Category Archives: Ideas

Change agents and social marketing presentation at the World Social Marketing Conference in Toronto

Posted on 23 Apr 2013 | 1 Comment

logo-WSMNick presented at the World Social Marketing Conference held in Toronto, Canada. His paper showed how to support social and behaviour change through the use of change agents. It will be useful for those designing and implementing social marketing programs and research. How we select change agents – e.g. peer educators, opinion leaders, community health workers and counsellors – helps determine the effectiveness of a program. While there is evidence to support the use of change agents, there are limitations to current methods to select effective ones. This paper  examined new evidence from the field for a method to help find effective change agents. It will draw on several case studies, including alcohol use in Australia and an Indonesian community based sanitation program.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Events, Goodwin Collaboration, Ideas

Tagged , , , ,

AusAID releases concept note for new Maternal and Newborn Health and Nutrition Program for Indonesia

Posted on 1 Apr 2013 | Leave a comment
Aloisa Ernesta, head midwife in the perinatal unit at Ende District Hospital in Eastern Indonesia. Photo: AusAID

Aloisa Ernesta, head midwife at Ende District Hospital. Photo: AusAID

AusAID has released a draft concept note for the new Maternal and Newborn Health and Nutrition Program for Indonesia. The 8-year A$200 million program of support for maternal and newborn health aims to assist Indonesia to close the socio-economic and geographical equity gap in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths and child stunting.

Our initial review reveals that one of the outcomes is “Greater informed demand and changed individual, household and community knowledge and behaviour related to family planning, maternal and neonatal health and nutrition” (p. v) which is a welcome sign of the integration of behaviour change and social marketing approaches. Sufficient investment in creating demand for services will be key to the success of this program.

Individuals and organisations are encouraged to submit views and issues that they would like to see further considered or clarified during the design process. The closing date for submissions is 30 June 2013.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas, Opportunities, Partners, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DKT International – the purest marketing approach to behavior change?

Posted on 25 Mar 2013 | Leave a comment

DKT International is a social marketing nonprofit working in Asia, Latin America and Africa to improve access to reproductive health products and services. DKT adopts one of the “purest” market-based approaches to behavior change. It now boats the enviable record of around 75% of its revenue brought in from the sale of condoms, birth control pills and other products and services, including the highly successful Fiesta brand of condoms.

Founded in 1989 by Phil Harvey, DKT was named after Dharmendra Kumar Tyagi (1928–1969), who was an Assistant Commissioner for the Indian Family Planning program. An early pioneer and champion of family planning in India and elsewhere, he invented the well-known (in India and some other countries) “Red Triangle” symbol as a branding effort to familiarize and popularize the idea of family planning.

Many of the branding and mass communication techniques DKT developed are now used throughout the developing world to combat disease (such as HIV/AIDS) and poverty. His success in saturating the country with simple, attractive messages and designs (including the Red Triangle, which is now in use in several other countries) overcame age-old communication barriers and greatly increased public awareness of birth control. DKT’s staff consider its model to be the purest form of marketing and therefore most sustainable. Is this true? And if so, can it be applied to other behavior change efforts, especially those which don’t use products?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas, Partners, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Half the Sky Movement games to achieve social impact

Posted on 14 Mar 2013 | Leave a comment

According to Comminit.com, the Half the Sky Movement, a global initiative to address gender empowerment, has produced 3 hand-held mobile games for India and East Africa on topics such as maternal health, child health, and girls’ education and empowerment. For example, the “Family Choices” game aims to enhance the perception of a girl’s place in and value to her family, with an emphasis on keeping her and her peers in school.

The games build upon principles consistent with social learning theory, which asserts that people learn through observing others’ behaviours and attitudes. All three games use two common models to achieve social impact – adventure and simulation. Players are exposed to characters that can serve as role models and will be rewarded for positive actions, such as killing the worms inside their stomachs or seeking antenatal care. Players also face choices, such as making decisions that lead to a delay in marriage and betterment of the family. Games, both online and off, are increasingly being used to help deliver social marketing programs.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Improving health and nutrition through Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian co-production of Sesame Street

Posted on 8 Mar 2013 | Leave a comment

The Sesame Workshop in India has launched a healthy habits campaign as part of Galli Galli Sim Sim (GGSS), the Indian co-production of Sesame Street. The GGSS Mobile Community Viewing (MCV) program trains local change agents to provide health information to slum neighbourhoods. They use a repurposed, GGSS-branded vegetable cart carrying a TV set and a DVD player showing segments on health and nutrition, followed by distribution of educational materials to children and caregivers. This slum roadshow also features activities such as mask-making and theatre. An evaluation of the program notes that exposure to the GGSS’s MCV is associated with increases in children’s knowledge of sources of milk (calcium), healthy foods, and steps of handwashing – as well as with caregivers’ knowledge of vegetables. This shows the importance of a mix of methods to reach the intended audience, based on how and where they seek health information.

Launched in 2006, Galli Galli Sim Sim (GGSS) is a broad-based, multimedia educational initiative for young Indian children modeled on Sesame Street, the US-based Sesame Workshop’s entertainment-education series for preschoolers. Created through a partnership between Sesame Workshop and Turner India, in creative collaboration with Miditech Pvt. Ltd., the television series aims to promote joyful learning of basic life skills – be they cognitive, social, emotional, or physical – for India’s children, and to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood development and education.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Women change agents help address Avian Flu in Indonesia

Posted on 2 Mar 2013 | Leave a comment
Community radio Aisiyah facilitator talks about halal food, sanitation and cleanliness (JHU-CCP)

Community radio Aisiyah facilitator talks about halal food, sanitation and cleanliness (JHU-CCP)

DAI, the Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs, Aisyiyah and partners have adopted an innovative approach to behaviour change which engages women change agents to ensure the effectiveness of a program helping to prevent Avian Flu in Indonesia. The project has engaged female preachers spread over thousands of islands to help create demand for healthy poultry products as part of the Strategies Against Flu Emergence (SAFE) project in Indonesia.

SAFE is a response to a persistent problem for Indonesia: the highest number of human cases of H5N1 avian flu in the world, exacerbated by an 84% fatality rate across 31 of its 33 provinces. Begun in 2011 by DAI and JHU-CCP with funding from USAID, SAFE works at all levels of the poultry value chain, including consumers.

Most interestingly, SAFE strategically targets Muslim women. Muslim women are targeted because around 88% of Indonesians are Muslim and its women traditionally purchase and prepare the food for their families. For these reasons, messages about selecting fresh poultry products, handling poultry properly and good sanitation behaviors are being integrated into sermons and other religious activities delivered to women by female members of one of the country’s largest Islamic organizations, Aisyiyah. This draws on a combination of community psychology, social movements and social networks to drive change.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas, Partners

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vietnam’s LIN Center for Community Development

Posted on 20 Feb 2013 | Leave a comment

banner-LIN Center for Community Development

The LIN Center for Community Development serves not-for-profit organizations and philanthropists in Vietnam. In addition to providing direct support to local not-for-profit organizations (NPOs), LIN also serves as a vehicle through which donors can contribute their knowledge, energy and resources to support these NPOs. In an effort to help local people to meet local needs, LIN aims to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic environment and strengthen the communities in which they live and work. The LIN Center would be a good partner for project management, capacity building and other community development work in Vietnam.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas, Opportunities, Partners, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Indian men skirt the issue of violence against women

Posted on 16 Feb 2013 | Leave a comment

India is experiencing an unprecedented national outcry on the issue of violence against women, following the brutal rape and bashing of a woman and her husband. To address this issue, a group of men have taken to the streets…wearing skirts. The stunt was conceived by two friends, Samarpita Samaddar and Adithya Mallya, after they heard a statement by Alwar BJP MLA Banwari Lal Singhal calling for a ban on girls wearing short skirts to school.

As Samarpita said on the Facebook event page: “Why does wearing a skirt make a difference? It’s a satirical take on the issue to draw attention to the absurd idea that what a woman wears invites sexual assault. Wear that skirt as a symbol of your support to a woman’s right to wear what she wants, be who she is, exercise her rights, and be safe in her city. Nothing shows more solidarity with women than breaking barriers and boundaries of “his” and hers”. The stunt was covered widely in both traditional and social media, both in India and internationally. Creative approaches to a social issue are especially important when there is intense competition for attention.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Ideas

Tagged , , , , ,

One Billion Rising Movement comes to Indonesia

Posted on 12 Feb 2013 | Leave a comment

One billion rising-IndonesiaThe One Billion Rising movement is coming to Indonesia and planning events around Valentine’s Day to support women’s rights. One Billion Rising was founded to address the reality that as many as one in three women (one billion people) will be raped, beaten or face violence during their lifetime. In Indonesia, according to the National Commission on Violence against Women, the number of reported cases of rape, domestic violence and other forms of brutality against women reached 119,107 in 2012, although the actual number of cases is thought to be much higher.

The original Valentine’s Day was co-opted by activists and shortened to V-Day, in reference to the word ‘vagina’, frowned upon by many as taboo. Now as Feb. 14 approaches, the V in Valentine is taking on renewed significance as people around the world join together to voice their concerns about violence against women. Indonesia will join with 189 other countries to take part in One Billion Rising, an event to increase awareness of these problems.

The One Billion Rising movement is inviting women and the people who love them to walk out of their homes, schools, and jobs to dance in support of bringing an end to violence against women. People from all over Jakarta are practicing for a flash mob dance at the Monas (National Monument) Park. This campaign shows that participation in socially sensitive issues can be encouraged by making it a fun and social, reducing the barriers and promoting the benefits of taking action.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Events, Ideas, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Sustainable change marketing: an approach to development and communications programs in Indonesia and beyond

Posted on 4 Feb 2013 | Leave a comment

Growing Sustainable CommunitiesThe following is the abstract for a chapter I’m writing in a soon-to-be-released book edited by Linda Brennan et al. Thank you in advance for any feedback.

The sustainability of development programs is affected by the way in which information is produced and disseminated. This chapter examines the role of communications in social and behavior change, with a focus on an Indonesian sanitation project, ‘Fantastic Mom’, which aimed to reduce infant mortality. It highlights the link between communications and sustainability, particularly the importance of empowering individuals and their communities through participation and capacity building. The chapter then combines these elements and introduces the Sustainable Change Marketing (SCHEMA) model, using it to analyze the results of Indonesia’s Fantastic Mom project. This project succeeded in changing behaviors and building capacity but failed to effectively engage decision makers, affecting its sustainability. Finally, the chapter reviews these findings and their implications for sustainability work in Southeast Asia and beyond, providing guidance for those planning, implementing and evaluating similar programs.

Reference: Linda Brennan, John Fien, Lukas Parker, Hue Duong, Mai Anh Doan and Torgeir Watne (2013 in press), Growing Sustainable Communities: A Development Guide for Southeast Asia, Tilde University Press.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Goodwin Collaboration, Ideas, Resources

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,