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Blog 3: Blog 3: Implication of Communication Policies To Communication Systems Planning

Communication policies aim to coordinate and rationalize the various communication actions undertaken by public and private institutions and individuals in a society. They establish principles and norms to guide communication systems and are shaped by a society's approach to communication and media as well as its political, social, economic, and cultural values. A national communication policy provides a framework to integrate technical and social interventions across different sectors like agriculture, education, health, and the private sector. It articulates principles and values around communication at all governmental, civil society, and private sector levels to support national development goals. Such a policy can help plan, develop, and efficiently use communication systems and resources to enhance democratic governance and national development.

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55 views

Blog 3: Blog 3: Implication of Communication Policies To Communication Systems Planning

Communication policies aim to coordinate and rationalize the various communication actions undertaken by public and private institutions and individuals in a society. They establish principles and norms to guide communication systems and are shaped by a society's approach to communication and media as well as its political, social, economic, and cultural values. A national communication policy provides a framework to integrate technical and social interventions across different sectors like agriculture, education, health, and the private sector. It articulates principles and values around communication at all governmental, civil society, and private sector levels to support national development goals. Such a policy can help plan, develop, and efficiently use communication systems and resources to enhance democratic governance and national development.

Uploaded by

Tzeri Vicente
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Blog 3: Blog 3: Implication of Communication Policies to Communication

Systems Planning
Information policies deal more with the hardware and software of a society’s info
structure, related to the implications of the ICTs and the ‘information highway’ for the
processing of factual material and its storage and transmission as knowledge.
Communication is more social process oriented, concerned with interactions among
individuals and groups and also the development and use of mass media. Obviously the
two concepts intersect massively, and from a policy standpoint, they need to be taken
together.

As far as communication policies are concerned, they have been described as:
Sets of principles and norms established to guide the behaviour of communication
systems. They are shaped over time in the context of society’s general approach to
communication and to the media. Emanating from political ideologies, the social and
economic conditions of the country and the values on which they are based, they strive
to relate these to the real needs for and the prospective opportunities for
communication.
In every society, public and private institutions and individuals undertake internal
and external communication for many reasons. There is often no over-arching idea or
vision to help coordinate or rationalise these various actions, probably because policy-
makers and planners do not see how they can be related. A national policy on
information and communication for development provides a necessary conceptual and
institutional framework for the coordination and integration of technical and social
interventions undertaken by institutions ranging from agricultural extension to education
and health ministries, from NGOs such as women’s resource groups and human rights
activists, to private sector interests such as chambers of commerce or banks.
The contribution of a national policy is to articulate principles, values and norms
that are applicable to communication at all levels of government, to civil society and the
private sector, within the context of the development goals of the nation. An approach
that considers information and communication as a «sector» for development planning
would also help to rationalize investments as well as provide a basis for integrating
information and communication interventions within national development strategies.
A communication policy can, therefore, be an instrument for supporting the
systematic planning, development and use of the communication system, and its
resources and possibilities, and for ensuring that they function efficiently in enhancing
national development. Efficient, widespread and continuous public communication is an
important prerequisite for democratic governance. In the developing or re-emerging
democracies of Africa, social communication provides the cement that binds various
communities and social groups together in their resolve to build new societies. It can
create linkages between political, religious, traditional and community leaders and their
followers, and can build bridges between rural and urban communities and across
generations.
It is through communication that government agencies and NGOs attempt to
provide technical information and social services for improving the quality of life of
citizens, and that civil society seeks to broaden and sustain participation in governance.
New agricultural practices and policies, health campaigns, literacy classes, adult
political and civic education and other development efforts have succeeded largely
through communication support. But communication can also divide people along
various socio-cultural lines, contributing to social cleavage, marginalisation and even
violence. These seemingly contradictory possibilities pose the challenge of choice, of
making deliberate decisions to ensure that communication plays a positive role in
society. The results of such decisions can be articulated in a policy statement.
Within this general framework, strategies can be devised to facilitate organised
and intensified use of interpersonal, group and mass media channels of communication
that are sensitive to cultural resources and orientation, and that are decentralized as
necessary, in support of development programs. There is increased need to encourage
local organizations to make use of new communications technologies, such as the
Internet, to promote social linkages and to ensure widespread support for development
efforts; so that in a dynamic and organic sense, communication can become an
instrument for building solidarity for the common national and community goals of good
health, economic recovery, poverty eradication, empowerment of women and youth,
and good governance. These outcomes can be facilitated through a deliberate
communication policy linked to national development policy.

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