whole of community approach” in handling a vaccine rollout. It showed the importance of credible leadership, one that listens and anticipates people’s needs so that the latter would voluntarily go to the vaccination site. It must be future-oriented and therefore, the need to “streamline the digitization of the health services and the teleconsultations as well with the view of sharing the documentation with local leaders. It must be based on the people and their culture, and their social environment.”
Please e-mail me at florangel.braid@gmail.com