News
A webinar on “SBCC - An Overview for Non Profit Organizations” organised by India@75 Initiative of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in collaboration with New Concept Centre for Development Communication
India@75 Initiative of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a webinar on “Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) - An Overview for Non Profit Organizations”, in collaboration with New Concept Centre for Development Communication on 22 November 2018. Over 28 social development practitioners from World Vision India, Gramiksha, Citizens Foundation For Identification, Delhi, V-Trusted Foundation, Bhubaneshwar Seva Samsthe, The Avasar Foundation, Etasha Society, Hamrahi Roshni Mahila Samiti, Action In Community & Training, Habitat For Humanity India, Gramin Vikas Evam Paryavaran Sanstha, Lok Sevashram Chiksaura, Gopal Kiran Samaj Sevi Sanstha (GKSSS), Prastutee, SCODWES (Sahyadri Community Development & Women Empowerment Society), Action Of Human Movement (AHM), Sahyog Care For You, Pachhat Varg Vikas Mandal, Ankit Anusuchit Samj Klyan Technical Nari Utthan Evan Shikshan Sansthan, Society Of Health Education Legal Training And Emergency Rehabilitation(Shelter), The Credence, Hind Yuva Shakti, Natural Education Training And Culture Development India, Indian Social Service Unit Of Education (ISSUE), participated in the webinar.

The webinar was led by Pravin Ramteke, Lead Trainer on SBCC, who briefly presented the key elements of SBCC including the evolution of development communication, socio-ecological model, behavior change communication process and how they can be used for effective implementation of various interventions. The Q&A Sessions saw number of participants sharing their experience as well as challenges in development communication and evinced keen interest in gaining in-depth understanding of SBCC theory, methods and techniques.

Dr. Rohit Shipstone took the lead in organising this webinar under the India@75 Initiative. Kabir Krishna, Executive Officer at CII facilitated the proceedings. New Concept and India@75 Initiative plan to hold more such webinars and also on-the-ground orientation and intense training sessions on SBCC for the benefit of the development practitioners.



2-day certificate course on SBCC organised in Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat on 6-7 October 2018
SBCC Orientation 2-day certificate course on SBCC was organised in Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat on 6-7 October 2018. The course was attended by 19 participants belonging to various organisations including Department of Nutrition (MS University), International Rural Education and Cultural Association, Moser Baer Trust, Utthan (Ahmedabad), and SEWA Rural and MODE. They included academics, consultants and practitioners of behaviour change communication (BCC) in various field. The certificate course covered evolution of development communication, socio-ecological model for BCC, qualities of a communicator, BCC process, social inclusion and team work for BCC. It was delivered thorough a judicious mix of theory, group work and games to explain and understand the concepts and practical application of the same to real life situations delivered through case studies.

For more information write to sbcc@newconceptinfosys.com.


Poster presentation on Building Social Capital through SBCC Capacity Development presented by UNICEF at the 2018 SBCC Summit
UNICEF presented a poster titled ‘Building Social Capital through SBCC Capacity Development’ at the 2018 International SBCC Summit in Bali, Indonesia. Excerpts from the poster presentation abstract are provided here.

Background

Technical solutions are not always enough. Evidence promotes a combination of social and behaviour change approaches with technical solutions. Decision-makers, programmers, and service providers need skills that lead to promoting and supporting healthy behaviours. In this context, intense, continuous, 360 mode Social and Behaviour Change Communication capacity development is critical.

Objective

Capacity development within systems that delivers ‘professionalization of SBCC’, generates social capital armed with the science of social and behaviour change communication. The two-fold aims include strengthening systems through 1) training and skill enhancement, and 2) enhancing delivery of social and behaviour change interventions.

Intervention

Three SBCC training package were developed by UNICEF India in partnership with Academic and Training Institutes and concurrence of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

1.SBCC “Tarang Package” was developed for enhancing SBCC appreciation and skills within government system cadres from senior managers to frontline workers. A 360-capacity development was executed as is depicted in the figure.

360 degree SBCC Capacity Development


1.Tarang meaning wave contains five SBCC modules for trainers, frontline workers, mid managers and senior managers. Fifth module is on Inclusive Communication.
2. Communication for Social and Behaviour Change Learning Package comprising 9 modules for academic offering at a Post Graduation level.
3. Communication for Development Handbook for sensitizing senior government officers in the national and State Academic Training Institutes.

Results and significance

  • The “SBCC Tarang” package was used within the government system, across 12 states to build a critical mass of trainers and service providers (4000), equipped with knowledge, skills and tools for implementing SBCC interventions.
  • The “SBCC Tarang” modules originally on SBCC for Routine Immunization demand generation has been adapted for skill building in programs such as WASH, HIV, Diarrhea-Pneumonia and Education ensuring SBCC content and skill consistency.
  • To strengthen systematic skill building, SBCC Trainer Competency Framework has been introduced for competency assessment, feedback and improvement.
  • For further institution building and to reach a wider audience, partnerships with institutions resulted in SBCC training hub (http://newconceptinfosys.net/Tarang/home.php) offering e-learning courses and contextualized classroom training on SBCC.
Field Implication

The significance of this entire 360-degree endeavour is that a buzz on the importance of SBCC are apparent in the government system, training institutions, civil society and academia. A motivated social capital has been created at multiple levels, to improve individual/collective SBCC knowledge, skills and practices. This, within an evolving organisational environment that endeavors to generate demand for services at community level can make significant inroads into implementation of integrated SBCC plans, monitoring and reporting. All of these measures contribute to higher quality of communication for development programmes that can promote positive behaviour changes and shifts in social norms, and eventually wield a positive impact on the lives of women and children.
Certificate Course on SBCC, 6- 7 June 2017, Jaipur
Twenty-eight development practitioners from organisations spread across Rajasthan from Barmer, Bikaner, Basnwara, Tonk, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar, Kota, Baran, Sirohi, Pali and Sawai Madhopur, and Delhi participated in the training. The participants were from CARE India, Samantar, Vishakha, CULP (Centre for Unfolding Learning Potentials), R K Santhan, Centre for MicroFinance (Tata Trust), ACF-Fight Hunger Foundation, FINISH Society, Urmul Setu Sansthan, Unnayan Samiti and Vani Sanstha and few individual consultants.

The participants enriched the sessions with grassroots level experience in varied fields including child protection, nutrition and food security, gender and violence, highlighting communication barriers and relating it to the session content including behaviour change communication (BCC) process, socio-ecological model (SEM), and inter-personnel communication (IPC).

The two day course was conducted by SBCC lead trainers Vijay Parashar and Pravin Ramteke.

Participant feedback

The socio-ecological model session was good. The way it was explained was brilliant and the doll technique made it easily understandable and clear.
Mohamad Sadiq, CULP (Center for Unfolding Learning Potentials)

Through the GATHER technique we came to realise various aspects of IPC. Although we use all this on the field, the way it was presented was new and educative
Kumari Kavita, Centre for MicroFinance.

The village mapping exercise to identify communication barriers was very useful and it enabled us to do situation analysis and understand the barriers better
Surendra Gautam, Unnayan Samiti.

I work with children. The session on IPC has really shown me how to ensure that the child open up and share their thought and problems frankly with us. I will use this technique
Uma Parashar, Child Helpline, Samantar Sansthan.

Certificate Course on SBCC, 25-26 April 2017, Ahmedabad
Twenty-one development communication practitioners from nine organisations and institutions including individual consultants participated in the 2-day course held at Ahmedabad. The participants were from Micronutrient Initiative; Deepak Foundation; Anandi; Chetna; TISS-Tata- Cornell Institute for Agriculture & Nutrition; Department of Extension & Communication, Faculty of Family & Communication Sciences, MS University Baroda; Awaz De; Aanganwadi Training Center (AWTC) run by Adarsh Mahila Mandal at Navsari & Tapi, and INRECA Sansthan.

The course dealt with:
  • Changing paradigms in development communication (evolution from IEC to BCC to SBCC)
  • Essence of communication for development (C4D)
  • Socio-Ecological Model (SEM)
  • IPC using “muskurahat”
  • Behaviour Change Communication process
  • Qualities of an effective communicator
  • Social Inclusion and its importance in Social and Behaviour Change Communication.

The course was conducted in Gujarati and Hindi, to ensure active participation and clarity in understanding. All the sessions were conducted in an interactive manner using appropriate job- aids and tools. The participants while appreciating the content and presentation, gave positive as well as critical feedback on sessions, including suggestions for improvement.

The course was conducted by SBCC Lead Trainers, Himachal Bhutak, MODE and Pravin Ramteke, New Concept

Two-day Certificate Course on SBCC Attended by Development Practitioners from NGOs and CSR Foundations
A SBCC certificate course was organised in Delhi on 1-2 March 2017 at Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. Twenty-four development practitioners from over 14 organisations successfully completed the two-day certificate course.

Participants came from Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Indore, Ghaziabad and Delhi. They were from Amba Foundation, VSO India, Children International, MSSRF, 4th Wheel, Save the Children India, Terre des hommes-Germany India Program, Heifer International, Splash, United Way Delhi, National Skill Development Corporation, FXB India Suraksha, SCMKVM College, Indore, and Alliance Airline Services.

The course content was laced with theory and practical examples to illustrate the applicability of SBCC to development communication in various sectors.
Voices from Participants
"Thank you for the highly beneficial inputs during the workshop. It has built and strengthened my knowledge and capacity and will enhance my contribution towards my organisation." - Rini D’Souza, Associate Consultant, Development Communication

"It was a great experience going through SBCC theory and models. It was indeed an enriching two days for me and I shall use the learning in my course of work. The training in itself was very well organised. The exercises were very good. I look forward to know more about SBCC and use it in my work." - Reena Tete, Head, Delhi Chapter, Save the Children India

"Thank you for facilitating a very interesting 2-day workshop. I’m sure all the participants benefitted greatly with your facilitation." - B Jayashree, Head, The Hindu Media, Resource Centre, MSSRF

Training on SBCC for Block Level Coordinators of Pathfinder India
Pathfinder India is building capacities of front line workers in Haryana on reproductive rights of women and also use of family planning methods in the four districts – Mewat, Palwal, Faridabad and Rewari. The programme, called Project Salamati, covers 50 PHCs and extends upwards to district hospitals through 12 block coordinators and two district coordinators.

Training on SBCC Pathfinder organised training programme for block, district level coordinators and programme staff on Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) at Hotel Saffron Kiran, Faridabad during 8-11th November 2016. The training was conducted by two lead trainers from New Concept approved by UNICEF, and 15 Block Project Coordinators (BPCs) participated in the sessions.

The objectives of the training was to orient the block and district coordinators on concepts of SBCC, to understand the importance of effective communication and counseling for behaviour change, and to build facilitation and supportive supervision skills of the coordinators to become effective communicators.

The 4-day training consisted of theoretical and hands-on sessions, with role play and mock sessions, aided by handouts and job aids designed to be used subsequently in the field to orient and enable the front line workers to communicate better in the course of their work.

The training adopted a mix of content deliberations by facilitators aided by presentations and training aids, group activities for case studies and situational analysis and activities to make it interesting and instructing at the same time. The course content was customized to the needs of the participants working in the field of reproductive health and family planning.

The course content included inter personal communication, creating a positive learning environment, principles of adult learning, art of facilitation, behaviour change process, creating a supportive environment, qualities of a good communicator, and effective use of communication materials.

"The session on Social and Behaviour Change Communication was very refreshing. The doll and pulley activity was interesting and got us all thinking about how we can make a difference with effective communication". - Abhishek Singh, BPC, Palwal district

"All our participants proactively participated in all the sessions. It was good to see them involved." - Dr. Janki Borkar, Sr Technical Advisor


Orientation of New Concept’s SBCC Lead Trainers on the C4D workshop organised by Ohio University at Hyderabad
UNICEF has partnered with Ohio University for a nine-month blended-learning course on Communication for Development (C4D). The course consists of three online modules focusing on issues such as values and concepts in C4D; social change theory; and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The online training portion of the course is followed by a face-to-face workshop. The 7th cohort’s face-to-face workshop was held from 31st July to 12th August 2016 in Hyderabad, India in collaboration with University of Hyderabad.

The C4D course was designed to help participants:
  1. Understand key theories around communication, development, culture, behavior and social change; human rights principles including inclusion and equity; and C4D concepts, approaches, methods and techniques
  2. Apply this knowledge to analyze root, structural and direct causes; and generate insights related to behavior and social change components of UNICEF’s work
  3. Provide guidance in the application of processes and principles of C4D research, design, implementation and management, monitoring and evaluation to UNICEF programming and humanitarian actions
  4. Guide, manage and facilitate the design and development of effective, small and large scale C4D strategies and interventions for behavior change and social transformation that nurture evidence, and promote the principles of human rights, social inclusion and accountability
  5. Lead and manage partnerships in this area of work, through harnessing the potential and creativity of counterparts, formal and informal national and community based networks, as well as advocating for mainstreaming of C4D within development programmes, policy advocacy and humanitarian action.
SBCC Orientation From New Concept’s pool of SBCC-Tarang Lead Trainers (LTs); Dr. Amar Nidhi and Sudha Nair participated in the C4D Learning Programme in Hyderabad from July 31 – August 12, 2016. In order to transact the key learnings and discussions from the 12-day programme among the SBCC LT team, a 2-day sharing workshop with the SBCC LTs in New Delhi on Nov 2-3, 2016 was held.

The trainings looked at providing a comprehensive overview of the 12-day C4D workshop in a concise manner – with focus on understand C4D and SBCC in a comprehensive way across different sectors. The group looked at the inter-linkages between the key conceptual frameworks and C4D planning models, and how they could be employed to address both individual level behaviors as well as collective social practices.  The sessions covered and linked the importance of a rigorous desk review, formative research (both qualitative and quantitative) and participatory research tools; and how they guide in effectively planning and designing a C4D/SBCC strategy.

Media representations and inclusive communication for child and human rights with a focus on inclusion and equity was also shared. The session emphasized how disability is increasingly being included in communication materials – with focus on their dignity, rights and capabilities.

A key component of the training looked at the Entertainment-Education (EE) approach of UNICEF and the audio-visual tools developed by UNICEF, India. The importance of maintaining a balance between entertainment and education, and using EE for sustained engagement with community groups (like FFL-videos) were also discussed among the group. The last sessions delved into monitoring and evaluation of C4D interventions – with emphasis on the Theory of Change. Focus here was on discussing the inputs, outputs, outcomes and impact and the need for defining communication and behavioural objectives in a communication strategy.

The two-day sharing workshop was followed by a half-day interaction on understanding social and gender norms with lead trainers of New Concept and eNVisions, which was facilitated by the UNICEF ICO C4D team. The facilitators led by Mario Mosquera Vasquez and Alka Malhotra presented social norms as a diagnostic tool and discussed different ways of its application in the Indian context. Various groups presented situations from their trainings and tried to diagnose them under normative/empirical expectations and descriptive/social norms. There was general consensus among all participants that it is important to talk about social norms during training situations.


Orientation on Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Programme Managers
SBCC Orientation An “Orientation on Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Programme Managers” was held in Delhi on Saturday, 3 September 2016. Programme managers, communication officers, team leaders, and practitioners of behavior change communication from six organisations - FHI360, Mott MacDonald, Pathfinder International, PATH, Sambodhi Research and Communications, WaterAid, and New Concept participated in the orientation.

The content of the workshop was based on the TARANG Module developed by UNICEF and endorsed by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, which was customized to the needs of the participants based on their organisation and individual profiles.

This appreciation course covered content on Theories of Development Communication, Changing Paradigms in Development communication covering Evolution from IEC-BCC-SBCC, and Socio Ecological Model (SEM). The SEM was elaborated using the communication strategy developed and adopted by UNICEF for Mission Indradhanush; Stages of Behaviour Change Communication; and Communication planning models and analysis tools elaborating how theory and research inform practice. Giving primacy to engagement of participants in the course of conducting the workshop, the trainers adopted appropriately designed job aids and tools.

The orientation workshop has set the ball rolling for further expansion of the initiative. New Concept will be organising a series of such orientation courses as well as more intense and customised training tailored to specific project, programme and organisation needs.

For more information write to sbcc@newconceptinfosys.com.


What the participants had to say

BCC session was engaging, energizing and participatory! - Varun Mohan, Sambodhi

I liked the session on Changing Paradigms in Development Communications. It was very easily and interactively explained. - Divya Chadha, WaterAid

The orientation was very good and informative for beginners. A good job was done of condensing the theories and giving a snapshot, it is a difficult task, and was done in an easy and participative manner. - Sushmita Malaviya, PATH

UNICEF - Ohio University C4D at Hyderabad, India - August 2016
Lead Trainer Ms. Amar Nidhi Aggarwal receiving certification Lead Trainer Ms. Sudha Nair receiving certification UNICEF has partnered with Ohio University for a nine-month blended-learning course on Communication for Development (C4D). The course consists of three online modules focusing on issues such as values and concepts in C4D; social change theory; and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). The online training portion of the course is followed by a face-to-face workshop. The workshop brought UNICEF staff members from all over the world to campus for two weeks of intensive learning, where, among other things, C4D concepts are applied in practice when UNICEF staff members work with community-based organisations.

The 7th cohort’s face-to-face workshop was held from 31st July to 12th August 2016 in Hyderabad, India in collaboration with University of Hyderabad. Two Lead trainers from New Concept had the opportunity to participate in the workshop. This 7th cohort workshop had 56 participants from nearly 25 countries

About the C4D learning course

The UNICEF- Ohio University C4D learning course aims to build and strengthen a critical mass of development professionals in the organisation who are equipped with relevant knowledge, skills and tools to address socio-cultural determinants of UNICEF programmes and humanitarian actions through C4D.

The C4D course provides a comprehensive overview of, and inter-linkages between, the key conceptual frameworks and models rooted in communication, and the behavioural and social sciences that can be employed to address both individual level behaviors as well as collective social practices. The course focused on effective planning, design, management and evaluation of C4D interventions. Through the course, participants were offered in-depth and state-of-the-art learning sessions facilitated by leading experts in the field of C4D. Key topics include: Human Rights and C4D with a focus on Inclusion and Equity; Integrated Communication Approaches and the Social Ecological Framework; Qualitative & Quantitative Research Techniques; Social Norms and C4D; Positioning Children as Agents of Change; Communicating with Children; Monitoring & Evaluation; New & Social Media; Communicating in Emergencies and Climate Change. Special emphasis was placed on operationalising the Human Rights Based Approach to Programming through communication methodologies and tools.