Aidsmap

Before starting work on documentation and communication, an NGO/CBO needs to understand what the term means.

Many people have different ideas about what type of work documentation and communication involves. So, developing a common understanding is important – to help organisations to “lay the foundations” for plans that will be clear and focused.

For an NGO/CBO involved in HIV/AIDS, documentation and communication is about recording, learning from and sharing its experiences, results and lessons learned – for the benefit of its own organisation and others. This is different from Information, Education and Communication (IEC) – which an NGO/CBO might carry out as part of its programme work to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among community members.

Timing: 45 minutes

2 Divide participants into two groups.

3 Ask the first group to brainstorm what is meant by “documentation” and to list key words or phrases about the term. Ask the second group to do the same for “communication”. (See Example.)

4 Bring the two groups back together, and ask each to share their results.

5 Ask participants to identify any nouns and verbs that are common to the two definitions.

6 Ask the whole group to develop a combined definition of “documentation and communication”. Encourage the participants to ask each other questions and to make comments.

7 Facilitate a group discussion about what has been learned from the activity, based on questions such as:

Does the group’s definition of “documentation and communication” reflect both “documentation” and “communication”?

Is the group’s definition of “documentation and communication” as practical as possible?

What is the difference between documentation and communication work and IEC work?

Facilitators’ notes

! Stress that participants need only focus on “What?” in this activity – as the following activities will look at “Why do we document and communicate?” and “Who do we document and communicate for?”

! Ensure that, by the end of the activity, the participants are absolutely clear about:

• What documentation and communication are.

• What IEC is.

• What the difference between the two is.

! Help participants to focus on developing a common understanding of documentation and communication – rather than an exact definition. If you are short of time, you might ask a group of volunteers to work on the definition alone, and to bring it back to the group for agreement later.

! Ensure that participants have a clear view of documentation and communication right from the start. To support this, it may help to facilitate a discussion about the difference between some words that are often confused. These include:

• “Documentation” and “documents”.

• “Reporting” and “report writing”.

• “Data” and “information”.

Example: HIV/AIDS STD Alliance of Bangladesh (HASAB), Bangladesh

HASAB is an HIV/AIDS NGO/CBO support programme. During a training workshop for staff, they divided into two groups and held brainstorms. The first group listed key phrases to define “documentation,” while the second focused on “communication”.

Group 1:

Key phrases about documentation

• Pulling together information, analysing it and recording it.

• Compiling data and writing it up.

• Carrying out a process that has objectives about learning.

• Preserving ideas and challenges for future use and reference.

• Using different media – such as writing, photographs and drawings.

Group 2:

Key phrases about communication

• Communicating messages and promoting specific ideas.

• Doing something that involves different stages.

• Sharing our experiences and lessons among ourselves.

• Sharing our findings with others.

• Using different methods – such as reports, articles and presentations.

Then the groups shared their results and worked together to develop a combined definition of “documentation and communication”.

The facilitator then led a discussion about what had been learned from the activity, for example about how important it is to have a practical definition of documentation and communication that will be as useful as possible for NGOs/CBOs.

(Reference: Adapted from a workshop on “Documentation and Communication”, HIV/AIDS STD Alliance of Bangladesh and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Bangladesh, June 1999.)

Combined definition of documentation and communication

“Documentation and communication work is about finding practical ways to record, learn from, share and promote our experiences, results and lessons learned.”

ACTIVITY SHORTCUT

Share the definition of "documentation and communication" in the above example. Ask participants if they agree with it or whether they would change it.

ACTIVITY 1.2. Aim: To develop a common understanding of why documentation and communication is important

Having decided what documentation and communication is, an NGO/CBO needs to think about why they might do it.

Documentation and communication has many benefits. These include helping NGOs/CBOs to raise their profile and plan and monitor their work. However, it also takes time, energy and resources. So, deciding why an NGO/CBO should do it involves looking at what advantages the work can bring to an organisation and its HIV/AIDS work.

2 Divide participants into small groups, and remind them of the definition that they developed of documentation and communication (see Section 1.1).

3 Ask each group to brainstorm reasons for doing documentation and communication work, and to write each one on a separate piece of paper.

4 Ask each group to develop a “ranking line” on flipchart paper. Ask them to mark different levels of importance along the line – such as “not important”, “quite important” and “very important”. (See Example.)

5 Ask the participants to discuss how important each of their reasons is and to reach agreement as a group. Then ask them to place their pieces of paper at appropriate points along the ranking line.

6 Bring everyone back together, and ask the groups to present their ranking lines. Encourage the participants to ask each other questions and to make comments.

7 Facilitate a group discussion about what has been learned from the activity, based on questions such as:

Are the most important reasons the same for all NGOs/CBOs? If not, why are they different?

What do the two to three priority reasons tell us about the type of documentation and communication work that NGOs/CBOs should focus on?

How many of the reasons relate to the expectations of others rather than the needs of the NGO/CBO? How can NGOs/CBOs balance these?

A group at a workshop in the Philippines discussing the benefits of documenting and communicating their HIV/AIDS work.

Facilitators’ notes

! Ensure that participants develop reasons to carry out documentation and communication work (such as “to share our lessons about working with community members”) rather than IEC work (such as “to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in the community”).

! Encourage participants to think of both:

• Internal reasons to carry out documentation and communication work (such as “to improve our NGO’s/CBO’s programmes”).

• External reasons (such as “to share our lessons with other NGOs/CBOs”).

! Encourage participants to think of both:

• Organisational reasons to carry out documentation and communication work (such as “to raise our NGO’s/CBO’s profile”).

• Programmatic reasons (such as “to know if our project is working”).

! Help participants to think strategically about where to place their reasons on the ranking line. For example, discourage them from placing all of them under “very important”, and to instead think about which are more important than others.

Example: Local NGOs/CBOs and District Health Management Teams (DHMTs), Zambia

During a skills-building workshop for local NGOs/CBOs and DHMTs in Zambia, participants brainstormed their reasons for carrying out documentation and communication. They then wrote each one on a separate sheet of paper and placed them along a “ranking line” according to their importance.

Not important

.To keep records for our archives.

.To have something for presentations at conferences.

.To fill the pages of our reports.

Quite important

.To check on the process of our work.

.To prove that work is being done.

.To share information with others.

.To monitor our planned activities.

Very important

.To maintain the direction of our programme.

.To keep practical records for future use.

.To use in future project proposals.

.To help in our planning work.

.To help in our monitoring work.

Afterwards, the facilitator led a discussion about what had been learned from the activity, for example about how there are both internal and external reasons to carry out documentation and communication.

(Reference: Adapted from a workshop on “Documentation and Communication Skills for HIV/AIDS Work”, Zambia Integrated Health Programme, Central Board of Health and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Zambia, July 2000.)

ACTIVITY SHORTCUT

Ask participants to brainstorm the two to three priority reasons why documentation and communication is important for their NGOs/CBOs.

ACTIVITY 1.3. Aim: To develop a broad understanding of audiences for documentation and communication work

Having decided what documentation and communication is and why it should be done, an NGO/CBO needs to think about who they do it for.

Documentation and communication can be carried out for many different audiences, including:

• Existing ones (such as a current donor) and potential ones (such as a new donor).

• Internal ones (such as NGO/CBO staff ) and external ones (such as other NGOs/CBOs).

• Individuals (such as the Minister for Health) and whole sectors (such as health professionals).

In practice, each documentation and communication product needs to have a specific audience. However, as a starting point, NGOs/CBOs need to think about all of the potential audiences that could be reached through their work.

2 Ask participants to work individually and to think of all the possible audiences for their documentation and communication work. Ask them to write down each audience on a separate small piece of paper.

3 On a very large piece of flipchart paper, draw a small circle to form the centre of a “sunburst map”. Add several lines coming out from the circle – as if to represent the sun’s rays.

4 Ask for a volunteer to read out one of their audiences and to explain why they chose it. Ask them to get up and place the piece of paper at the end of one of the sunrays (see Example). Encourage the other participants to ask questions and to make comments.

5 Ask the group if other participants have written the same audience on one of their pieces of paper. If they have, ask them to get up and place their pieces of paper on top of the one already on the sunburst map.

6 Ask for a second volunteer. Repeat the process until everyone has placed all of their audiences on the map. Add as many sunrays as are needed.

7 Facilitate a group discussion about what has been learned from the activity, based on questions such as:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having many audiences for documentation and communication work?

How might different audiences benefit from an NGO’s/CBO’s documentation and communication work?

What is the difference between an audience for documentation and communication work, and one for IEC work?

Facilitators’ notes

! Encourage participants to think broadly about potential as well as existing audiences. Help them to focus on who their audiences should or could be – rather than who they have been to date.

! Ensure that participants do not identify audiences for IEC, but instead focus on audiences for documentation and communication. For example, while “children in school” might be an audience for IEC, “education authorities” or “donors” would be more suitable audiences for documentation and communication.

! If some participants have similar but not identical audiences, encourage them to discuss how they should be placed on the map. For example, they might be similar enough to be grouped together at the end of one sunray, or different enough to be placed separately. This will help the participants to define exactly who their audiences are.

Example: HIV/AIDS STD Alliance of Bangladesh (HASAB), Bangladesh

HASAB is an HIV/AIDS NGO/CBO support organisation. At a training workshop for staff, participants worked individually to think of audiences for documentation and communication, and then wrote them down on separate pieces of paper. Then one volunteer read out one of their audiences, explained why they had chosen it, and placed the relevant piece of paper at the end of a sunray on a sunburst map. If others had the same audience, they placed their pieces of paper on top of the first one. The participants continued this process until everyone had shared all of their audiences. The completed map gave a picture of all of their combined ideas.

The facilitator then led a discussion about what had been learned from the activity, for example about how it can be an advantage to have many audiences for documentation and communication (as it means reaching more people), but also a disadvantage (as the work is not written to meet the specific needs of each one).

(Reference: Adapted from a workshop on “Documentation and Communication”, HIV/AIDS STD Alliance of Bangladesh and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Bangladesh, June 1999.)

ACTIVITY SHORTCUT

Ask participants to list all their possible audiences for documentation and communication work.

ACTIVITY 1.4. Aim: To develop a common understanding of what makes good documentation and communication

Documentation and communication that is interesting and well thought through has the most impact. Therefore, NGOs/CBOs need to consider how to record and present their work as creatively and effectively as possible.

Good documentation and communication does not need to be expensive or complicated. Instead, it needs to be appropriate and of good quality – in terms of style, format, content and accuracy.

2 Ask the participants to divide into pairs.

3 Give an example of a written documentation and communication product – such as a policy report or a case study – to each pair of participants. Ask them to look through it and to identify its strengths and weaknesses.

4 Bring everybody back together. Ask each pair to share with the rest of the group the strengths and weaknesses that they identified in their product. Write the key points in two columns on a flipchart (see Example).

5 Ask the group if anyone has other “strengths” and “weaknesses” to contribute based on their own experiences of documentation and communication products. Encourage the participants to ask each other questions and to make comments.

6 Facilitate a group discussion about what has been learned from the activity, based on questions such as:

What are the two to three most important elements of a good documentation and communication product?

How important is the structure and format of a product? Why?

What kinds of visuals improve different kinds of documentation and communication products?

PHOTO OMITTED HERE

Participants at a workshop in the Philippines discussing what makes documenting and communicating their HIV/AIDS work “different”.

Facilitators’ notes

! Be careful to provide examples of documentation and communication materials (such as annual reports and policy reports) rather than IEC materials (such as leaflets about condoms and flipcharts about STIs).

! Consider the arguments for and against using products developed by external organisations (to avoid participants feeling defensive) or ones by participants (to make the activity more “real”).

! Use products of varied quality – so that different strengths and weaknesses can be identified.

! Adapt this activity to participants’ skills and resources. For example, if appropriate, you may want to include examples of videos or websites.

Example: Local NGOs/CBOs, the Philippines

At a skills-building workshop for local NGOs/CBOs, participants worked in pairs and were each given an example of a written documentation and communication product. The participants were asked to review the product and to report back on its strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths of documentation and communication products

.Provides information from different sources.

.Provides brief and concise information.

.Uses quotes from the participants in the project.

.Has a “catchy” title.

.Has a good balance between text and visuals, including symbols, drawings and graphics.

.Looks interesting, and is colourful and attractive.

.Is informative for the target audience.

.Uses simple language.

.Is well organised and laid out.

.Has a clear aim.

Weaknesses of documentation and communication products

.Is too structured and “bookish”.

.Is limited to one very specific target audience.

.Has too much wasted space.

.Uses a font that is too small to read easily.

.Is too detailed – making it difficult to know what the key points are.

.Has text and visuals that don’t match.

.Lacks details about how to access the services of the organisation.

.Has no conclusion.

Afterwards, the facilitator led a discussion about what had been learned from the activity, for example about how good documentation and communication products combine effective design with strong content.

(Reference: Adapted from a workshop on “Documentation and Communication Skills for HIV/AIDS Work”, Philippines HIV/AIDS NGO/CBO Support Program and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the Philippines, September 2000.)

ACTIVITY SHORTCUT

Ask participants to list the three to four key "strengths" of good documentation and communication products, and the three to four key "weaknesses" of bad products.

ACTIVITY 1.5. Aim: To review past documentation and communication work in order to improve future work

One important way for an NGO/CBO to prepare for its future documentation and communication work is by learning from its past work.

Almost all NGOs/CBOs have already carried out some degree of documentation and communication work. Looking at the “ups” and “downs” of these experiences can help them to see how much work they have done in this area to date. More importantly, it can help them to learn from what has or has not gone well.

Useful criteria for deciding if past documentation and communication work has been successful include:

• Was it clearly thought through?

• Was it timely?

• Was it useful for its audience?

Instructions

2 Divide the participants into small groups so that they are working with colleagues from their own NGO/CBO.

3 Ask the groups to draw a “timeline” – with a horizontal line across the bottom divided into a timescale (such as 1998, 1999 and 2000) and a vertical line down the left-hand side divided into a measure (such as “poor”, “good” and “excellent”).

4 Ask the groups to discuss either their overall documentation and communication work to date or their experiences with a specific product. Whichever they choose, ask them to consider how successful they were – for example, in terms of whether the work was clearly thought through, timely and useful for its audiences.

5 Ask the groups to plot their work on their timeline – marking when it took place and how effective it was. For example, a successful period might appear as a high point, and an unsuccessful period as a low point. Ask them to label each dot with a brief explanation (see Example).

6 Ask the groups to join up the dots on their timeline – to provide an overview of the ups and downs of their documentation and communication work.

7 Bring everybody back together and ask the groups to present their timelines. Encourage the participants to ask each other questions and to make comments.

8 Facilitate a group discussion about what has been learned from the activity, based on questions such as:

When has the NGO’s/CBO’s documentation and communication work been at its best or worst? Why?

Have there been extreme ups and downs, or a reasonably smooth path? Why?

How could the downs have been avoided?

Facilitators’ notes

! Encourage participants to discuss why their ups and downs occurred – rather than just plot them on the timeline. This will help them to learn from their experiences and to improve their future work.

! Encourage participants to focus on the quality of their documentation and communication work, rather than the quantity. For example, help them to look at whether a report met its aims rather than how many copies were distributed.

! If participants are new to their NGOs/CBOs or are from NGOs/CBOs with little documentation and communication experience, encourage them to focus on the ups and downs of one individual product, rather than attempting an overview of their work.

Example: Traditional and Modern Health Practitioners Together Against AIDS and Other Diseases (THETA), Uganda

THETA is a local NGO involved in responses to HIV/AIDS. At a skills-building workshop, they shared the ups and downs of the development of their quarterly newsletter to date. They did this by drawing a timeline. On this, they plotted failing to produce their newsletter as a low point, and producing their annual report and receiving positive feedback as a high point. They then used their timeline to discuss how they could improve their future documentation and communication work.

Afterwards, the facilitator led a discussion about what had been learned from the activity, for example about how downs in documentation and communication could be avoided through better planning.

(Reference: Adapted from a workshop on “Documentation and Communication Skills for HIV/AIDS Work”, Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organisations and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Uganda, March 2001.)

ACTIVITY SHORTCUT

Ask participants to identify two good experiences and two bad experiences from their past documentation and communication work and to consider what they learned from them.

ACTIVITY 1.6 Aim: To identify what skills an NGO/CBO needs to carry out documentation and communication work

Before planning documentation and communication, an NGO/CBO needs to identify what skills it needs to carry out this work effectively and efficiently.

Documentation and communication skills include:

• Listening • Recording • Word processing • Analysing • Writing • Planning • Collecting data • Prioritising • Drawing • Editing • Designing

Different people in an organisation have different skills to contribute to documentation and communication work. It is useful for an NGO/CBO to think about the overall skills that they will need to carry out their work, to identify their relevant strengths and weaknesses, and to develop ways to address any gaps.

2 Facilitate a group brainstorm about the types of skills needed for documentation and communication work. Write the key points on a flipchart.

3 Ask the participants to divide into groups so that they are working with colleagues from their own NGO/CBO.

4 Ask each group to draw a grid with three vertical columns entitled “Skills needed for our documentation and communication work”, “Our strengths and weaknesses of each skill”, and “Action to take to build each skill”.

5 Ask each group to fill in the grid by:

• Identifying what combination of skills their NGO/CBO will need to carry out its documentation and communication work.

• Assessing their existing strengths and weaknesses in those skills.

• Deciding what action to take to address any gaps (see Example).

6 Bring everybody back together, and ask the groups to present their results. Encourage the participants to ask each other questions and to make comments.

7 Facilitate a group discussion on what has been learned from the activity, based on questions such as:

What are the priority skills for an NGO/CBO carrying out documentation and communication work?

If an NGO/CBO does not have a specific documentation and communication skill, should it try to gain it or focus on what it can already do well?

What skills does an NGO/CBO need to have within its organisation and what can it access from other organisations?

How can an NGO/CBO build skills as an organisation rather than among one or two individuals?

Facilitators’ notes

! Create a supportive environment for this activity – so that participants feel comfortable talking about their NGO’s/CBO’s weaknesses as well as strengths.

! Encourage participants to focus on skills rather than resources (such as money or equipment).

! Encourage participants to think realistically about the type of documentation and communication work that their NGO/CBO might do, and the type of skills they will need. For example, developing skills such as video production will not be useful unless the NGO/CBO is certain that videos will be relevant to their work.

! Support participants to identify the type of skills their NGO/CBO needs, as well as the level of skill required. For example, for an area such as design, encourage them to think about whether they need to have an “expert” or someone with a basic understanding.

Example: Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organisations (UNASO), Uganda

UNASO is a national networking organisation. At a training workshop, they identified the skills that their organisation would need to carry out documentation and communication work, including:

• Data collection • Presentation • Organising information • Research • Observation • Design • Analysis • Reporting • Photography • Computers • Summarising • Interviewing

They then assessed their strengths and weaknesses in relation to each of the skills, and identified actions to take to address their weaknesses. For example:

Afterwards, the facilitator led a discussion about what had been learned from the activity, including how a broad range of skills – including data collection, planning and writing – are useful for documentation and communication work.

(Reference: Adapted from a Workshop on “Documentation and Communication of HIV/AIDS Work”, Uganda Network of AIDS Service Organisations and International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Uganda, March 2001.)

ACTIVITY SHORTCUT

Ask participants to identify the three to four key skills that their NGO/CBO will need for documentation and communication work, and what action is needed to build those skills.

ACTIVITY 1.7. Aim: To develop a common understanding of what specific issues should be considered for documentation and communication of HIV/AIDS work

Documenting and communicating HIV/AIDS activities can be similar to that of any other area of community development work. However, there are also some specific issues for NGOs/CBOs to consider.

HIV/AIDS can involve highly sensitive issues, about areas such as people’s social and sexual lives. It can also involve complex information, such as HIV infection rates and medical information about HIV/AIDS. Therefore, NGOs/CBOs need to consider how to record and present their experiences in a way that is not only interesting and easy to understand but also respects those involved and is technically accurate.